Yemz - Sophia Stefelle

The Den - Khali Ackford

Big Tent - Rahil Ahmad

Bristol Harbour Festival - Jade Ayino

While we're all sad that summer is winding down, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take a minute to reflect on some of the amazing arts and music events that’ve happened at Trinity over the last few months. Read on to learn more about our highlights from an amazing summer of activities.

Garden Party

Trinity's annual Garden Party returned this summer for the first time since 2019 and it was such a pleasure to welcome you all back to one of our flagship events for the season.

This year, we were able to bring a great programme of artists from Bristol and beyond to perform in The Den, including LCY, Yemz, tlk and more. Alongside our music offering, we also hosted a range of workshops including drumming and circus skills, Young Musicians takeover of the main stage, poetry and heritage activities in the Graffiti Room, as well as a whole load of food and craft stalls from local businesses.

We had a great time at May's Garden Party and it seemed like you all did too - over 4000 people attended on the day and we managed to raise £4500 in donations so that we can continue to offer events like Garden Party to our amazing local community.

The Den

We launched The Den, our new outdoor space for platforming emerging talent. Joining forces with some of the best promoters and talent developments agencies in the South West we welcomed Bristol poetry collective Raise The Bar, family friendly day raves from female led DJ collective Peachin' and Club Djembe.

Bristol Harbour Festival

Trinity took to the stage at Bristol Harbour Fest 2022, hosting Bristol Dances in Millennium Square. Over the weekend we showcased the breadth of dance in the city from Irish Dancing to Bharathnatyam Dance to Voguing alongside performances from award-winning dance troupes, HYPE and Miss Daisy Dance Class.

Big Tent

As part of Radix Big Tent Ideas Festival, Trinity joined forces with Bristol DIY Arts Network to shine a light on Bristol’s diverse and rich cultural offering by inviting cultural leaders in the city to take part in keynotes and panel discussions exploring the role of culture in driving change in the city and what ‘City of Culture’ means for an independently creative city like Bristol.

Bristol Ball

We were honoured to host Bristol’s first official Vouge Ball at Trinity this summer with The Bristol Ball. Originating in Harlem in the 1920s, Ballroom culture provides a safe space for LGBTQIA+ people to express themselves through dance, music and fashion. It was great to be able to host a sold-out Vogue Ball at Trinity and be a part of this ongoing Ballroom culture.

We'll be celebrating the end of summer this Sunday (18 Sep) at Garden Party: Revolution Sounds, our second Garden Party of 2022, a free, community party that will bring together some of the best arts activists, covering music, sound, poetry, art and performance.

As an iconic Arts Centre with forty years of music programming experience under their belt it should come as no surprise to you that the Trinity team are continuing to push boundaries with their IGNiTE programme of performance in 2017.

Ranging from the playful to the sometimes hard-to-swallow realities of life, the newly announced spring selection of programming is destine to challenge and excite audiences. Fergus Evans, Trinity’s theatre and dance producer says that all the shows presented are ‘a celebration of the spaces we make for ourselves when none of the boxes fit quite right.’

Mixing the exciting with the unexpected, the season’s five shows set out to provoke conversations. In I-Dentity Rider Shafique explores being mixed race and what it is like when you are neither but also both. Liz Aggiss’ giddy and sometimes sinister Slap and Tickle cheekily explores female sexuality and growing older. What you see is not always what you get in Alesandra Seutin's  C'eci n'est past Noire (This is not Black) - a journey through identity politics, Beyonce and, a few parlour games. Putting the Band Back Together is a playful story about why we give up on our dreams and how we find them again. Gather the round dinner table in Daughters of the Curry Revolution and find out what it means to be the daughter of a migrant.

At Trinity you're never just a member of the audience, and this carefully selected programming certainly reflects this. From picking up an instrument and joining Unfolding Theatre’s house band to learning new ways to move with Alesandra Seutin (Vocab Dance Company). You can sign up to be a member of one of our test audiences and see work in development from our resident artists. Let us know what you think of the show you’ve seen or volunteer as a steward. The message is clear: Don't just come see a show. Take part. Speak up. Start something.

Alongside our regular programme of live music and community events, we present world-class, innovative artists whose work is about issues that matter to people now, starting conversations and sparking debate. IGNiTE is supported by funding from Arts Council England.

