The Croft

With the demise of the Junction further down Stokes Croft the Croft is now Bristol's premier punk dungeon, probably the nearest thing to the legendary New York clubs like CBGBs or Max's Kansas City. Once an 80s yuppie wine bar full of sofas, and having been through numerous other incarnations since (including rumour has it housing a brothel upstairs for a time), the place now comprises a front bar and two music rooms - one biggish one smallish. Clientele tend to be scary-looking but friendly mohicans / skinheads / metallers and other such ne'er do wells. Black-painted walls and minimalist/brutalist decor throughout make for an ideal eyeball-to-eyeball setting for the bands I've seen there like the Queers, Argy Bargy, US Bombs and the UK Subs. Full marks to the Croft for hosting the Oppressed's recent anti-racism gig after the Fleece chickened out of it too. In between such bigger names there's a constant programme of younger / up-and-coming acts from various alternative-type genres. There are places to take the weight off in the bar between acts, and it's usually not too hard to get served. The management aren't always that prompt at updating their listings on the posters outside though, so keeping abreast of things via internet is advisable.

The Croft is much like the Louisiana as a music venue as it is quite small and compact but is also one of the best music venues in Bristol. Many of the small newer bands begin by playing The Croft and the prices are normally under £5 to see 3 bands.

There is a pool table for those who don’t need to see the music but want a drink too. Worth a visit.

I've been to The Croft a few times because my friend was working there and I enjoyed it on each occasion. It's to be one of the places to go for live gigs, punk and rock bands. It's cool, friendly and a great fun place to have a drink and get involved with the music.

The Croft is a really good venue for fans of live music. It hosts gigs from a diverse selection of bands including local bands. With sometimes three or four bands on per night its and excellent place to discover new music.

The Croft is one of the best alternative music venues in Bristol. They have live music at least two nights a week and it’s never very expensive to get in- about £3 on the door. It’s quite a rocky place so don’t expect to see any pop bands playing here, but at the same time, it gives lots of local bands their first opporunity to play live music to a decent sized audience. The layout of the Croft is: a main bar area and then the music room- it has great acoustics and is small enough to be intimate but big enough to house a good crowd

In the old days the Croft was the sort of place where you could go and get served aged all of 16. Partner that with the fact that its in Stokes Croft, one of the more um.. unsavoury areas of Bristol and you've got yourself a bit of a dive.

However in recent times its really improved. It hosts some really good bands and the whole area of Stokes Croft is on the up, with clubs like Clockwork and Lacota gaining in popularity.

Under new management (as of October 2007), The Croft is a haven of diverse live music and DJ wierdness, set amongst the somewhat dubious area of Stoke's Croft.

A hit with the student crowd, the Croft has a dark red, mirrored room with a stage and full PA, located at the back of the venue, which has some sort of live entertainment seven nights a week.