Equipment and backline available at this venue. We verify and update this section regularly.
PA system
Drum kit
Guitar amp
Bass amp
Keys / keyboard
Vocal mics
In-house engineer
About Thekla
Thekla is a grassroots music venue in East Mud Dock, Bristol with a standing capacity of approximately 400. PA system and vocal mics are provided; bring your own instruments and amps.
Thekla books Indie, Rock, Electronic, Americana, Dubstep, Club acts. Both original music and covers are welcome. This listing is part of the Bristol venue directory.
Thekla is one of Bristol's most distinctive live music venues — a converted 1958 German cargo ship moored in the Mud Dock basin of the city's Floating Harbour, just off The Grove. Opened in 1984 by Ki Longfellow, Vivian Stanshall and Peter Jackson, it is now run by national promoter DHP Family and operates as an award-winning, nationally renowned grassroots venue with a roughly 400-capacity hold below decks. Across its history it has hosted the likes of Pulp, Stormzy, Phoebe Bridgers and Catfish & The Bottlemen long before they filled arenas, and the programme still spans toe-tapping live Americana through indie, rock and electronica to dubstep, plus the cream of the city's weekly club nights. National and international touring acts play here most weeks, with the in-house PA and full production making it a key step on the UK toilet-circuit for rising bands. Original touring acts are the core booking; the boat's low-ceilinged hold gives it a famously sweaty, intimate atmosphere.
Have you played here? Was the backline info accurate? One tap, no sign-up required.
Find Thekla
The Grove, East Mud Dock, East Mud Dock, Bristol, BS1 4RB
What should you charge for a gig here? Check live UK rates by role, city and venue size. Based on 3,798 verified rate observations.
Not seeing your venue? This ranking counts gigs listed in the next 30 days.
If your room has no page here yet, create
one free and it joins the directory. If it is already listed, add your
gigs and it will rank on the next nightly refresh.
Rankings like this run across GigXchange: the national Hardest Working Rooms table tracks the UK's busiest grassroots
stages week on week, the Pint Index prices a gig ticket in pints
city by city, and UK market statistics covers what live
music pays. All of it is built from the same directory this page lives in.
Common Questions
Seven things people ask about booking Thekla.
PA system and vocal mics provided. BYO instruments and amps. Need a venue with full backline? Filter Bristol venues by backline.
Thekla books Indie, Rock, Electronic, Americana, Dubstep, Club. Both original music and covers are welcome. Browse artist profiles by genre on GigXchange.
Sign up free on GigXchange to view Thekla’s booking contact, fee range, and submission process. Most grassroots venues accept email submissions with a link to your music or EPK. Check current UK fee benchmarks before quoting.
Thekla has a standing capacity of approximately 400, classed as a medium venue. See all Bristol venues for size comparisons.
Open mic information is not currently listed for Thekla. Browse the Bristol Open Mic Finder for nearby open mics.
The Grove, East Mud Dock, East Mud Dock, Bristol, BS1 4RB. See the map below for directions. Browse more Bristol venues nearby.
Fee ranges are available to signed-up artists on GigXchange. Grassroots venue fees in Bristol vary by event type, band size, and whether the deal is a flat fee or door split. The GigXchange Rate Calculator shows current UK percentiles.
Keep up with Bristol
One email a week with live music near you. Free, and it keeps rooms like this one full.
Help keep grassroots venues open in Bristol
—
A UK venue stops hosting live music every 5 days — and turning up is what keeps a room
open. Get a free weekly email of gigs in Bristol. Unsubscribe any
time. Privacy.
Booking or playing in Bristol? The GX Index publishes what UK gigs actually
pay, by city, band size and venue type, and the GX Index reports set out the methodology and the sample behind
every figure. Both are free to read and free to cite.