Further Info:

Tickets go on Sale 10am Friday 3rd Feb http://www.3ca.org.uk/ignite ​ ​

Slap and Tickle, Liz Aggis 18th March 7.30pm £10 / £8

Ceci n'est pas Noire (This is not Black), Alesandra Seutin I Vocab Dance Company 25th March, 7.30pm £10 / £8

Putting The Band Back Together, Unfolding Theatre 21st April, 7.30pm £10 / £8

I-Dentity, Rider Shafique 28th April, 7.30pm £10 / £8

Daughters of the Curry Revolution, Afreena Islam 5th/6th/7th May : 3pm / 5pm / 7pm £12 / £10

Peachin' Day Festival. Photo credit Khali Ackford

In our commitment to platform emerging talent and provide access to quality facilities for the community, we’re excited to announce a summer season of live music and spoken word events in our outdoor space, ‘The Den’.

Between July-September 2022, we will be showcasing some of the best breakthrough artist from Bristol and the South West alongside a wider programme of family friendly arts activities and events.

“Trinity have always been there providing a space for us and many other artists to do what we do best and always put creativity and community first” Ishmael Ensemble

We’ve joined forces with collectives who are making waves in the region including Bristol poetry collective Raise The Bar, who are bringing Youtuber Leena Norms to perform, 31 July and multi-disciplinary Arts organisation Beyond Face, who will take over The Den to showcase spoken word artists from the global majority.

Head over to our What's On section to find out more about events and activities at The Den.

About The Den

Our vision for The Den is to increase our presentation of creative and performing arts, and alongside this provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure for community groups and local residents.

Funded by Power to Change, Bristol City Council, Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund and match funders, our revamped outdoor space feels like a secret, magical corner of a festival. The space - including bar, kitchen, outdoor seating and stretch-tent – is set within our beautiful garden and heritage grounds.

The works form part of Trinity’s phased capital works programme, that paused in 2020 when the impacts of COVID19 and Brexit caused delays to planned construction of a larger scheme of work, including a two-story kitchen/bar with offices and outdoor area.

Venue Director, Jamell Ackford said; “Like many music venues, we began to get creative with our outdoor space in response to pandemic restrictions, launching the ‘Garden Sessions’ in 2020.

Following support in 2021 from the Architectural Heritage Fund to to revisit and revise our Feasibility Study, a detailed community consultation helped us to find out what the community wanted from us in a post-pandemic environment. From this, we updated our original plans and the idea for ‘The Den’ was born.

With this new bespoke setup, The Den will provide wider opportunities including supporting local food and community activities, as well as giving audiences a unique experience.”

As part of Trinity’s post-pandemic responses, a Community Activities Coordinator has been appointed to support ‘Community Kickstart’ activity – working with local residents, grassroots groups and charities to establish new activities from the space.

If you are a local resident or group and would like to run an activity for the local community, get in touch with stefan@trinitybristol.org.uk to find out more.

First up tonight we have a brand new project kicking off for budding young drummers, BrisArts introduce their new group, Bristol Youth Samba who are working up to a performance at this year's St Pauls Carnival. For young people looking for a career in dance check out the Youth Dance Road Show this Saturday, find out more about work and education in the industry and check out five awesome performances.

Thursday and Friday we welcome SOLO showcase presenting 4 premieres of new contemporary performance from Bristol-based artists: Summon the ancestors with Alice Human; spot a rabbit in the headlights with Ale Marzotto; challenge your audience etiquette with Bella Fortune and relish in an angry outburst as Hannah Sullivan explodes. Jo Hellier completes the bill with her flood inspired sound installation.

Dunkelbunt ; said to merge the diverse sounds of Europes “Wild East” with Bluegrass and Hillbilly from the American pioneers of the old “Wild West”. Sounds of the world mixed with electronic, modern club music and bass heavy beats - playing alongside Manushka, Mr Tea and the Minions this Sunday.

Also just announced Earl Sweatshirt will be gracing the Trinity stage this coming June, "with impeccable wordplay, dense rhythms and effortless melodies layered in humbling texture, it's crazy to think Earl Sweatshirt has just turned 21". Described as showing "grade-A lyricism in brilliantly dark fashion that you'd only associate with hip-hop's elite", this gig is not to be missed.

