Your Total Guide To entertainment

The Biggest Night of Free Entertainment in Bath

This year, The Bath Festival has broken from tradition by programming Party in the City on the second Friday of the festival period. Party in the City is an almighty celebration of FREE entertainment in central Bath and, this year, it will take place on Friday 18 May from 6pm.

The streets, parks and venues in the city will be filled with sound of music so if you like acoustic, jazz, classical, choral, folk, world, indie or pop music come along! The evening starts with the Schools Commission in Bath Abbey where children will become ‘festival spirits’, celebrating Bath Festivals’ 70th anniversary through song, stories and visual arts. After dark, Queen Square, Parade Gardens and Brunel Square will be alive with music, local food and drink. Indoor events will take place in 34 venues, with 2,000+ performers and, historically, the evening has attracted more than 20,000 people to the city. Party in the City has something for every musical taste so put the date in your diary.

Outdoor highlights
Queen Square will showcase live music from 5.30pm onwards. This year’s bands include
Flowerpot, an energetic all female 4-piece, infusing intricate drum beats, catchy slashing guitar riffs, thumping heavy bass lines and powerful melodic vocals to produce an exciting unique new sound in the world of rock; andThe Red Bandits, a funky, fun-loving, all singing, all strumming, Ukulele orchestra. Expect to hear reinterpretations of the very best of songs of all time. Beautiful harmonies and toe-tapping rhythms that will leave you with a smile on your face.

Southgate will see the likes of Isobel Holly perform in a vocal sensation that promises to pull on the heart-strings; and Giovanni L'Immigrato, a rambunctious bunch of fun-loving indie-folk musicians that'll have heads nodding and toe taping with their uplifting blend of indie-folk and contemporary songwriting.

The Bug Club, will perform in Parade Gardens. They who combine blues, rock and pop along with psychedelics influences, along with The Blues Others who pay homage to the well-known film by faithfully reproducing all-time classics such as Everybody Needs Somebody, Soul Man, Gimme' Some Lovin', Shake a Tail Feather and Rawhide.

Venue highlights
Komedia will host seven events throughout the evening. Highlights include the Bath Spa Big Band Society who’ll play all time classics with an eclectic mix of old school ballads and hard funk blow outs; and Lula Redd will perform her gothic, surreal indie/pop in a mix of theatrical escapism which pays homage to her biggest influences - Depeche Mode, Placebo, Kate Bush, The Cure and A Perfect Circle.

The Abbey will showcase a number of performances, starting with the school’s commission. The magic of the festival has transformed children from St Andrews, Bathwick St. Mary’s and St. Stephen’s Primary School into ‘Festival Spirits’. See the children mischievously disrupt and take over a traditional song recital. They join soprano Elizabeth Karani, composer Richard Barnard, artist Edwina Bridgeman.

Saint Loe will perform at Bath Brew House. Imagine yourself driving down an open road with a car full of friends, heading towards the sun, whilst singing along to your favourite songs. Saint Loe convincingly bring a modern-day pop sound back to the live band scene, with incredibly catchy choruses and ultra-tight, multi-part vocal harmonies.
Friends Meeting House will see the likes of Bath City Jubilee Waits perform lively folk-oriented music, with a bias towards older tunes with their friends Eagle Alley with songs that everyone will recognise.

LIBERTE will perform at Green Park Brasserie. They’re an American Indie rock band that refuse to fit inside the box. From haunting memories to unforgettable anthems; along with The Binderos, a band that love playing a mix of covers and original tunes.

Five bands will perform at The Nest including All That Glitters who’s rich powerful vocals cut through dark, blues infused rock; and closing with Scout Killers who are an alternative rock band based in Bath. They have spent the last 5 years honing and developing their own sound, and taking inspiration from an array of different bands, all of which have helped then write and release their self-titled ‘Scout Killers’ and the follow-up EP ‘Stand your Ground’.

Party in the City really is a city-wide celebration with many other venues offering a variety of FREE music and entertainment such as Boston Tea Party, Bath Central United Reformed Church (BCURS), Kingston Parade, Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Museum (BRLSI), Museum of Bath At Work, Nexus, Walcot House, Vino Vino, Pig & Fiddle, St James’ Wine Vaults, St. Swithin’s Church, Widcombe Social Club and many more.
To view the full listings for Party in the City, visit our website.

Party in the City is part of The Bath Festival which runs from 11th to 27th May featuring some of the biggest names in music and literature with an accessible and vibrant programme that embraces the wider performing arts. Leading thinkers, writers and musicians will perform with the most gifted new talent emerging on the global stage. The festival will also provide a platform for the year round extensive creative learning programme.
Party in the City is an evening of completely FREE entertainment.
Tickets for The Bath Festival can be bought online at www.thebathfestival.org.uk or,