Guide to live music in Bath
Whether you are living in Bath or merely visiting, it would be impossible to come to Bath without hearing some form of music or other. Be it a Jamaican steel band, complete with acrobats or a humble bloke-with-guitar singing yesterday, merely sampling the local shops will always end up in a rather scary encounter with some sort of street performer.
On top of this, there are many pubs and the odd club in the city that host live music. On the east side of the city (London Road area) we have the Hat and Feather and the Porter Butt, two pubs notorious for hosting live music. And just around the corner, on Walcot Street is The Bell, widely renowned for it's celebrity lookalikes and shifty looking blues ensembles.
Moving further towards town, the Porter Cellar Bar is always pumping out some decent stuff - live music nights are Tuesday and Thursday. And next door to it, the world famous Moles hosts live music of some sort or other almost every night of the week. Check out the massive plaque detailing "people that have played here" by the door if you don't believe me - Stereophonics, Blur, Oasis, JJ72... the list is pretty impressive.
If you fancy a climb, head up the hill out of town and visit Belvedere Wine Vaults, where anyone is encouraged to get up and have a go and The Farmhouse, which hosts jazz three nights a week. Like your jazz do you? The Green Park Brasserie (next to Sainsburys) hosts live jazz of a very high standard pretty much every night of the week.
There is also quite a lot live music-wise going on at the two universities. The University of Bath hosts regular lunchtime acoustic sessions and open mic (where anyone can have a go) every Tuesday evening, as well as entertaining a number of bands during the academic year. It also has an annual battle of the bands competition which starts in early February. Bath Spa University College has also been known to put the odd band on the bill.
Bath quite literally has festivals coming out of its ears. It hosts the International Music Festival and Fringe Festival within a month of one another. As well as a Jazz Festival and the International Guitar Festival during the summer months, the latter of which runs courses where you can improve your playing, no matter what level you are at. And, of course, last but not least the world famous Glastonbury festival (last weekend of June), which is no more than a stone's throw away.
Related pages
itchybath.co.uk
Online guide to what's happening in Bath.