Dot to Dot 2015 have also announced further headline bands including Swim Deep, Best Coast and Fat White Family for their 10th anniversary festival - we're looking forward to finding out who will be performing here at Trinity.

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Grove - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Kahn ft. Rider Shafique - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

After The Fire - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Rita Lynch - Image Credit: Marley Small

Hip Hop Garden - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Solomon O.B - Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Irish Mellow + Cxption - Image Credit: Marley Small

Garden Party: Revolution Sounds was our second free-community event of the year where we said goodbye to the summer with a mix of live music, workshops, performances and an immersive exhibition: After The Fire.

As always we welcomed some of the best artists in Bristol and the South West all playing on The Den stage. From punk to experimental we had the likes of Rita Lynch, Talisman and Kahn. Kept a secret until they came on, headliner Grove closed out proceedings with an epic mosh pit.

"Inspirational people and artwork" Feedback, Garden Party: Revolution Sounds

In the Fyfe Hall, we hosted an immersive exhibition 'After the Fire', a thought-provoking odyssey through the sounds and sights of Bristol’s protest history in recent years. This exhibition allowed us to present a culmination of artwork made as part of the last two years of Art of Resistance - pieces created by participants including pottery and murals, alongside placards made as part of our Visions of Resistance including a mural made by Tanith Gould which was displayed outside People's Republic of Stokes Croft on Jamaica Street.

We also had a number of workshops running throughout the day, including Movema Dance Workshops and Button-Up Badge Making Workshop in the Main Hall, plus Hip-Hop Workshops in the Trinity Garden.

Big thanks once again to everyone that made this event possible - from the artists that performed, the exhibition curators, the workshop facilitators, the lighting and sound team working behind the scenes, the bar staff and Trinity Team, and of course all of you that came down on the day - over 1,200 of you came along, and we raised over £1,000 in donations so that we can put on more events like Garden Party for the local community.

If you'd like to stay in the loop with everything on at Trinity, head to our What's On page for all our upcoming events, or follow our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and sign up to our mailing list to stay updated.

Art of Resistance is a two-year, National Heritage Lottery Funded project charting 100 years of protest in Bristol.

Peaches, however, took that crown. She blew my socks off. And her own.

The costumes (Dancing vaginas - every show needs them. Who knew?) - or, at times, lack of them! - were eye popping.

The crowd were a sea of ecstatic faces, wowed by Peaches’ utter lack of inhibition which was, of course, infectious.

Strangers became dancing partners as we funked the night away; her growling, encompassing, electro punk sound and attitude forcing us all to let it all go. So we did.

This was a night to remember: one for the grand-kids; one for sweet dreams; a unifying spectacle of a night.

Thank you, Peaches, please keep f**king that pain away.

Would you like to write a review of a Trinity gig? Get in touch to find out more!

This week we have a mega weekend including Ausform Micro-fest (pictured above) featuring drag queen regulars from the London cabaret circuit, Maxi More and IMMA / MESS. Later the same night we open up for the DEEP Medi Weekender, two nights of sounds system culture and music curated in partnership with Teachings in Dub.

After that we come crashing in to December with a packed Friday night featuring Massive Owl Theatre's new show Castle Rock, a distortion of the film, Stand By Me and Bump's Christmas Special; expect all the usual fun just a few more crazy costumes and probably some pretty terrible/amazing festive tunes.

Saturday 5, The Fantasy Orchestra return this year bringing us their very special David Bowie Party, encouraging you to come dressed as your favourite Bowie personality and for those musically inclined they'll be starting the proceedings with a 'David Bowie Berlin period' open mic session!

There is also still time to bag yourself a ticket for an evening with Miriam Margolyes. All proceeds from this night will go to support our youth training programme so excellent entertainment and a good deed all rolled into one.

Later in the month we still have Netsky, Aadhunik, the return of Twinkle Brothers and the City Rockas Festive Link Up to come, presenting plenty of opportunities to get dressed up and strut your stuff before we reach the big NYE Party to end the year on.

Image credit: Nova twins

“Bringing the venue up to spec will not only benefit us as a venue, but the artists, technicians, and promoters who come into the space; increasing creative possibilities and audience experience."

