Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

On Sunday 14 May 2023, we opened our gates for Trinity Garden Party - our annual, free, community event which featured a mix of live music, arts, workshops and performances.

The Den, our outdoor stage, played host to an extraordinary lineup of talented artists from Bristol and the South West. A diverse range of genres provided the soundtrack for the day; from the soulful jazz melodies of Laimu to the captivating Ghanaian percussion of Ben Baddoo, and the infectious Nigerian rap stylings of Magugu. We finished proceedings with an energetic performance from our headliners, legendary Ruffneck Ting junglist duo Dazee and Jakes, who have a shared history with Trinity spanning almost 30 years.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Fyfe Hall buzzed with energy as local poets, comedians, and spoken word artists took centre stage. Familiar faces graced us with their presence, and we welcomed fresh, local talent into the mix.

In total, we had performances from 13 artists on the day bringing their talents to the Trinity Centre, captivating the audience from start to finish.

Workshops also took place throughout the day, offering a range of new experiences for the local community to get involved with. Movema, our partners, ignited the Main Hall with a captivating Dance Workshop. The always-popular DMAC Drumming and Storytelling workshop was a hit on the day with a fun and exciting drum circle, while crafts workshops and engaging garden activities delighted the children, as well as a Recycle City workshop which was developed with the local community through the Fun Palaces programme.

We wanted to say a massive thank you to all who made Garden Party this year such a success; from the talented artists, workshop facilitators, stall-holders, local food vendors, the dedicated sound and lighting team behind the scenes, our hardworking bar staff, the entire Team Trinity, and, of course, all of you who joined us on the day. The event saw an incredible turnout, with over 2,200 attendees, and the generosity of your donations exceeded £3000, allowing us to organise more community events like Garden Party.

To stay in the loop with all things Trinity, visit our What's On page for upcoming events. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and sign up for our mailing list to stay up-to-date.

Trinity offers young people aged 16 - 25 the opportunity to take part in drop in music-making sessions, 1-2-1 or small group music sessions in our studios. Through the Music Masterclass series, we connect young people with touring artists who are part of the live-music and club programme at Trinity, as well as industry professionals. The programme is designed to offer young people the chance to develop their skills and experience so they have the opportunity to be part of the cultural workforce of the future.

We caught up with Tyreke, a former participant in Trinity's young people programme, who shares his story of how access to music provision can changed his life for the better.

From a small kid popping into Trinity's doors, Tyreke slowly but surely worked his way up to become a TA and Learning Assistant, all while honing his skills in the creative field. It's amazing to see how Trinity's resources gave him the opportunity to pursue music and to develop his confidence as a musician.

“Trinity really helped me break through and feel a lot more confident in myself as a musician. Having the opportunity to share work that you’ve produced with other people has been a massive boost to my confidence”

One of the biggest benefits of using Trinity's music provision that Tyreke talks about is the technical skills he learned while using music software like Logic. These skills helped him to produce better music and take his work to a new level, all while being guided by Trinity's skilled tutors. Not only that, but he was able to take part in sessions where professionals in the music industry came in and gave him and other young people advice on how to improve their work. Having someone break everything down for him in these sessions was really valuable, as it helped Tyreke to focus on the things he needed to improve.

Another key aspect of Trinity's music provision that Tyreke benefited from was the opportunity to share his work with other people. This was undoubtedly a massive boost to his confidence, as Tyreke talks about become more comfortable giving live demonstrations and encouraging others young people to get involved in music production. It's clear that Trinity helped him to break through and feel more confident in himself as a musician.

Ultimately, Tyreke's experience shows us just how valuable access to music provision can be for young people. Trinity gave him the chance to develop a passion for music, hone his skills, and even pursue freelance work in the creative field. It's inspiring to see how Tyreke's story has come full circle, as he now works to help other young people get involved in music production and to find work in the creative industries by working for organisations like Babassa and South Bristol Youth.

In partnership with St Paul’s Carnival/Trinity and Citizens In Power, we are exploring how to co-create a cultural strategy for the West of England region with citizens.

During this research phase, funded by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), we invited a range of collaborators from the sector who place participation at the heart of their practice to hear from some of the best speakers working in democratic decision making right now.

Part 5: Deliberative Workshops

In January and February 2023 we organised three deliberative workshops with the aim of devising a long-term, citizen-led process that will shape a cultural plan for the area.

In our first session, we heard from Sarah James, the Creative and Cultural Programme Lead at West of England Combined Authority. She spoke about the Combined Authority’s Cultural Compact – a group consisting of representatives from four Unitary Authorities (Bath and North-East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire) that aims to focus and amplify the role of culture in the region as a driver for economic success, placemaking, community cohesion and personal wellbeing. Sarah talked us through the evolving Cultural Plan for the region and how this connects with other active cultural conversations in the area.

