Trinity launches Seedling Sessions 2026 with International Women’s Day showcase celebrating women shaping Bristol’s music scene

Trinity will mark International Women’s Day 2026 by launching a new chapter of Seedling Sessions, spotlighting women shaping Bristol’s grassroots music scene both on and off stage.

Taking place on Sunday 8 March 2026 in Trinity’s Fyfe Hall, Seedling Sessions: Celebrating Women in Music continues the Trinity Presents 2026 programme with a bold, women-led showcase as part of Trinity’s 50th year of community arts.

Founded in 2016 by Bristol artist MĀDŁY, Seedling Sessions was created to address the lack of accessible platforms for emerging artists and creatives, particularly women and people from underrepresented backgrounds. This celebration builds on that legacy with a renewed focus on off-stage pathways, alongside live performance for women and non-binary local talent.

This iteration of Seedling Sessions launches at a time when gender inequality remains deeply embedded across the UK music industry.

Despite women making up over half of the music workforce, they hold just “27% of CEO roles” within the UK live music sector (LIVE & Women in CTRL, 2025). On stage, representation remains similarly uneven, “63% of acts were male, compared to around 21% female or female‑fronted acts,” equating to roughly one woman for every three men booked (A2D2, 2024). Behind the scenes, the imbalance is most extreme, with women making up just “5–7% of audio engineers and producers” (Birmingham City University / UK music technology sector estimate).

This edition of Seedling Sessions showcases local independent artists working across hip hop, pop, dance, punk and alternative music, while recognising the technical, creative and organisational roles that make grassroots music possible, reflecting the depth and diversity of women driving the city’s grassroots music scene today.

Line-up announced:

Badliana

A Bristol-based artist known for her dark and alternative sound, blending grime, rap, and alternative R&B with haunting vocals. A fearless performer, she has gained support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 1XTRA, and BBC Introducing. Currently part of Big Team's Next Level program, she is gearing up for 2026 with new releases, including the single "Bright Lights."

RED

RED is an exciting new voice in pop and dance music. Based in Bristol, this singer, songwriter, and producer blends infectious beats with emotionally charged songwriting and self-created 3D visuals. Her unapologetically queer, genre-defying music fuses glossy pop, underground club energy, and personal storytelling.

Moxie Dolls

An all girl alt/indie rock band from Bristol, advocating for feminist change in the music industry. Known for their catchy riffs and heavy sound, they have sold out venues like The Louisiana and Café Kino while building a strong presence in the local scene.

Speaking about Seedling Sessions, founder Cassie MĀDŁY commented:

“Seedling Sessions started 10 years ago as a response to seeing how many talented people were being overlooked or excluded from opportunities in music, especially women and people from underrepresented backgrounds. This International Women’s Day show isn’t about box-ticking – it’s about recognising the women who are already shaping our scene, on stage and behind the scenes, and creating space for them to thrive.”

One previous sound technician, Eleri Hewitt commented:

"Breaking into live sound can feel really closed-off, especially if you don’t already have connections. Seedling Sessions opened a door for me, it wasn’t just about helping out, it was about being supported and taken seriously."

This show forms part of Trinity Presents, Trinity’s in-house programme bringing outstanding performers and exciting new voices to communities at the heart of the city. The announcement follows previously revealed Trinity Presents shows, including Grove (sold out), and Mia Kodan & Friends.

As Trinity celebrates 50 years of music, community and empowerment, Seedling Sessions 2026 reinforces its ongoing commitment to nurturing talent, amplifying underrepresented voices, and supporting the future of grassroots music in Bristol.

Event listing details

Seedling Sessions: Celebrating Women in Music 
Date: Sunday 8 March 2026 
Time: 5:00pm – 8:00pm 
Venue: Trinity Centre, Fyfe Hall 
Tickets: Available via Headfirst
Age: 14+ (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult) 
Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Accidental Meetings & Trinity join forces for the release party of 'Singing Vessels', the debut LP of Nervio Cosmico.

Support comes from one of Bristol's best in Memotone.