Production Coordinator, Aysha Tailor - Whyte

Trinity are one of 13 venues to have been awarded funds from the Music Venue Trust’s Pipeline Investment Fund to purchase new equipment for our live music/club programme and our outdoor venue, The Den.

The £4134.69 investment from MVT, at time of rising energy costs and a cost-of-living crisis, will enable us to reduce production costs and increase capacity. The costs saved alongside additional revenue generated will help us to build upon our free/subsidised space hire for community groups and residents.

The grant will help towards the purchase of additional lighting fixtures and replace existing fixtures for our live-music spaces, The Den and the Main Hall. The grant will also allow us to purchase uniform for the team to make our staff easily identifiable for those in need of assistance during events.

The Pipeline Investment Fund was established last year with the support of members of the Music Venues Alliance and was primarily funded by donations from ticket sales of MVT’s recent ‘Revive Live’ programme of gigs around the UK, which was a partnership with The National Lottery.

Hot off the press we are happy to confirm that The Mark Lanegan Band will be here at Trinity this November, following a full European summer tour of his new album Gargoyle and his first ever Glastonbury appearance on the Park Stage last week.

Also announced this week, Moulettes set to visit Trinity in December. The Brighton based collective Moulettes, continue their journey into the alt.pop/rock/folk universe with the release of their most accomplished album to date - ‘Preternatural’ an eclectic but cohesive 11 track collection, which marries the mind-expanding concept with elements of prog, pop, alt-folk and rock.

Coming up in August, we have the honour of hosting Lambchop fronted by Kurt Wagner as part of his pre-festival tour. Already confirmed for Autumn we have The Black Angels, psychedelic rock band all the way from Austin, Texas (27 Sep). Local favourites Lamb, celebrating 20yrs since their eponymous debut LP - one of the "genuinely genre-bending dance albums of the mid-90s"(17 Oct).

Hurray for the Riff Raff, return to Bristol following a packed show at Colston Hall's Lantern in January, expect an irresistible blend of stories and sounds from a band that “reclaims folk’s protest roots and marries them to the sounds of the Caribbean” (23 Oct). Local artist  Gabrielle Aplin back at Trinity (24 Oct) following a sell out show in 2013.

Finally, in November, British folk artist Will Varley and one of country music’s most promising duos Dan and Shay will be gracing the stage. As will be the godfather of DnB; LTJ Bukem, joined on the night, by other legends of the scene & we don't use that term 'Legend' loosely! (10 Nov).

Oh, and while you are here.

We have a fresh and super new mailing list which means we can keep you updated on things you want to hear about at Trinity Centre.  For you musos out there this means you'll be the first to hear about upcoming gigs just by selecting live music in your preferences. All you need to do is sign up here.

We're super happy to be hosting the launch for this year's Mayfest festival...as well as three fantastic shows.

To celebrate their return (having taken the decision to become a biannual festival), Mayfest have invited "Ghanaian DJ and producer Katapila to kick off the festival with one of his marathon, euphoria-drenched DJ sets. Splicing the neo-traditional dance music styles of his youth in Accra with the up-tempo, bass-heavy, Roland 808 sounds of Detroit techno, Chicago acid and house, Katapila’s relentlessly joyful sets have become a thing of legend" in Trinity's Main Hall. Come on down (10 May) and expect killer selections adorned with splashes of digital synths, electronic percussion and vocal interjections that galvanise waves of full-blown euphoria wherever he plays.

So, for those who haven't been - what is Mayfest? Mayfest is Bristol’s unique international festival of contemporary theatre, "dedicated to presenting a broad range of unusual, playful and ambitious work from leading theatre makers from Bristol, the UK and beyond". They will be taking over theatre (and non theatre) spaces across the city bringing 10 days of back to back performances, workshops and talks from Thur 10th - to Sun 20th May.

This year we are excited to be hosting How (not) to live in Surburbia (14-15 May) a new show from Annie Siddons "a hilarious, brutal and poignant attempt" to describe what happened next when "in the middle of a shitstorm of life events, single mother, artist and proud Londoner Annie Siddons found herself living in suburbia by accident".

Meanwhile, Scottish Dance Theatre bring Velvet Petal (16-18 May) to Fyfe Hall where they present their latest show about"tough girls and pretty boys living life in the margins, dreaming about being at the centre". They explore "the transformative power of beauty, created out of whatever is on the bedroom floor" in this "truly compelling piece, exquisitely performed” (The Stage).