The group then briefly discussed the application process for previous rounds of the government’s City Of Culture competition, from the initial expression of interest through to the judges’ panel visit and interviews. It was agreed that it would be up to the Citizens’ Assembly for Culture as to whether an application for future competitions would be relevant or not.

The group then moved on to discuss the idea of Deliberation – a key methodology used in Citizens’ Assemblies. We heard from Professor Alan Renwick (Deputy Director at UCL’s Constitution Unit) who described the key components which lead to deliberative and consensus decision-making and how this differs from a more conventional debating approach.

Following this first session, we felt that it would be good to bring some of the principles Alan Renwick discussed to life with a couple of stories from inside a Citizen’s Assembly. Therefore, to start our second deliberative workshop, Executive Director of St Pauls Carnival and regular Citizens’ Assembly facilitator LaToyah McAllister-Jones shared some stories that helped immerse us back into the world of assemblies, understand more about their conduct, and remind us that there is expertise around these kinds of participatory processes in our teams and region for us to draw on.

Following this, we spent some time delving more deeply into the way Citizens’ Assemblies are organised and delivered. Sarah Allan, one of the UK’s leading experts in Citizens’ Assemblies, who is Director of Capacity Building and Standards at Involve, joined us to explore the way assemlies are designed along with some of the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the assembly model. She delved into the governance of Citizens’ Assemblies, and how the different stages of assemblies work. After considering the core components of a Citizens’ Assembly, we deliberated together to create a list of other exercises or approaches that we thought could add value to the assembly model.

In the final session, we came together to explore our ideas for a citizen-led process for the west of England region. We set out to create a long-term and affordable and citizen-led process that could create a Cultural Plan for the region. Our main questions and themes were: How can the process itself be creative & cultural? How can the process be inclusive and diverse at every stage? Who are the stakeholders in the process and how can we bring them on the journey? Could the assembly have a federal structure with sub-groups to reflect the different areas across the region? Based on the experience and discussions from all three of the deliberative workshops, we outlined a process as a basic prototype, to be tested with citizens and the wider sector in autumn 2023.

Find out more about the project

Movema Easter workshop at Trinity. Photo credit Alastair Brooks

Due to high demand, applications are now closed

Trinity Community Arts are offering free supermarket vouchers worth up to £150 to help with the cost of living.

The vouchers are available to anyone aged 18 and over who meets one or more of the following criteria

• lives within a 0.5 mile radius of the centre
• takes part in regular community activity at the centre, including Gentle Dance, ROTN and Hype Dance
• takes part in youth activity at the centre, including Next Gen, Stay and Play and after school clubs
• is a parent/carer of a child in local schools including Hannah More, Easton CE Academy, St Nicholas of Tolentine Primary School, Evergreen Primary school and Central Bristol Children's Centre

The voucher scheme will run in May and June 2023 and is supported by The Society of Merchant Venturers,

Credit: Ice Road by Raucous - Photographer Jack Offord

Trinity have submitted a bid to Bristol City Council to take on Jacobs Wells Baths as part of a Community Asset Transfer.

Jacobs Wells Baths, a Grade II listed building, opened as a public swimming pool in 1889. In the 1980's following the closure of the pool facilities the site was re-purposed as a community dance centre - which closed its door in 2015. Following this in Dec 2022, due to rising costs, Fusion Leisure Centre announced that it could no longer commit to re-opening the building as a public pool and a public campaign was launched, driven by local residents, to safeguard the future of the building.

Trinity have been working closely with stakeholders to develop a cohesive plan to take on the management of the building and deliver a programme of repairs in order to re-open Jacobs Wells Baths as a community space. Alongside this we have created a detailed business plan that outlines our vision for the space to be economically viable. You can read these documents here and here.

We remain committed to working with Bristol City Council, Councillors, partners and stakeholder groups to develop and deliver a realisable repair and renovation scheme that is both in keeping with the venue’s dance heritage and also responds to consultation and the desperate need for community and youth provision within the locality. This includes hosting events, attending meetings and other activities to gather feedback from the many voices invested in the future of the site. If you would like to keep up-to-date about our plans, sign up to our mailing list here.

Activism through the lens workshop, photo Khali Ackford

The "Art of Resistance" project, made possible with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, documented and celebrated the human stories behind activist movements in Bristol. The project focused on the rich histories of five key activist movements from the last 100yrs: Women’s Equality, Workers Rights, Anti-Racism & Anti-Fascism, Counterculture & Reclaim the Environment. Through collecting oral histories and retaining mixed art forms (e.g. poetry, textiles, banners, music, photography) from protest movements we celebrated the rich heritage of Bristol, and its citizens, as a 'city of protest' to educate, inspire and retain this rich history for ours and future generations.

"What I noticed was by taking part in this project, people discovered that there are so many people battling injustices and fighting against social injustices and yet so often don’t see themselves as an activist." Miranda Rae, Facilitator 'Stories of Resistance'

The project, led by historian and writer Dr Edson Burton, programmed an array of activities, including interviews, workshops, performances, film screenings, and exhibitions - engaging over 3226 audience members across 45 events and activities.

