Trinity is proud to present Echo, an international cross-city celebration of sound, creativity and community. Developed in partnership with Le Rocher de Palmer (Bordeaux), and Twin Cities Fest, Echo marks a remarkable 79-year relationship between the two officially twinned cities, bringing together grassroots artists, cultural practitioners and local communities through a free one-day festival at Trinity on 30 May.

Echo is designed to amplify underrepresented voices and remove barriers to cultural participation, supporting people who may face obstacles to taking part in cultural activity, whether due to cost, access or lack of representation. Rooted in one of Bristol’s most culturally diverse communities, Trinity continues its commitment to accessible, inclusive arts spaces where everyone can take part.

This first chapter of Echo takes place in Bristol, with the celebration continuing in France as the programme travels to Le Rocher de Palmer on 19 September for the second half of this unique cultural exchange.

Audiences at Trinity can expect a day of music performances, food, and refreshments available from local vendors and community engagement for all ages as Bristol’s grassroots talent meets exciting artists from Bordeaux. With Trinity Garden‑party vibes, Echo offers a feel‑good day out for the whole family.

Line-up:

• Binbag Wisdom

• DJ Koyla (Bordeaux)

• Josephine Gyasi

• MĀDŁY

• Okali (Bordeaux)

• T L K

Alongside the main programme, pupils from Hannah More, St Nicks, Evergreen and Easton CE primary schools have been taking part in after‑school sessions led by artist Laura. Using recycled materials, each KS2 group created detailed skyline artworks combining iconic landmarks from both Bristol and Bordeaux. These collaborative pieces will be displayed at Trinity during the festival, inviting children, families and the wider community to celebrate their work.

Bristol City Council will also visit each participating school to deliver assemblies and staff sessions, introducing an accompanying classroom activity pack.

“We were approached by Bristol City Council’s International Twinning Manager, to introduce the team to the local primary schools we work closely with through the PHF‑funded Cultural Alliance Programme. Our strong relationships with these schools have enabled us to support them with creative projects and to strengthen communication and delivery.” - Sarah Franke, Children's Programme Manager, Trinity Community Arts

The festival is free to attend, with a suggested £3 donation per person on the door to help Trinity continue delivering inclusive, community‑focused events.

Listing Information

Echo Festival at Trinity 
Date: 30 May 
Location: Trinity Centre, Bristol 
Admission: Free (suggested £3 donation)

About Trinity Presents – Celebrating 50 Years of Music

Echo forms part of Trinity Presents, our in‑house programme spotlighting outstanding artists and fresh new voices, rooted in the communities at the heart of the city.

About Le Rocher de Palmer

Le Rocher de Palmer is a contemporary music venue (SMAC) in the Bordeaux metropolitan area. The 6700m2 venue includes 3 concert halls, a documentary resource centre on world music, a digital studio, a coworking space, a cultural business incubator, and a digital museum with the Micro-Folie label.

https://billetterie.lerocherdepalmer.fr/

About Twin Cities Fest

Through its programme, Twin Cities Fest aims to celebrates the unique cultural identity of each city - spotlighting its music, food, art and wider creative communities. It provides emerging artists with opportunities to perform for international audiences, while building lasting connections with artists and venues in partner cities

Trinity Community Arts has secured a significant boost for the restoration of Jacobs Wells Baths through a £350,000 Capital Grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF). The award will support essential repair works now underway on the Grade II listed former bathhouse, forming part of a wider programme to bring the building back into safe public use.

The new investment builds on AHF’s earlier £78,000 Development Grant, which helped shape future plans for the site. Together, these grants form a critical foundation for Trinity’s phased approach to conserving the building, preparing for public reopening, and enabling new cultural and community uses. Both grants were awarded through the AHF's Heritage Revival Fund, which is delivered in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Historic England.

