Fiddlers

Fiddlers is one of Bristol’s most highly reputed venues for catching the smaller live acts playing in the city. They are often, although certainly not always, local. What they do invariably embody, however, is good quality music from anywhere on the genre spectrum.
The space is small and intimate, sparsely decorated with its attractive exposed brickwork probably the only feature worth commenting on. Despite the large crowds, it tends to have a fairly relaxed atmosphere.
Fiddlers is an excellent place to catch some of Bristol’s best concerts. Bizarrely enough, it does feel a tiny bit like a youth club or community centre with its (somewhat outdated) lack of decoration or attempt to create a brand for itself. But then, perhaps that’s because the quality of the live acts themselves does all the talking.

This is in a slightly dodgy part of town down a dead-​end street surrounded by warehouses (some of which have furiously barking guard-​dogs inside them– eerie!). But it’s a great little place and seedy in the right sort of way. I saw Juliette Lewis here and was totally in thrall to her. That was mainly due to her being mad and totally rocking in equal measure but also to the wonderful reach out and touch nature of The Fiddlers. The stage is probably too small to attract the larger acts but it makes live music a really interactive experience. And it’s got a pretty cool vibe as a late-​night venue too.

I’m sad I was not more of a fan of Fiddlers as its nice to have a local club to go it but this place feels more like a community centre than a club. I came here to see the Zen Hussies play, there wasn’t much room for the band to play and there was less room in the small space in front. I get quite claustrophobic when I feel hemmed in, so I stayed in the side bar which meant the acoustics were awful.
You’d barely know the place was here if you weren’t looking for it. The entrance is tucked on the far side of the building on opposite side of the road to Windmill Hill City Farm.
A little bit expensive for what it is. There are better venues, sadly not on the South side of the city though.

It takes a bit of a walk round the back of Bedmo to get here, and it may just be a hall with a bar in it, but I really like this as a live music venue. The stage is small and mere inches off the floor and open on two sides, so there is enough space to get a good view around it. The sound is pretty good as well. The name doesn’t mean it is all fiddlers here — although I did see a cracking gig by Seth Lakeman here! — and I have seen lots of local bands here.
Staff are friendly and the bouncers cheery and, because you wouldn’t come here just for a drink, the clientele are all here for the music.

Away from the city centre, this music venue doesn’t come with any fancy adornments. Reasonably sized and with descent lights and sound. Doesn’t pull in the biggest acts by any stretch of the imagination, although it is big enough to keep out complete armatures.
It’s in the middle of nowhere, and a job to find if you’re not from the area (Bedminster). My advice is to take a map along and follow the music once you get close enough.
Although it’s away from the city centre, it’s as expensive (if not more than) as more central venues. This makes it somewhere I wouldn’t go on a whim for a band I’d vaguely heard of. Come here if someone you like is playing, perhaps not otherwise.

Once you find it among the warehouses and industrial buildings surrounding it, the Fiddler’s Club is really quite a good and unique gig venue, offering a big room around a high stage to get your dancing shoes on to have a boogey to whoever you’ve come to see. It’s unexpectedly big actually, making fine potential to get a really good party atmosphere from a packed out room.
The bar is pricey though, and once you’ve paid your ticket in, which will be at least the best part of a tenner for anything they put on there, you’d be forgiven for feeling slightly begrudged at paying those prices (when you’ve finally got served, that is). But nonetheless, for bands really worth watching this does a fine job as a live music venue. The sound is excellent too, with an excellent rig that will guarantee no screetchy feedback to deafen your ears with. Apparently it used to be a prison, back in the day, so maybe watch out for the ghosts…

This place is a bit of an oddity. It’s basically a working men’s club in a an obscure part of south Bristol — I’ve just realised that I now live quite near it but probably still couldn’t find it — which puts on gigs.
The interior is pretty big with a stage and a big dancefloor at one end, and a bar, a pool table and seating at the other. The line-​up generally consists of more established local bands, and fading acts who now spend their time exclusively on the live circuit (i.e. Dreadzone).
Not especially worth seeking out purely for the sake of it, but if there’s something on that you fancy, it’s worth trekking around the backstreets of Bemmer to find. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you get lost…

Bit of a weird mix — of old mans club/​rock gigs, but quite nice all the same. Small enough to have that intimate atmosphere but big enough to rock!

This is a fantastic venue for live acts in Bristol. Living in Bedminster for some time i can testify that this is the best it gets south of the river. This is certainly not a knock on the place. A welcoming décor and large dance floor make this place uniquely atmospheric.
At first i was perplexed by the layout of the venue. It seemed like a ‘friends’ inspired wooded café bar in the dirtiest area of bedders. Thankfully it isn’t at all as vacuous as the trite Golden Globe winning American sitcom. Scott Mathews played a fantastic set and the live participation, thanks to the stage setting, was refreshing and exciting.
A great venue