As part of the project we created opportunities that enabled first-step engagement with heritage – providing space for people to explore their heritage and learn new skills in research 83 volunteers took part in 69 hours of training delivered by 11 professionals.

Events included 'The Final Frontier', a creative conference of artists and activists and commentators, we welcomed Soundsystem pioneers DJ Stryda, Lioness, Big D and Vibronics for a 'Desert Island Discs' style event in our outdoor venue. We curated three exhibitions' exploring protest through various artforms. 'Snapshots of Resistance' (online & in person) showcased a selection of photographs documenting women protestors & pioneering artists.

We preserved local testimonies of activism across generations through 'I Remember When'. During these sessions we collected memories and artefacts that contributed to our end of project exhibition, book publication and online archive. Participants included Laura Corballis, Deasy Bamford, Gill Haugh, Ros Beauhill, Lilieth Morrison and Colin Moody.

Oral histories collected as part of the project have been captured in the table book ‘Art & Activism Vol 1: A Portrait. Alongside this bringing the project to life, people can explore the stories further via our interactive Heritage Archive, where you can listen to oral testimonies, watch videos and explore photos and other items gathered during two years of the Art of Resistance project.

To find out more about the project read the Art of Resistance report here.

Teachings In Dub has been a Trinity mainstay since 2008. As arguably Bristol's most famous dub night, Teachings is a core part of Trinity's club programme, continuing our heritage of dub and soundystem focused events. Teachings has hosted some of the most influential figures in dub, including Jah Shaka, Aba Shanti-I, Channel One and many more. As Teachings in Dub prepare to return to Trinity on 05 May with Indica Sounds and King Original, we spoke to Teachings co-founder and one half of legendary dub outfit Dubkasm, DJ Stryda, about how Teachings started, their influence on the Bristol music scene, and big plans for the future.

How did Teachings in Dub start?

In 2007 we launched as the downstairs room of a two floored club (now bulldozed) called Clockwork on Stokes Croft. Dubstep legend Pinch ran his infamous event Subloaded in the upstairs room while we did Teachings in Dub downstairs. These events have gone down in history and are remembered by many as some of their most influential events of that time.

"We aim to give elders a space to enjoy the music and vibes they grew up on as well as a window for newcomers to enter a music scene they may have otherwise not even known existed” - Stryda, Teachings in Dub co-founder

When did Teachings move to Trinity Centre?

In 2008 Clockwork announced it was closing, Pinch and I looked into another two roomed venue but none seemed to exist that fitted the vibe so TID and Subloaded went their separate ways with TID moving to Trinity where we've remained ever since.

How do you think Teachings has maintained such a high level of popularity over 15 years?

I'm one half of the duo Dubkasm and have travelled the globe pushing Roots and Dub, in turn this has kept me in tune with what's going on in the scene and helped establish firm relationships in dub which all leads back to TID and the type of cutting edge lineups we offer.

What do you think Teachings in Dub offers to the Bristol music scene?

A space to come and experience the real deal in Reggae soundsystem. We pride ourselves on keeping the tradition alive and not only have two different sounds meeting in the arena but we also offer ital Caribbean food, Arts and Craft plus Record stalls for the full cultural experience.

What's next for Teachings in Dub? Any big plans for 2023?

We have some huge sound meetings scheduled this year, each one is going to be special including later in the year teaming up and celebrating 25 years of Leeds' renowned dub event SubDub.

Teachings in Dub returns to Trinity on 05 May with Indica Sounds and King Original, click here to get your tickets.

Image Credit: Alastair Brookes

Our Next-Gen Sounds program has wrapped up its first term on a high note. The weekly open access music session for young people has provided a supportive platform for budding musicians to hone their craft and showcase their talent. This term culminated in an impressive performance that highlighted the remarkable progress made by the young musicians.

"Though anxious in the beginning, I feel, after settling, that Next-Gen has become a star part of my weekly routine." - Next-Gen Sounds Participant

The end-of-term performance showcased the progress and achievements of the young musicians. In total, 17 young people engaged with Next-Gen Sounds over the term. During the showcase, the audience was impressed by the quality of the music and the energy and passion of the performers. It was clear that the young musicians had grown in confidence and skill, a testament to the program's effectiveness.

Next-Gen Sounds has proven to be a valuable resource for young musicians seeking a safe and inclusive space to express themselves, develop their skills, and meet other like-minded musicians. With 50% of regular participants being first timers at Trinity, the program has successfully attracted a diverse range of young musicians who may not have otherwise engaged with Trinity’s programme. Participants have expressed their appreciation for the programme, with one stating "I wanted to come back! It’s easy, no judgement, no pressure, it’s fun."