Bristol-based duo Nervio Cosmico, Chilean composer Daniel Linker and Italian sound artist Matteo Amadio, fuse ancient South American instruments with live looping, generative sound design, and electronics to craft immersive sonic journeys.

Singing Vessels draws on Amazonian and Andean traditions, featuring clay whistles and shamanic instruments like the shacapa to evoke nature’s spiritual resonance. Blending organic timbres with evolving electronic textures, the performance unfolds as a ceremonial passage through sound, from the dense jungle to moments of catharsis and renewal.

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

About Trinity Presents

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

The band consists of members Nina Cristante, Sam Fenton, and Jezmi Tarik Fehmi. Their name is derived from the Soho café Bar Italia.

+ support tba

Doors: 19:00

Last entry: 21:00

Curfew: 23:00

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot contact Trinity, but to arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Described as an Encontro, or meeting, Tambor will provide a feast of live performances and workshops, including samba, maracatu, Afoxé, reggae-samba, capoeira music, and much more.

Line up Saturday:

- SambaYaBamba

- Bloco B- Nordestinos

- Juba do Leão

- Samba Galez

- Bristol Capoeora

- Bloco Fogo

- Baque Trovão

- Kaboozle

- Garden City Samba

- Arco Iris

- Karamba Samba

- The Silver Sambistas

Line up Sunday:

- Safrela

- Ilu Axe

- Bristol Samba

- Carnaval Transatlântico

- Olá Samba

- Pocket Bloco

- Barracwada

- Mojuba

- Batala Bristol

- Samba Doc

- Sambassadors of Groove

- Simbora

- Sol Samba

Please note this is a standing event. For accessibility requests, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Celeste Epiphany Waite, known by the mononym Celeste, is an English singer and songwriter.

She began her career in 2014 providing vocals for electronic producers such as Avicii, Tieks and Real Lies, while also self-publishing music onto SoundCloud on the side.

+ support tbc

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Featuring:

Natalie Holmes:Haunting yet uplifting alt-pop from a poetic songwriter whose honey-toned vocals and dreamy soundscapes have captured hearts and BBC acclaim.

Potter: A soulful performer with unforgettable choruses, virtuosic guitar, and a soaring tenor. Honest, heartfelt, and back doing what he loves most.

Wœrmhole: Titanic riffs and powerful vocals from Bristol’s own 5-piece alt-rock outfit. Grunge meets hard rock in a sound that hits like an earthquake.

Don’t miss this chance to catch the next wave of local talent, raw, real, and ready to blow you away.

Please note this is a seating event.

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

About Trinity Presents

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

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Fresh from their 2025 tour, Toots and the Maytals feat. Leba Hibbert bring reggae’s true spirit back to the stage. Formed in the 1960s and famed for classics like 54-46 Was My Number, Monkey Man and Pressure Drop, the Maytals remain one of reggae’s most iconic groups. Now led by Toots’ daughter Leba, expect a powerful celebration of timeless hits and living legacy.

+ Special guests

Doors: 19:00

Last entry: 21:00

Curfew: 23:00

Please note this is a standing event. For accessibility requests, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

In their original form they were 2 women and 2 men, the objective being to show that women and men can work together as equals.

Lesley Woods led the band as frontperson, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist. Lesley was once described as “”one of the most striking women in British rock”.

Their first album 'Playing With A Different Sex' is a post-punk classic and focusses on gender and other politics. A critic from The Guardian praised it for its “viciously well-observed lyrics on contemporary life, love and the role of women “.

The band is re-forming beginning 2026 when they commence a UK tour with Lesley Woods and new members. The 2 women/2 men balance remains .

Au Pairs blend political lyrics with a tough funk-dance-rock idiom which is as relevant today as it ever was. 

+ support: Gina Birch and the Unreasonables

Doors: 19:00

Last entry: 21:00

Curfew: 23:00

Please note this is a standing event. For accessibility requests, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

They met at school in Minehead, Somerset and make music together at home in Bristol. Their highly lauded debut album Crisps was released in November 2023 via Breakfast Records presenting eclectic, danceable grooves and astute, hilarious put-downs of modern Britain.

