St. George’s

Such a wonderful venue for concerts, readings, events and talks, including events for children, St George’s is a big, grand, old church that has built a firm reputation, over the course of 30 years, as one of the top cultural and performance centres in the city.
It’s a splendid building, and the concert hall has a brilliant acoustic. (My father happens to be a concert pianist and has played several concerts here! He always seems happy with the venue.) As an audience member, the seats are very comfortable and the hall is spacious yet calm. And you’ll probably have heard about Harry’s Bar, which is open before concerts and during the intervals.
There’s so much good stuff on at St George’s, with plenty of lunchtime gigs and talks, too. It’s amazing that this huge concert hall is just off loud, busy Park Street; it really provides a change of pace and mood.

St Georges is a beautiful venue just off Park Street on the way up to Brandon Hill. Its magnificent palladian façade will prepare you well for a night of classical music.
Their usual line up is classical, but they also have a really eclectic mix of Jazz and World Artists perfoming. The latter, especially, are often the type of acts who do tours of rarer artistic and cultural venues around the country. This means the acts are extremely unique, but in my experience so far, they’re always utterly phenomenal and very worth knowing about and seeing.
This is a venue Bristol should really be proud of — it’s lesser well known than the more major music venues in the town, which is perhaps why they still have a massive degree of quality with regards to the acts they invite to perform. I strongly advise getting involved with St Georges, keeping track of the programme, and experiencing a night of music in this phenomenal venue.

This is a beautful venue, which seems completely out of place when you discover it sitting just off Park Street. A lot of people are unaware of its exisence but it’s really worth seeking out. The exterior is stunning (see pics), and there’s a very nice bar inside, though you can only really come for a drink here before or after a show, which is a shame.
The shows are mainly in a classical vein, though it’s worth keeping an eye on their eclectic programme even if you’re not a fan of this genre, as occasionally more mainstream events turn up (I’ve seen Badly Drawn Boy and Vic Reeves here in the past). The arena is all seated and quite plush — it really is worth seeking out an excuse to come here as soon as possible.

A concert hall just off Park Street that puts on a lot of classical performacnes, as well as some jazz and other genres. Run by the council, it offers cheap access to a bit of culture.
It’s quite an experience climbing the stairs and entering under the thick sandstone pillars, the building is very imposing. Opened in 1999 the interiors stayed smart since then, and they’re currently celebrating their tenth birthday.
If you enjoy classical music, or just want to sample it, the lunchtime concert series is a good opportunity and at only £7 (£4 for students, children and job seekers) an absolute steal. They have relaxing gardens as well, so you can bring a picnic and make a day of it. As a classical music venue it is excellent, with good accoustics and a grand open space. I’ve been told that St. Georges is one of the countries, as well as one of Bristol’s, finest music venues.