The success of Next-Gen Sounds reflects Trinity’s wider commitment to providing accessible opportunities for young people to engage with the arts. The programme has proven to be an invaluable resource for young musicians seeking a supportive environment to hone their craft. Trinity looks forward to continuing to support the musical aspirations of young people through this exciting programme.

Next-Gen Sounds continues every Thursday - click here to find out how you can get involved.

x-church in Gainsborough

As the push continues to #SaveJWB, we look back to Trinity's 2018 Heart & Soul project and our series of talks where both national and international speakers shared their knowledge and experience on the positives and pitfalls of re-imaging historic buildings. In this blog we invited Marcus Hammond, curator of x-church - a community space in Gainsborough, like no other - to come and share its story...

Over a million bricks hold together the love and forward-thinking acceptance of x-church. Marcus Hammond

Marcus Hammond bought a church building in 2006 and the night before he received the keys, the window got bricked. Therefore the first few days of his ownership were spent fixing the windows, and during this time he left the doors open. Children and young people walked right in and started playing in the space. This has lasted 12 years so far. ‘Now’, he said, ‘the building is almost incidental’.

It was interesting to learn that in the same way as the children wandering in, a lot of x-church’s journey happened almost accidentally: the building was described by someone as built in a slum-gothic way, and as well as enjoying the playful amalgamation of two words, Hammond and what was becoming a small team of volunteers decided it would be the name of a youth project.

x-church is host to many successful visual art installations

Physically building a place is hard but assembling the people is harder

They created a small dome structure for Slumgothic within the huge church space in which young people’s music and band practice can be contained. Immediately Hammond was building relationships with young people with total acceptance of who they are as individuals. Over time these relationships led to so much mutual respect that Marcus handed out keys to the front door. This helped with practical things such as not having to be there to unlock, but also gives the young people a sense of ownership of the building. With a mixture of surprise and pride, Hammond said, ‘So far, nothing bad has happened.’

The bare-brick architecture has become x-church’s strength and therefore not much has been added to make it more than a vast empty space. Marcus’s view is that physically building a place is hard but assembling the people is harder. For example, Mukhat Dar is open about his poignant story of how not all arts spaces end up in success as he reflects on The Drum Arts Centre (The Life & Death of an Arts Centre).

The x-church team like it when someone comes in and has a grand plan for an exhibition, show or event to hold there, and x-church is welcoming to almost all ideas. In a community like Gainsborough there is not an active interest in art or culture but x- church’s practice of ‘inconveniencing people with art’ proves that if you take it to the people they will engage.

From blocking out all the windows with card in order to turn x-church into a camera obscura to holding 24 hours of drumming for Syria, lots of events and exhibitions have taken place at x-church, some instigated by the young people and some by external artists. ‘Increasingly at x-church', according to Marcus, 'people don’t have a fear of making a fool of themselves.’ I agree wholeheartedly that there is a lot to be said for creating a space in which young people can take risks. In a time when young people are called upon to be available at all times via phones, it is increasingly important to allow freedom in other parts of their lives to benefit their wellbeing and independence.

Through loads of conversations and shared experiences, the lives of individuals and the Slumgothic community has been immeasurably touched. From what I heard at the talk, x-church is an inspiring example of what could be happening to benefit young people all over the world. Over a million bricks hold together the love and forward-thinking acceptance of x-church, but Marcus is not precious about what happens to the physical building, instead it is the people that matter. 'If the building collapsed we could just relocate somewhere else. Even to a field.'

This write up was by Tess Sieling, who was the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. The talk was part of a series exploring the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and was programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).

How to get involved

Click here to sign the Hotwells and Cliftonwood petition to Save Jacobs Wells Baths

Further reading

Read more from our Heart & Soul talk series - Father Paul, Fidel Meraz and Dr Katie McClymont

Read more about the Save Jacobs Wells Campaign here.

Image Credit: Sophia Stefelle

Trinity collaborated with the local community organisation Somali Kitchen and creative collective YESIDub to programme a series of free-to-access family cooking sessions for local families. The sessions aimed to create a space for connections by exploring Somali culture through food and play.

“I like going to school and coming here afterwards, playing with my mum and cooking”

Taking place over six sessions at Trinity, the team at Somali Kitchen led workshops in cooking traditional Somali food, including ‘Soor’, a dish that is accompanied by a tasty vegetable sauce. Children also had opportunities to get involved with their parents and they learned how to prepare and cook fresh vegetables. Alongside this, YESIDub facilitated the ‘arts corner’, a space for children and parent/carers to take part in craft, games and play activities. Trinity’s Community Producer was on hand throughout to help support the sessions.

The project was a great success, welcoming 11 children alongside their parents/carers. All the families told us that they really enjoyed taking part in cooking and facilitated play. They also shared how they have learned how to cook new dishes including vegetable curry and pancakes. Children shared that they really enjoyed experiencing new things such as chopping the ingredients and sharing their cooking with the group.

