Creative Communities in 2025
What a fantastic year it’s been for Creative Communities! We’ve had so many memorable moments that it’s hard to pick, but here’s a selection of some of our favourite highlights.
Dry Jan Club Night
We kicked off January with a Dry Jan Club Night at The Jam Jar, featuring Milly On Air, Tony Montana, and Safiye. It was a sell out and a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came and to The Jam Jar for joining the growing number of venues that are supporting sober events.
Therapeutic Writing with Sukina Noor
In February, we launched our new Therapeutic Writing Group with the wonderful Bristol City Poet, Sukina Noor. The group provided a supportive space where participants explored different themes to inspire their writing. Members went on to share their pieces at our end of term shows and open mic nights.
Bristol Sober Queers
In March, Bristol Sober Spaces teamed up with Bristol Sober Queers to host our first Sober Queer Night at Loco Klub. We had live music from Gen and the Degenerates and Gorz, and a DJ set from Slaggamuffin – all held together by the wonderful Gender Criminal. It was the beginning of a new relationship with Loco Klub and Sober Queers and has helped us reach more sober communities across Bristol. And we’re doing it again in March 2026! Tickets on sale very soon.
Partnering with Trinity
In April, we launched a brand new partnership with Trinity, as part of their vision of Creative Expression for All. This collaboration brought together shared values of inclusion, diversity, and the transformative power of the arts. Since then, Bristol Recovery Orchestra has moved to Trinity, we’ve held a hip hop night and a day rave with Roni Size there, and launched a new music group together (Trinity Move On Music).
Sober Metal Night
In May, we hosted Bristol’s first ever Sober Metal Night at Rough Trade. Mallavora, Arimea and and Juju absolutely smashed their sets, packing out the venue, and again proving you don’t need alcohol to experience an amazing gig. We were especially inspired by Mallavora’s commitment to accessibility, which is something we’re excited to incorporate into all our future events.
Switching up Sober Open Mic
In Spring, we decided to reimagine Bristol Sober Spaces Open Mic to make it more accessible across the city. We began rotating our open mics monthly across three amazing venues: Boston Tea Party on Whiteladies Road (north Bristol), The Arc (central), and Zion Cafe (south Bristol). Our open mics are now held on the last Thursday of each month, and we’re really pleased to be partnered with venues that share our vision of inclusive events!
The Creative Communities Summer Showcase
In July, we held our sold out Creative Communities Summer Showcase in The Lantern at Bristol Beacon. The evening featured moving acappella pieces, orchestral arrangements of iconic songs ranging from Rage Against the Machine to a reggae medley, and powerful spoken word. The showcase celebrated the talents and journeys of our members through performances from Rising Voices Choir, Bristol Recovery Orchestra, Trinity Music Group, and Lyrically Lifted poets who had been published in a Lapidus book – Flight. The e book is available to buy from the Lapidus website https://lapidus.org.uk/plumb-lines/. The orchestra were joined as always by our friends from Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra which always helps us to elevate our performance to new heights.
Sober Day Rave
In August, Bristol Sober Spaces held their first ever Sober Day Rave in partnership with Trinity, featuring legendary headliners Roni Size and Nicky Blackmarket, plus Josephine Gyasi, Milly on Air, MISNEACH, Steven Stone, and Discobobulator. We took over Trinity’s outdoor space for the main rave, with a low stimulation chill out area inside for those wanting a slower pace. The event received our best ever media coverage, with features on BBC Breakfast and BBC Points West, along with glowing reviews from Ujima Radio and Bristol 24/7.
New website and branding
In November, we launched our new branding and website, designed by the brilliant AD Styles and Jay Burt. Over the years, our steering group and members contributed logo ideas and developed values that represented us, and then AD and Jay captured those ideas and presented them in a colourful, fun, and creative way that showcased who we are. Our new website is amazing and we’re so pleased to have one place where people can find out about joining, our events, explore photos and videos from our shows, read our latest news blogs, and more.
A day with Jess Gillam
November was a busy month for the orchestra, as we linked up with star saxophonist Jess Gillam and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for an incredible day of music and connection at Bristol Beacon. The creative workshop was led by our first conductor, Jon James, so it was lovely to work with him again. The day culminated with front row seats to the main concert in Beacon Hall, where we spotted many of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra players we’d worked with throughout the year. We’re so grateful to Jess Gillam, Jon James, Bristol Beacon, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for making this unforgettable experience happen.
Honeyfeet
We also linked up the orchestra’s wind and brass section with the mighty Honeyfeet on stage at Trinity. It still feels like a dream! Despite Trinity being the orchestra’s rehearsal home, performing there with a big band felt so special, and we loved being part of their epic sound. Thank you to everyone in the band for having us – it’s an experience we’ll never forget!
The Creative Communities Winter Show
In December, we rounded off the year with a two Winter Shows – one at Trinity and one at The Unitarian. We showcased the creativity, community, and performance skills of Rising Voices, our beginner music groups, Sukina Noor’s poetry group, and Bristol Recovery Orchestra. Audiences enjoyed waltzing melodies from Shostakovich, New York jazz from William Parker, warming winter songs, a Southern hymn supported by full brass and poetry. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined us — whether you attended, performed, facilitated, or volunteered, you helped make the event so special.
