Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 20/06/2026 18:27:00

The Croft is a pub and grassroots live-music venue in Stokes Croft, the bohemian district just north of Bristol city centre. Long regarded as one of the city's most important small venues, it combines an intimate live room and club space with a busy bar open late into the night. Established in 2000, it quickly became a cornerstone of Bristol's underground music scene, its modest live room and club space serving as a breeding ground for the next generation of artists. Early performances on its stage came from acts including Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, Ed Sheeran, IDLES and Bring Me the Horizon before they found wider fame. In 2013 the venue rebranded as the Crofters Rights, continuing as a pub and gig venue until it closed in the summer of 2024 in what was initially described as a temporary shutdown. Its reopening never came under that name, leaving a notable gap in the city's grassroots music ecosystem. The site was rescued through the Music Venue Trust's Own Our Venues community-ownership scheme, with Music Venue Properties acquiring the building to secure its long-term future. It reopened under its original name in September 2025, operated by the local company World Famous Dive Bars, the team behind several other Bristol pubs. Now open every day as both a pub and a venue, with free entry through the week, the Croft hosts a programme spanning punk, electronic, indie and experimental music in its back room. Its operators, made up of musicians, promoters and music fans, run it with an emphasis on supporting emerging local talent. Protected by community ownership and backed by experienced independent operators, the venue has returned with the security its earlier incarnations lacked. With a quarter-century of history behind it, the Croft remains a vital part of Stokes Croft and of Bristol's wider live-music culture.