The sessions are delivered as part of the wider-inactive Eastside People and Places that is connecting people, reducing loneliness and isolation and helping people feel included and welcome through community-based activity.

Father Paul moved to Bristol in his 20's and is well loved in St Pauls @Khali Ackford

Before Father Paul’s talk I did not know much about him and his life in Bristol, but afterwards it was clear that he is regarded as family by the community in which he serves.

As the push continues to #SaveJWB, we look back to Trinity's 2018 Heart & Soul project and our series of talks where both national and international speakers shared their knowledge and experience on the positives and pitfalls of re-imaging historic buildings. In this blog we reflect on Father Paul's talk the re-purposing of churches as community spaces.

On the evening of Tuesday 29th May 2018, we were very grateful to Father Paul who stepped in to cover the planned speaker who was unfortunately unwell. He appeared an unconventional priest, wearing camouflage combat trousers and a shirt, very much living up to the talk title ‘Rebel Conformist’.

Before Father Paul’s talk I did not know much about him and his life in Bristol, but afterwards it was clear that he is regarded as family by the community in which he serves. He has touched the lives of a lot of people in Bristol, particularly the St Paul’s area where he has lived and worked most of his life.

Father Paul talked about the need for the church to respond to contemporary issues @Khali Ackford

Father Paul wants to be able to conduct these ceremonies and to celebrate love without judgement. He told many anecdotes about individuals from the community where he has worked, mostly to show that, "where there is life, there is hope".

Heart & Soul project coordinator, Dr Edson Burton, gave a warm introduction to Father Paul. Several audience members as well as Dr Burton clearly hold him in great affection, indicative of the widespread impact Father Paul has had over the years. In a childhood anecdote, Father Paul remembers growing up in Pontypridd, Wales, wishing he had a brother to play with as he only had one sister. Not until his twenties when he had moved to Bristol and settled in St Paul’s did he realise he was lucky enough to be surrounded by many many brothers and sisters now.

Father Paul started by talking about gay marriage, and the fact that in Wales and Scotland you can have a gay marriage in church, supported by the Church. However in England although you can have a civil partnership or gay marriage, you still cannot conduct these ceremonies as a vicar in a church. It saddens him that there is nothing in the wedding hymn book dedicated to LGBTQ marriage. Father Paul wants to be able to conduct these ceremonies and to celebrate love without judgement. He told many anecdotes about individuals from the community where he has worked, mostly to show that, "where there is life, there is hope".

On many occasions people have gone to Father Paul for help and he has been a huge support throughout the community. These pillars of the community that have not faded despite the move towards communities being started or maintained by technological means.

A lot of people fear that the sense of community relying on face to face contact is being lost due to societal changes- we all spend more time looking at screens. However, Father Paul is an example that where there are people living together in an area, there will always be community leaders and supporters, no matter the advances in technology. It is our human nature.

Many local residents attended Father Paul's talk @Khali Ackford

He says; "Things fit together in ways I don’t always understand but don’t object to." I enjoyed Father Paul’s talk because it shed light on the positive influence one person can have in a community. Tess Sieling, project intern

After Father Paul’s talk, he invited a friendly discussion within the group. We moved on to explore what is the role of the Church now? Is it to serve the spirit or to serve the law? There seems to be an openness particularly in Bristol and other large UK cities that is calling for the Church to serve the spirit. In contemporary society, issues that need addressing and the nature of human struggles have been changing, so there is a need for the Church to serve them in an equally contemporary way.

Perhaps a testament to Father Paul’s openness is the fact that at one stage, he was visiting a convicted murderer in prison in Cardiff while also planning the victim’s funeral in Bristol. He says; "Things fit together in ways I don’t always understand but don’t object to." I enjoyed Father Paul’s talk because it shed light on the positive influence one person can have in a community.

This write up was by Tess Sieling, who was the project intern on the Heart & Soul heritage project. The talk was part of a series exploring the challenges and achievements of transforming and preserving historic buildings and was programmed in collaboration with Bristol's Architecture Centre and the University of West England (UWE).

How to get involved

Click here to sign the Hotwells and Cliftonwood petition to Save Jacobs Wells Baths

Further reading

Read more from our Heart & Soul talk series - Dr Katie McClymont, Fidel Meraz and A Million Bricks of Love.

Read more about the Save Jacobs Wells Campaign here.

We apologise to audiences of the Mikey Spice gig that was scheduled to take place Monday 10th April 2023 at Trinity Centre. We understand ticket holders are disappointed and frustrated that the headline act did not perform. We were equally disappointed given that we have a proud history of hosting Reggae artists.

This event was booked at the venue by a third-party promoter. The show was originally booked at Bristol’s O2 Academy and Trinity took on the show as a last-minute capacity downgrade in good faith, with the hope that this would mean fans who had already purchased tickets would get to see the planned show.

On the night, Trinity staff slowly became aware that the headline act had not arrived at the venue. The promoter was unreachable, and they did not provide us with any indication that there had been this change to the line-up.

