🚀 Joining info - 2024/25

Thinking of joining Big Band Society? We’d love to have you. Whether you’re a fresher or a refresher, we’re open to anyone and everyone who wants to come and play. Here’s everything you need to know about us.

We’re a group of students who have a passion for all things jazz. We meet every Friday evening for chilled out rehearsals interspersed with drinks and chat – a great way to start the weekend on a relaxing, jazzy note. Big Band Society places an emphasis on community with an inclusive, welcoming and supportive space each week for everyone to come together and enjoy hanging out, whilst also making great music. We organise a variety of socials throughout the term, from pub sardines and nature walks to lazer tag and karaoke, making the most of what Bristol’s got to offer.

Our two incredible bands feature the most talented musicians in the university, and we regularly play gigs throughout the city. Here’s some of the great stuff you can expect to get stuck into with us:

• Gigs! (lots of them) – highlights include sell-out gigs at The Fleece, Bristol Beacon, and others. We usually aim for 1 or 2 per term, with opportunities provided for paid small-band gigs in-between.
• Socials – as mentioned above, we run lots of varied socials throughout the year! Socials are a great way to get to know others in the society, and we run a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic events 🙂 A massive social positive of Big Band is our “family” scheme (especially nearer the start of the year) which helps introduce everyone to each other.
• Rehearsals – these are the staple of Big Band. However your week’s been, you can rest easy knowing that come Friday you’ll be relaxing with all your mates, playing some cheeky refreshing jazz and maybe even sippin a cold bevvy at balloon bar 😍 it’s what you love to see, and what you love to hear 👂
• Tours and excursions – What could possibly be better than playing jazz with your friends? How about playing jazz with your friends whilst enjoying being situated in a beautiful European city in the peak of summer? Previous tour locations include Bruges (Belgium), Bonn (Germany), Barcelona (promise we do go to places that don’t just begin with b) and Lake Garda (Italy). Another massive highlight of the Big Band year is Battle of the Big Bands, which incorporates bands from across the south west – this is a day trip full of music and fun.
• Jazz – lots of jazz. Enough said. Side note – if you play an instrument but haven’t dabbled in Jazz much before, don’t fear! We’d love you to play/audition anyway! Lots of our members fall into this category, and we are accepting of all types of musician ❤️

We have two bands:

The Bristol Hornstars:

• Hornstars is our fully auditioned band. Rehearsing in the Stephenson Room (in the Richmond building) this band is smaller but tends to take on more challenging repertoire and consistently delivers some of the best big band performances in Bristol and the surrounding area. Highlights of this year included exclusive gigs at The Canteen, Old Market Assembly, along with producing professional recordings (which are coming Soon™)

BUJO (Bristol University Jazz Orchestra)

• BUJO is our larger band. The rhythm section and singers are auditioned but aside from that no audition is necessary – if you play a horn, just turn up! We rehearse in the Carpenter Room every Friday. While BUJO’s rehearsals may be a little more relaxed than Hornstars’, the quality of music is certainly no less and the band has achieved a lot this year. Most notably being crowned the winners of the South West Battle of the Big Bands 🏆 !

While a little band rivalry can be motivating, we are ultimately one big Big Band family. We celebrate this every week by coming together after rehearsal for a drink down in the Balloon Bar (in the Richmond Building).