Recent progress on the restoration has included bringing the historic Pump Room into public use for the first time in its history. Further works underway will stabilise key structural elements, address long‑term maintenance issues and support the development of Trinity’s Phase 2 delivery plan, which has also received match funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Alongside the physical repair works, Trinity has begun activating previously inaccessible areas of the site, including the old pool boiler room, through artist‑led interventions as part of the new Art of the Possible pilot program. This creative activity is helping shape and envision future plans for how the building might be used once restoration is complete.

The AHF’s continued support is a major step toward Trinity’s goal of safely reopening Jacobs Wells Baths for community use.

Trinity’s wider renovation and engagement programme is supported by a range of funders and partners including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, The Nisbet Trust, John James Foundation, Society of Merchant Venturers, Historic England, Pilgrim Trust, Bristol City Council, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Centrica Energy and Trinity’s individual donors and sponsors.

To follow news about the Jacobs Wells Baths project, email info@trintiybristol.org.uk to join our mailing list.

Trinity Community Arts has launched Art of the Possible, new pilot programme exploring how creativity can thrive inside Jacobs Wells Baths while the historic building continues to undergo restoration. The programme offers a rare chance to experience the site in its current transitional state, test creative ideas and imagine future uses for the space for both communities and artists. The series invites Bristol artists to respond to the building as it is now, capturing the energy, atmosphere and potential held in an unfinished space.

As part of this pilot programme, Trinity is releasing a series of short videos created on site with Bristol artists, including Grove and Muneera Pilgrim. The series will feature a broad mix of artistic disciplines - from spoken word and live music to dance and electronic music, with more contributors to be announced as the programme unfolds.

As Trinity Community Arts works to restore the Grade II listed bathhouse, Art of the Possible acts as a living research and development process.

Emma Harvey, CEO of Trinity Community Arts, said:

“The history of Jacobs Wells Baths is rooted in everyday people making that which seemed impossible into a reality. And we know artists are the best people at bringing our imaginations and dreams to life.” -Emma Harvey

These early responses demonstrate how different art forms can inhabit the building even as repair work continues, offering audiences a glimpse into how the Baths might operate as a creative hub once restoration is complete.

“Some of my favourite times making music, sharing music has been in grassroots venues. Getting it really right, getting it really wrong, getting it all shades of in between and through that, learning so much about not only myself, but learning about the people around me, learning what a sense of community feels like.

Grassroots venues are essential and so much love to Trinity for what this space is going to be." - Grove

“Grassroots venues are not just important they are vital they are the life blood to what we do as artists, as communities. If we don’t have grassroots venues we don’t have venues.

In spaces that are grassroots you get to cultivate music, art, truth, create community and create change”- Muneera Pilgrim

A continuation of heritage learning and participation offer for residents, schools and community groups already involved in this phase of the project, will run alongside the artistic research and development programme, helping people connect with the building’s social history and understand the traditional skills involved in its conservation.

This work is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, and is part of Trinity’s wider programme to bring Jacobs Wells Baths back into everyday community use. The Art of the Possible pilot also complements active restoration funded by the Architectural Heritage Fund and other partners.

Trinity continues active fundraising to support the next stage of restoration, with the aim of safely reopening the building as soon as possible. Continued support from local people, funders and partners will determine how quickly the Baths can return to public use.

Art of the Possible marks an important moment in the journey to bring Jacobs Wells Baths back into everyday community use, offering a glimpse of its future potential while celebrating its past alongside this important renovation phase.

Trinity’s wider renovation and engagement programme is supported by a range of funders and partners including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, The Nisbet Trust, John James Foundation, Society of Merchant Venturers, Historic England, Pilgrim Trust, Bristol City Council, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Centrica Energy and Trinity’s individual donors and sponsors.

Watch the first video here.

Keep an eye out for fresh activations videos dropping in April including spoken word from Muneera Pilgrim and a live electronic performance from the mighty Grove

This is part of a consultation to find out how creative activity can help create a sense of belonging for older people from the Global Majority in the South West, and your participation helps shape future support and opportunities.