Though the event took place, we appreciate this wasn’t the event that people paid for. As such, Trinity will issue refunds automatically to any fans who purchased tickets through our own ticketing platform.

Unfortunately, we are unable to issue refunds to those who purchased tickets through third-party sites. We recommend fans contact their ticket provider directly if you wish to request a refund. We contacted Bristol’s O2 Academy who declined to offer a comment.

We are sorry that our due diligence to check promoter credentials fell short of what is expected of us and we will take greater care in future to ensure a greater degree of care for artists and fans.

We would like to give thanks to the talented support acts who did perform and will do what we can to ensure anyone who performed receives a fair payment We hope that the negative experiences of fans will not reflect badly, either on them as artists or us as a venue.

Kabaka Pyramid performs at Trinity on 07 April

Ahead of his show at Trinity on 07 Apr as part of Trinity Presents, we spoke to Grammy award-winning Reggae artist Kabaka Pyramid about performing to UK audiences, the Reggae Revival movement, and much more.

Tell us a little about your musical journey up to this point, and any upcoming plans for 2023

My journey has been great with ups and downs of course, from sound system days to small home studios, starting an independent label, to working with Damian Marley, to winning a Grammy. It’s been amazing. This year we are touring worldwide and continuing to push my album The Kalling.

As a key pillar of the reggae revival movement, how do you feel the international recognition of new reggae artists has impacted the scene as a whole?

I think the international recognition has shone the light on our generation’s movement, and that helped to elevate our status and profile in Jamaica, so overall it’s been a very positive thing.

What have your experiences been like playing for a UK audience? Have you noticed any difference in the atmosphere and energy at UK shows compared to other international audiences?

It depends on where in UK, festivals like Boomtown are similar to other festivals around Europe and even the US, but a club show in South London is closer to the vibes in Jamaica. People react more to the popular songs so I usually have to change my setlist in the UK.

Are there any UK artists that you’d like to work with in the future or other Jamaican artists you'd like to highlight?

Man like Stormzy and Giggs are legends, I also rate Ashley Walters and Kano, looking forward to releasing something with Maverick Sabre and also Plan B - we’ve been in studio before. I like Little Simz's vibe as well.

For someone who’s never seen you perform in person, what can they expect from Kabaka Pyramid live?

My live show is really high energy, a lot of fun for fans, nuff lyrics and some reggae classics mixed, and look for songs off my Grammy album 😉

Kabaka Pyramid will be performing at Trinity on 07 April as part of Trinity Presents - click here to get your tickets.

About Trinity Presents:

This is part of Trinity Presents - our in-house programme of music, bringing world-class artists and emerging talent to inner-city audiences.

Photo credit: Ice Road by Raucous, Jack Offord, Jacobs Wells Baths

"Bristol is brimming with dance talent in many forms, and it is well overdue for a dedicated space of its own" Deborah Baddoo MBE, Bristol Dance Futures Producer

Former dance centre and Victorian swimming pool, Jacobs Wells Baths has recently been saved from potential disposal by Bristol City Council following their announcement to launch an open process for expressions of interests to manage the building via a Community Asset Transfer.

In 2019-21 we were part of Bristol Dance Futures, a consortium dedicated to building dance profile, capacity and infrastructure in Bristol. The project highlighted the rich potential of dance in the city and created legacies including cross-sector working across health and community development.

We asked Bristol Dance Futures Producer, Deborah Baddoo MBE, to reflect on the project and to share how it could help reimagine a community space, such as Jacobs Wells Baths.

"During my time as producer for Bristol Dance Futures it was clearly evident that there is a huge gap in terms of a dance specific space in Bristol.

Obviously, it is important to bring dance into other organisations who may not normally have access to dance activity, but there is a thriving dance community throughout the city, hiring commercial studios, performing in unsuitable spaces and trying to book spaces in venues for rehearsals, classes and workshops.

Post Covid-19, now more than ever, the powers that be are recognising the valuable role that dance and indeed all the arts have on helping individuals on their journey to wellbeing and the special role that dance has in connecting people, improving mobility, releasing stress and enhancing creativity, to name only a few of the benefits of dance.

A dedicated dance space such as Jacobs Wells Baths has potential to be a place where many exciting initiatives can flourish, a networking space for dance, a rehearsal space, and importantly hub for dance and wellbeing activity in the city.

Dance in Bristol has gone through many changes and manifestations over the last 25 years, but these have always tended to be piecemeal, short-lived initiatives having limited long-term impact for the sector as a whole.

Bristol is brimming with dance talent in many forms, and it is well overdue for a dedicated space of its own. A dedicated space will help enable the dance sector in Bristol to continue to grow and be a catalyst for exciting new developments and a much needed home for dance in this vibrant city."

Deborah Baddoo MBE, Dance Producer

If you would like to join a conversation on what the future for Jacob Wells could be, please click here.

