Following the huge success of The Gruffalo and the The Gruffalo’s Child at Bristol Beacon last Christmas, they make a welcome return this December. Rather like Peter and the Wolf, each character in the tale is represented by a different instrument of the orchestra – can you guess what the Gruffalo will be?

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The Snowman

Bristol Beacon

Festive orchestral music and beautiful carols sung by the choir are interspersed with uplifting traditional Christmas carols for audience members to sing, directed by David Ogden and Roger Huckle.

Festive Fiesta

St George's Bristol

The Military Wives join the Bristol Ensemble for an uplifting programme of Christmas classics that will get you singing and clapping along. A perfect way to get into the Christmas mood.

Christmas Special by Candlelight

Bristol Ensemble bring their wholesome, interactive, and family-friendly Children’s Christmas Carnival to St George’s! Hosted by West End singer and actor Kat Kleve, the concert offers a fun introduction to all the instruments in the orchestra, showcasing their magic through a performance of Howard Blake’s The Snowman, narrated by renowned actor and radio voice John Telfer (The Archers), and conducted by Roger Huckle.

Children's Christmas Carnival

Soloists are drawn from the young choir, singing from different places around the auditorium, bringing freshness and vitality to the work’s virtuosic and lyrical arias.

Handel's Messiah by Candlelight

Varna International Ballet return for 2025 with their production of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Set to Prokofiev's stunning score, expect an exhilarating visit to Verona of old, where a pair of young lovers are caught in the crossfire of their family's age old vendetta against each other. Passionate and full of the joy and heartbreak of first love, don't miss the beloved tale as it comes to stages across the UK!

Romeo and Juliet

Bristol Hippodrome

As part of their 2025 UK season, Varna International Ballet is bringing back their wonderful imagining of The Nutcracker, offering a little bit of Christmas spirit in a sparkling and classic production that'll delight, even after the big day itself! Expect glittering sets, costumes and traditional ballet, wrapped up in Tchaikovsky's unforgettable score.

Nutcracker

Witness one of the most magnificent ballets of all time presented by Bulgaria's prestigious Varna International Ballet who return to the UK by popular demand in 2025! Set to Tchaikovsky's lush score, Swan Lake's story of supernatural romance never fails to delight, with unforgettable choreography, glittering costumes and breathtaking drama.

Swan Lake

Expect to hear all your favourite emo classics from a full live band playing My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Yellowcard, Good Charlotte, Panic! At The Disco and so many more.

Thanks For The Memories

O2 Academy Bristol

Selling more records and receiving more awards than any other female singer of the 20th century, Whitney Houston and her set of powerhouse vocal pipes redefined the phrase pop diva. Celebrating her incredible musical legacy, Whitney - Queen of the Night brings the songstress' most memorable tunes to the stage in one of the greatest tribute productions to ever hit the West End.

Whitney - Queen of the Night

If you've been waiting for a musical that features the hits of Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and The Weeknd, then your day is finally here! & Juliet is a musical about the untold story of everyone's favourite Shakespearean heroine and is now set to tour the country in Summer 2024 into 2025 after a successful run on the West End stage!

& Juliet

Despite some initial criticism that it was unplayable, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto lost little time in establishing itself as a concert favourite. One of the more demanding works for the violin virtuoso, it is more remarkable still for its unwavering melodic inspiration and passionate expression of human feeling. Tchaikovsky speaks to us from the heart, using the voice of the solo violin as his medium.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Thile is a founding member of the highly influential bluegrass string bands Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, while his collaborators range from Jacob Collier and Brad Mehldau to Yo-Yo Ma. The delicate intricacy of his playing gives the listener “one joyous arc, with the linear melody and vertical harmony blurring into a single web of gossamer beauty.” (New York Times)

Chris Thile & Special Guest with Britten Sinfonia

2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The Empire’s influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and its gravitational influence upon the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries to nearly 1 in 3 driving on the left side of the road, and even shaping the origins of international law. Yet Britain’s idea of its imperial history and the world’s experience of it are two very different things.

Sathnam travelled the globe tracing the Empire’s international legacies – from Barbados and Mauritius to India and Nigeria and beyond. In this event, he’ll show us just how deeply British imperialism is baked into our world. And why it’s time Britain was finally honest with itself about Empire.

Sathnam Sanghera

This competition, organised by local Rotary Clubs, is open to both instrumentalists and singers aged 13-18 of at least Grade 7 standard. The six finalists will have been selected at competition heats in November 2024. Each performer will present a 15-minute programme of predominantly classical music.

The Rotary Young Musician Competition

For over 30 years, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been the quintessential American Blues band.  The group’s distinctive and powerful sound manifested itself into a unique musical hybrid via such barnburners as Tuff Enuff and Wrap It Up. Co-founder Kim Wilson, the sole original member, still spearheads the group.

Muddy Waters called Kim Wilson his favorite harmonica player and vocalist. “Muddy Waters was very good to me,” Wilson says. “He almost adopted me. I’ll never forget him.”

Kim Wilson was influenced by Little Walter, George “Harmonica” Smith, Lazy Lester and James Cotton, Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rodgers, and Muddy Waters. Jimmie Vaughan & Kim Wilson founded the Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1974.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Her last album, ‘A Dark Murmuration of Words’ is lyrically probing, by turns both dark and optimistic, Barker searches for meaning through the deafening clamour of fake news and algorithmically filtered conversation, delivering an exploration of the grand themes of our age.

Emily Barker

After quite a few years since we bid farewell to Del Boy, Rodney and the gang from Peckham, the disaster-prone, fortune hunters are back, but this time in a hilarious musical! Based on the hit TV show enjoy your favourite characters like never before in this unique and hilarious event.

Only Fools And Horses - The Musical

B O D I E S concerts are touching, adventurous and above all transcendent. Featuring eight exceptional voices and no instruments, the band delivers a performance about what it means to be made of matter. Musically spanning indie and neo-classical with a strong ear for melody, it’s no exaggeration to state they have a sound all their own.

B O D I E S

Kolesnikov is one of the finest, and most imaginative, pianists of his generation. In 2012 he became a sensation at the Honens International Piano Competition when he took home the world’s largest piano prize. He is celebrated for his thought-provoking programming which offers the listener a fresh, often unexpected perspective on familiar pieces.

Events in Bristol

The Snowman

Bristol Beacon

Festive Fiesta

St George’s Bristol

Christmas Special by Cand...

St George’s Bristol

Children's Christmas Carn...

St George’s Bristol

Handel's Messiah by Candl...

St George’s Bristol

Romeo and Juliet

Bristol Hippodrome

Nutcracker

Bristol Hippodrome

Swan Lake

Bristol Hippodrome

Thanks For The Memories

O2 Academy Bristol

Whitney - Queen of the Ni...

Bristol Hippodrome

& Juliet

Bristol Hippodrome

Bournemouth Symphony Orch...

Bristol Beacon

Chris Thile & Special Gue...

Bristol Beacon

Sathnam Sanghera

St George’s Bristol

The Rotary Young Musician...

Bristol Beacon

The Fabulous Thunderbirds...

St George’s Bristol

Emily Barker

Bristol Beacon

Only Fools And Horses - T...

Bristol Hippodrome

B O D I E S

Bristol Beacon

Pavel Kolesnikov

St George’s Bristol