So whether you are an Awoowo/Ayeeyo, a Grampa, a Dada/Dadi, a Nana or Nani, you are welcome!

Dates:

• Wed 18 Mar

• Wed 25 Mar

• Wed 1 Apr

4.15–6.15pm (drop in any time)

Free entry

Drop in or email: alltogethernow@bristolbeacon.org

Join us at Trinity for an evening led by the Speak Out team, bringing together the voices and creative work of the young people involved in the project.

Join us at Trinity for an evening led by the Speak Out team, bringing together the voices and creative work of the young people involved in the project.

Dancer, actor Oscar Anderson is a force of nature in Bristol’s dance scene. Many will know Oscar for his high energy, highly elegant jazz dance performances as part of Bristol’s award-winning dance troupe the Floor Technicians. Others for his much-loved jazz dance classes at Bristol Dance Centre amongst other venues. He is also the longest serving actor in the BBC flagship drama Casualty.

Oscar Anderson in conversation is part of Art of the Possible a series of activities delivered by the Trinity Centre Bristol as part of the restoration of Jacob Wells dance centre.

To register your interest, email info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Badliana is a Bristol-based artist known for her dark sound that merges grime, rap, and alternative R&B with haunting vocals. Supported by BBC Radio 1, BBC 1XTRA, and BBC Introducing, she is currently part of Big Team's Next Level program.

Ahead of this Sunday's International Women's Day edition of  Seedling Sessions, we’re getting to know some of the artists at the heart of Bristol’s evolving grassroots music scene.

With women and non-binary talent still disproportionately underrepresented across festival line-ups, senior industry roles and technical fields, platforms like Seedling Sessions remain vital spaces for visibility and advocacy.

Ahead of the show, we caught up with Badliana, talk about her creative journeys, the people who inspire them, and what performing at this International Women’s Day edition means to them.

Hi, we're so excited to have you, let's start off by telling us a bit about yourself. How would you describe your sound in a sentence or less?

Badlina: I would describe my sound as emotionally charged, slightly ethereal with a darker undertone.

Seedling Sessions has a legacy of spotlighting emerging talent. What does performing at this International Women’s Day edition of the event mean to you personally as an artist?

B: It feels really special to be a part of such a great day alongside other amazing artists and I'm really looking forward to it.

This year’s event shines a light on women working both on stage and behind the scenes. Who are the women or NB mentors, local or otherwise, who’ve helped you grow on your artistic journey?

B: I'd like to give a shout-out to my good friend Charlie France, a friend of mine and a director who I've worked with over the years, who's been a massive support of mine and encouraged me a lot in my artistic journey. I'd also like to give a shout-out to Gabby, my mentor and teacher, who's been a massive support over the years, too. And of course, Saffron Records, they played a massive part in my launch into Badliana and without them I wouldn't have been able to release my debut EP. So I'm very grateful for them. Thank you very much.

The UK music industry still faces significant gender inequalities, from festival line-ups to roles in production and engineering. What changes do you feel are most urgently needed, and what can be done to help push that change forward?

B: I've seen how mentorship and support from people in the industry can make a huge difference. Programs that amplify the voices often overlooked can create real change for the next generation of musicians.

For audiences discovering you for the first time, what message or feeling do you hope they leave with after your performance?

B: I hope people leave my show feeling empowered, cute and fun.

Seedling Sessions was created to nurture new voices. What advice would you give to young women and gender-diverse creatives starting out today, especially those navigating barriers in the grassroots music scene?

B: Some advice that I would give to other artists would be keep going, keep learning and keep growing. Embrace the challenges and stay open to new experiences and always be your biggest cheerleader.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

B: I would like to say come to the Trinity Centre on the 8th of March for a sexy, badass show. Woo!

Come and catch Badliana, RED and Moxie Dolls this Sunday at Seedling Sessions: Celebrating Women in Music.