Trinity are pleased to be welcoming independent food vendor, The Digg Inn

"Independence is at the heart of what we do. I’m not gonna lie it’s not always easy, good things rarely are, but it is rewarding. There’s a satisfaction about creating something from nothing." Isaac Snow

New independent kitchen The Digg Inn opens at Trinity this week (16 March) offering Louisiana-style soul food.

The Digg Inn is a collaboration between the Ill Repute and Isaac Snow, who previously co-opened a restaurant on the Isle of Wight, called ‘Call it What You Want' and will be open for walk-up's Tuesdays - Saturdays, alongside serving food at our outdoor events including The Den Socials.

The company are the first residents in our outdoor kitchen that was installed as part of the updated Diggs project, which included a detailed community consultation to find out what the community wanted from us in a post-pandemic environment.

Ahead of their show as part of Trinity Presents on 19 March, we sat down with Brian and Jackson from Dundundun to talk about how the group came together, the Bristol music scene, and more.

First off, could you tell us a little bit about how Dundundun formed?

It started out as a group of percussionists, slowly adding more instrumental players - the original focus, and something which we’ve continued with, I might add, was to play seamless ‘DJ sets’ with live musicians. That was the idea anyway, as the band has evolved, we’ve become more creative as to how this has happened and written in some real bangers to lift the set at the right points.

There are other groups in the city like Dundundun that feature musicians who work across several different projects – what do you think it is about the Bristol music scene that encourages this kind of collaboration?

Bristol is a small city, with a huge array of scenes. It’s inevitable that there’ll be a crossover with musicians/filmmakers, artists etc. "someone knows someone who knows someone who wants to work with a sax player - you up for it?” that’s basically how it goes. You say yes and suddenly you’re embroiled in another scene that you know existed but were on the fringes of. It’s always happened this way.

What other artists in Bristol should people be keeping an eye out for?

Well, there’s some great bands - particularly on the ‘Bristol Jazz’ scene. Run Logan Run are killing it right now, experimental, interesting and diverse music; Snazzback have got another album coming out with a heap of vocalists. Oh and Waldo’s gift - they were awesome at We Out Here festival in the wee hours!

Has being on the label Worm Discs influenced your sound?

No. We shape our sound. Although, literally speaking, Jackson who co-runs the label plays percussion in the band so in a sense - there is some truth to Worm shaping the sound!

And finally, what can audiences expect from your show at Trinity?

Expect a high energy, charismatic show with floor fillers and some great new material featuring guest vocalists. We’re really looking forward to this one on home turf.

Dundundun are performing at Trinity on 19 Mar as part of Trinity Presents, our in-house programme of music and arts. Click here to get your tickets.

Team Trinity during our AGM in 2022

As we celebrate International Women's Day, we wanted to take a moment to shine a light on some of the incredible women in our own workforce and find out how they are challenging the sector, pushing for change and paving the way for a better future for all.

Esther

Esther is Trinity’s Combined Arts Producer, working to pull together all the different moving parts of an artistic project from concept to completion - whether it's an engagement programme or an arts festival or working with artists to create work. She’s been in the industry for about four years now, working in Bristol for public events, art projects, venues such as Trinity as well as recently programming stages at festivals around the UK.

Esther is currently working on a BBC 1XTRA funded project Speak Out which is a creative development programme for 16 - 18yr olds, giving them a supported platform to learn an art form of their choice to express how they feel about issues they face.

Alongside this, Esther helps to programme Afrika Eye, the South West’s biggest annual festival of African film, music and arts, creating amazing expanded events with talented artists in some of Bristol's best cultural institutions.

Jenny B

Youth Programme Manager, Jenny joined the Trinity team in December 2022, bringing her rich experience in working with children aged 0-25yrs and their families.

Having worked in the community for many years, Jenny understands the barriers to engagement and is working hard to overcome challenges. Since starting, Jenny has been developing a programme of work to give children, young people and their families the opportunity to be creative, including our new music education programme 'Next-Gen Sounds'.

Jenny believes that everyone is an artist and is passionate about creativity and giving voice to those who are quietened by society and giving them a platform to amplify their voices.

In her spare time, Jenny enjoys singing in a community choir and is involved in ACTA production ‘Silent Heroines’.

Aysha

Trinity’s Production Coordinator, Aysha, started her journey at Trinity in 2019 on a three-month internship. Since then, she has become a core part of Team Trinity, dealing with important relationships between the venue and promoters, as well as leading on EDI, anti-harassment, and mental health and wellbeing across the organisation.

Passionate about diversifying the live events industry and increasing safety through doing so, Aysha’s work has led to 15% of Trinity’s live programme being operated by female/non-binary technicians. Learning alongside our in-house technicians and enrolling on Saffron’s Sound Engineering course, she has built her way to becoming the venue’s first Black technician.