Finally it feels very fitting to be hosting acclaimed Australian artist Joseph O’Farrell (JOF) and Sam Halmarack who combine theatre with the fist-pumping euphoria and power ballads of a stadium gig, in WE ARE LIGHTNING! (15-18 May) "a darkly comical work that reflects on the importance of communal spaces where people can come together and express themselves".

For more info on the rest of their programming visit Mayfest's website here.

"The Castle Builder tells the true story of an inmate in a Norwegian psychiatric institute who over five years built a castle on a remote headland". Welcoming back Kid Carpet (who previously headlined the Trinity Garden Party back in 2010) and his collaborator Vic Llewellyn who "re-imagine these stories, telling them with live music, projection and heartfelt storytelling".

"Can I start Again Please investigates the power and failings of language – language that tells and hide truths – sparring across the heard and the unheard, the spoken and the unspoken.

The script is poetic and full of humour and is performed by Sue MacLaine and Nadia Nadarajah with a bright, coursing and relaxed reciprocity".

Both shows are taking place in the Trinity Centre's Fyfe Hall.

The wider programme includes some of Bristol's finest as well as national and international performers, including a few companies we have had the pleasure to work with over the last year such as Greg Wohead, (Come Back Special) Massive Owl (Castle Rock) and Still House's Of Rider and Running Horses. Plenty more great stuff in there - check the full programme here

The crowd was made up of a lot of serious fans of Lanegan and his various collaborations from Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age to his folkier-toned music with Isobel Campbell. This led to a warm welcome for another collaborator of Lanegan’s, Duke Garwood, who is supporting on this tour.

Gardwood, a talented multi-instrumentalist whose music is the British answer to Lanegan’s distinct brand of Americana. Launching into some newer material made for a slow but steady start to Lanegan’s set, with a mellow but appreciative audience but once he hit Nocturne and Bleeding Muddy Water, things started to pick up with some more animated reactions - slow head-banging, sincere fist-bumping and heartfelt sing-a-longs.

Starting off in his signature sunglasses, Lanegan removed this during the set to reveal his wise, lived-in face; There were times when the impact of his wilder early days was visible, from his limp around the stage and his supping of water - not whisky. That unmistakable baritone voice proved the focal point for most songs, with girlfriend Shelley Brien joining him mid set for a few dynamic numbers.

The chemistry between the pair emanated from the stage and she parted with a loving and lingering kiss for Mr Lanegan. By the time the encore ensued, Lanegan demonstrated his staying power and brilliance as a musician - nailing One Way Street, Bombed and I Am The Wolf.

Words: Laura Williams

Pics: Andy Marsh

Coming up, we are pleased to host The Global Playground Fundraiser on Thursday 24th March, who have secured The Carnyvillains. Zen Hussies & The Undercover Hippyalongside a great host of acts to get you dancing, raising awareness and money for Felix Road Adventure Playground in Easton and school projects in Dunkirk & Calais Refugee Camps. Join us beforehand for FREE pre-event: 'The Refugee Crisis: What Can We Do?' an evening of live music and talks about the refugee crisis at 6pm.

Spring is here and we have the next installment of Teachings In Dub, held on Friday 22nd April, with an exciting line up includingthe legendary Levi Roots, Stryda and Nick Manasseh. Set to be a very special night, join us in celebrating 20 years of Stryda's Sufferah's Choice Show.

Also, coming up is our very own annual Garden Party, Sunday 8^th May, proudly celebrating 40 years of music at The Trinity. We have secured, Rattle, The EvilUsses, Lionpulse and much more...check out our ever expanding line up as the day draws closer. We are still welcoming volunteers and ideasfor workshops, activities and stalls, so please get in contact if you'd like to contribute.

With summer not so far away, Mayfest 2016 has announced its program. The Trinity will behosting "The Castle Builder", welcoming back Kid Carpet from our 2010 Garden Party and his collaborator VicLlewellyn. Also being performed is "Can I start Again Please", a riveting and humorous investigation into the power and failings oflanguage. Plenty more great stuff in there - check the full programme here.

Check out our what's on pages for more info as there just isn't enough space to fit it allhere!

Would you like to join the team? We are currently recruiting for a Caretaker. Find out more info here.