Everybody in the Place - Bristol Nights, Music Fund Workshop

Bristol is building something designed to last - where the people who create the vibe have a real say in the future.

In "A Ticket to the Future", Bristol Nights set out an ambition to create a community-owned, self-sustaining model for long-term investment in Bristol's music culture. To do this, we will establish a Community Benefit Society (CBS), owned by the music community itself.

Now we are moving from listening to building.

This session asks how people actually experience being part of the music scene, and how we capture this in the future.

Everybody in the Place is a facilitated working workshop focused on belonging — how the Bristol Music Fund is designed so people feel welcome, able to take part, and confident their voice matters.

This is about turning values into lived experience.

What this session is

This is a co-design working session focused on belonging, participation and power in practice.

Together, we’ll explore how the Bristol Music Fund is designed and experienced by the people it’s meant to serve, by looking at:

• What does it feel like to be a valued member of Bristol's music scene
• How people are invited into the work, and who those invitations reach or miss
• What helps people feel able to take part, speak honestly and shape decisions
• What creates barriers to participation, including time, trust, language, power and access
• How values like care, equity and belonging are made real through design choices, not just statements

The session is designed as a reflective, creative working space — grounded in real experiences of nightlife, culture and organising. You’ll be invited to share insight, listen deeply and help translate values into practical design principles.

The session will be guided by Studio Susegad, who bring deep experience holding creative, high-trust spaces across culture and community.

By the end of the session, we’ll have a set of belonging and participation principles that will inform how the Bristol Music Fund designs engagement, governance and decision-making going forward.

About the event

Arrive from 12:45pm for a 1pm start. We'll finish at 4pm.

Refreshments provided.

You don't need to prepare anything, just be ready to share your experience of Bristol's music culture, and be ready to participate in shaping its future.

If you have access needs, please let us know when you book and we'll do our best to support.

Who it's for

This session is designed for people already involved in the Bristol Nights sector working group and the Bristol Music Fund journey so far. In future phases of this process we will open up the invitation to the wider community. We believe that keeping a consistent group matters. Trust, shared language and collective responsibility don't happen in one-off meetings - they're built over time.

If you're new into a role or organisation that's already been part of this work, we're happy to meet with you beforehand to walk through the context and roadmap.

If you're freelance or unsalaried and cost would be a barrier, a small number of attendance stipends are available by prior arrangement.

For more information about A Ticket to The Future, visit www.bristolnights.co.uk/a-ticket-to-the-future, or email us bristolnights@bristol.gov.uk

Why this moment matters

The future Bristol Music Fund only works if people feel it belongs to them.

What’s shaped in this room will influence who feels able to take part, whose voices are heard, and how care and accountability are built into the Bristol Music Fund CBS from the start.

If you’re in the room, you’re helping to make that circle bigger.

Tickets are free, but please book one so we can plan the space and materials.