By Hannah Roberts, First Year, English
The first thing that hits you at Exchange on a Tuesday night is the sound of people who genuinely want to be there. No support act warming up a lukewarm crowd, no awkward gaps between songs, just five groups of students rotating through a crowd-pleasing setlist that spans Dire Straits to Jamiroquai, and a room that grows louder with every passing minute.
This was Blues Bash 2026, the University of Bristol Blues Society’s flagship end-of-year event, held on 28 April. If you need proof that something real is growing here, it was on that stage.
Blues Society was founded in 2023 by third year Mechanical Engineering student James Guest, who arrived in Bristol and found the university music scene neatly divided but somehow incomplete. ‘Rock Soc was more metal-oriented… JFS was very jazz-oriented,’ he explains. ‘I thought, maybe there’s a niche that can be filled here.’
What followed was gradual and deliberate: a handful of informal jams, then booked practice rooms and an Instagram page, then a committee, then a formal conversation with the Students’ Union. ‘It kind of went from there,’ says the founder. The society now runs weekly sessions, is based at Barrelhouse, and has become, in Guest’s own estimation, ‘probably one of the fastest-growing societies in the uni.’
The society’s central philosophy sets it apart from others at the university. ‘We’re more about playing music than just listening to it,’ he explains, with the purpose of ‘both building a community and introducing people to [blues music].’
Rather than conventional bands, the night runs through five rotating groups, labelled simply one to five. No band names, no fixed identities, no attempt to package performers as separate acts, and as a result, no apparent egos. ‘We’re all playing for Blues Society.’
Line-ups were assembled taking individual preference into account. ‘Otherwise, it just becomes a jumble of musicians.’ Committee member and experienced drummer Ollie Morgan stressed the surprising lack of pretentiousness within the group, which is often the norm in these types of societies. Everyone knows the typical Bristol student, cigarette in hand bragging about their new favourite underground indie artist that still somehow happens to have 20 million monthly listeners. Yet here, it’s simple. Morgan reckons the society can get you performance-ready in just ‘two sessions.’
That openness extends beyond the stage. ‘People can come in off the street,’ Guest notes. ‘Blues is very accessible… it’s usually only three chords.’
A sharp, confident rendition of Money for Nothing opened the night, driven by emphatic drums that settled any doubt about whether the room was ready. From there, the performers visibly grew into the space, making it their own, each solo met with loud cheers. The setlist flowed between blues, rock and soul: Sultans of Swing, Layla, Ain't No Sunshine, Dreams, and Smooth Operator. ‘I would say my favourite part was either the finale set, or Cosmic Girl with the disco lights,’ Guest reflected. ‘We try to stick to the roots, but we can do a little bit of other stuff.’ There was a witty nod to hit film Sinners too, with the introduction of a Buddy Guy song. Blues, it turns out, does not need updating. It just needs a room willing to listen.
Instrumental solos, harmonicas included, were given space to stretch, and a guitar built from scratch by Guest himself added a not-so-quietly striking personal touch. One of the vocalists, introduced as EJ, was a true standout of the night. You could feel a raw quality there; sense of real class that cut cleanly through the room.
Even a brief double bass malfunction barely dented the momentum. The set held firm, carried by shared energy rather than individual resilience.
Students, friends, and families filled the room, growing louder as the night deepened. Chants for an encore built steadily towards the final stretch. By the closing track, Toybox by Martin E. Craig, the entire venue was impossibly eager for more. ‘I didn’t really know anyone performing, it felt like a proper gig,’ crowd member Gaby Piccolo told Epigram.
Guest acknowledges that the society remains ‘quite male-dominated,’ particularly among instrumentalists, and is open about wanting that to change. ‘If there are any female instrumentalists reading, please join!’ he says.
With exams ruling out further events this term, Blues Society returns next academic year with weekly Tuesday sessions at Barrelhouse and plans for another Blues Bash. Whatever that night looks like, I’ll be back for the next one.
A space where students are not just playing music, but doing so without judgement, and figuring out how to build it together.
As Guest puts it simply: ‘Join Blues.’
Featured image: Harvey Belchamber/ @harveyb.jpgWere you at this year’s Blues Bash?