Aysha recently led a successful application for Music Venues Trust funding, providing much needed investment into production equipment such as adding to our lighting rig and making our outdoor venue, The Den, fully self-sufficient.

Aysha has used her position to speak out on sexual harassment within the music industry and wider night-time economy. Subsequently, she has been selected to be part of the Bristol Nights Advisory Board, working with organisations across the city to deliver campaigns focussing on harm reduction, safety, and anti-harassment within the night-time economy.

Sarah

Initially taking on a fixed-term contract in 2016 Sarah now manages and oversees Trinity’s comms and development.

Sarah is interested in community-led action and solutions and recently successfully secured a grant from Power to Change so Trinity can invest further in developing community tech. She has also worked extensively across the community and arts sectors, once featuring in the Guardian due to getting ‘pretty annoyed’ by ‘arts speak’ and recently supporting arts organisation gentle/radical during their Turner Prize nomination.

In her spare time, Sarah offers small grassroots organisations pro-rata comms and marketing support and is currently working with a volunteer-led SEND organisation to strengthen their offer. Sarah was diagnosed with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia in primary school.

Ishmael Ensemble, Trinity Present. Photo credit Khali Ackford

We have, once again, been shortlisted for Grassroots Venue: Spirit Of The Scene at this year’s Music Week Awards - can you help us win it?

Over the past year, we have welcomed some of the best up-and-coming artists in the Bristol scene and beyond, as well as expanding our music and arts offering by opening The Den, welcoming Grove, Booty Bass, Ishmael Ensemble, Yemz, Sister Nancy, Gardna, and Don Letts to name a few.

Plus, we have continued our commitment to diversifying the music industry and creating opportunities for those who are historically underrepresented in the sector. 15% of our live music events were operated by female/non-binary technicians, and 64% of the in-house programme showcased artists from underrepresented backgrounds.

It's great to see all the hard work we've put in over the last year being recognised on a national scale. If you love Trinity and want to support us, please help us win Grassroots Venue: Spirit Of The Scene by doing the following:

• Vote for Trinity by clicking here
• Spread the word - Share the link on socials alongside pictures of your favourite shows at Trinity
• Be quick - Voting closes at 5pm 31 March 2023

The Award is supported by Music Venue Trust who advocate for Grassroots Venues in the UK.

We are nominated alongside Boileroom, Brudenell Social Club, Dubrek Studios, The Globe, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Leadmill, Le Pub, Night & Day Café, and Windmill. Congratulations to all the other great independent venues that have been nominated.

Activities coordinator, Stefan Boakye connects with UK-wide partners as part of the Fun Palaces project

Trinity is a key partner in Fun Palaces, a national campaign that is making arts and culture more accessible by supporting people to plan and deliver creative events in their communities.

As part of my role, Community Activities coordinator, I have connect with local residents and community groups to offer help and support so they can set up their own creative activities. This includes Ruth Harrison and her ‘Recycle City Project’ and new resident group Impact Bristol.

"I learnt that many other organisations where also exploring developing networks between organisations and we discussed ways to make this more effective"

In January we hosted an 'action research meeting' with the Fun Palace partners. These meetings are a way to collectively gather feedback, improve working practices, learn from each other and create new connections. Partner organisations are based across the UK and included the Albany Centre, The National Trust for Wales and Rotherham Council Libraries.

We began the day by introducing ourselves and checking in on what each organisation was currently focusing on. We had a fun icebreaker which involved us talking to each other about what our ‘special’ skills were.

Following this we took part in an evaluation session with Sarah Boiling and shared our progress within the program, success stories and challenges. This session was more focused on the things we liked about Fun Palaces and how we can develop these themes. This was very valuable as we all explored the ways in which the Fun Palaces message helps us all in our individual roles to talk about the importance of making arts and culture more accessible.

After this we had lunch delivered from a local Caribbean takeaway ‘Nadine’s Caribbean Cafe’ and we had another opportunity to chat and bond with each other before we went back into our final ‘Open Sessions’.

‘Open Sessions’ brought the group together to raise any topics they wished to discuss. If someone wanted to raise a topic, they would announce it in the centre of the room and then find a designated space to host the discussion.

I took part in several of these discussions and it was useful to pick up tips and hear the experiences of other partners and makers. The fact that we were encouraged to talk freely amongst ourselves meant that we covered a lot of important topics. For example, I learnt that many other organisations where also exploring developing networks between organisations and we discussed ways to make this more effective.

We finished by sharing what we had gained from the day, how we were feeling and any final thoughts. I mentioned that my involvement in discussions about building networks would be very useful in helping me to form ideas to develop a community network which will connect individuals and organisations.

The event was really positive and it was great to see so many people who were passionate about what they do and the communities that they are trying to reach, which made me feel more inspired about my role.

To find out more about the Fun Palaces campaign, how to get involved and how to create your own Fun Palace contact our Community Producer Stefan on: stefan@trinitybristol.org.uk

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.