They are steadily carving out a name for themselves and building momentum with their ballsto-the-wall live performances and prestigious shows with Pip Blom, Fat Dog, The Bug Club, Donny Benet, and Antony Szmierek – among many others. The band completed their biggest ever sold out headline UK tour in autumn 2024 after their vastly praised new EP release “Your Medal’s In The Post”, out on November 14th 2024, followed closely by their first ever sold out EU tour in January 2025. Their new EP 'Primordial Slot Machine' arrives on June 6th.

+ support tbc

Doors: 19:00

Last entry: 21:00

Curfew: 23:00

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Expect some classic hip hop instrumentals with socially conscious lyrics, stunning melodies & harmonies as well as plenty of original material that will certainly showcase the levels that our musicians operate at.

Internationally touring MoYah will be bringing an Afrobeat style sound fresh from his home country of Mozambique, addressing issues relating to identity, social injustices & spirituality from the perspective of a child of the African Diaspora.

CW Jones became a well know figure in Bristol in 2014 and will be performing hip hop with some modern garage vibes whilst bringing a very quirky style to the table.

Bristolian born and bred artists Audioflux led by producer “101” will bring the most unique, dark and industrial sound in the city by a country mile. The set will be a masterpiece from start to finish.

Miss Twist and Miss Blackman perform some of the grimiest filth that you are likely to hear in Bristol and really epitomize what rap music is all about - expression and realness.

The night will be capped with a DJ set from Bristol’s and properjob presents resident DJ Steve Stone.

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

They conjure sky-shaking and boundary-bursting rock ‘n’ roll by invoking spirits of Ancient myth, traditional folklore, and Delta-born blues in one concentrated musical incantation. In the band, 21st century guitar hero, innovator, songwriter, and GRAMMY® Award-winning Greta Van Fleet co-founder Jake Kiszka not only shares vocal and guitar duties with critically acclaimed co-vocalist and guitarist Chris Turpin of Ida Mae, but he also shines as a producer and songwriter, stepping out on his own. Working and song writing in tandem with Jake and curating this vision side-by-side, Chris has emerged as a perfect creative partner, adding yet another dimension to MIRADOR.

+ support: Lady of Mars

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

African Head Charge
Experimental tribal percussion group led by Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, blending dub and world music. Formed in 1981, the project originally showcased producer Adrian Sherwood’s experimental side via the On-U Sound label. Bonjo became increasingly central through the '80s, and by the fifth album Songs of Praise, he was lead vocalist, main percussionist, and primary songwriter. Collaborators have included Skip McDonald of Tackhead.

Gaudi
Dub/electronica/world music producer GAUDI is known for his bass-heavy, genre-defying sound. Over three decades, he’s collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Bob Marley, Shpongle, Michael Rose, Soom T, Beats Antique, and KRS-One, building a global fan base with his innovative productions.

+ special guests

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

He is a spiritual rock star. A force of nature merging ancient wisdom with modern theatre, delivering ecstatic transmissions of truth & love. Trained in the art of performance but destined for the path of awakening, Hugo now walks through life as a cosmic teacher, part prophet, part transformative showman. Through living as a channel of joy and divine mischief, Hugo is building a global community rooted in love, freedom, and the remembrance of who we truly are.

+ support: Outpost Drive

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.

Rahsaan Patterson’s career is proof that an artist can be progressive while firmly based in gospel and R&B traditions. After a 13-year period entailing a co-starring role on Kids Incorporated, songwriting triumphs with Brandy’s “Baby” and Tevin Campbell’s “Back to the World,” and other activity behind the scenes, Patterson finally made his solo major-label debut with a self-titled album (1997) that started an unbroken streak of moderately successful, stylistically adventurous studio recordings.

+ support tba

Please note this is a standing event, accessible seating is available. To reserve a limited seating spot and/or arrange a companion ticket, please contact info@trinitybristol.org.uk

Last entry: 2 hours before curfew

Venue levy: Trinity has introduced a £1 Restoration Levy on every event ticket sold. This income will be used to create a dedicated fund for critical building works that will protect and maintain the Trinity Centre building and grounds.