Group of five joyful people wearing bright makeup, laughing together in front of a graffiti-covered wall at night.

Features

‘Are you coming to the drag?’: how trans-majority drag created community in Bristol

Echoing past places of queer community, in an era of rapidly rising transphobia, trans-majority drag spaces push through barriers of funding and oppression to offer a place for radical trans-expression.

Listen: People Just Do Something – Sound against the system – punk, rave and Dave from Faithless

After the crowdfunder: how can cultural spaces not just survive, but thrive?

Olga and Maria at a recent Altered States event

Features

Vladimir, vapes and defending democracy: when the Cable met Pussy Riot in BS3

Celebrating the subversive, we spent an evening with the legendary Russian dissidents to get behind the balaclavas to discuss all things protest.

Features

‘He was our godfather’: Bristol musicians remember Mark Stewart

Image of Danny Lydon, who says music gave him an outlet that helped him work through losing his dad

Features

When words fail: Meet the Bristol group nurturing male musicians’ mental health

Listen: Love Her – how Weekenders made space for women’s music

As part of this series of podcasts about underrepresented parts of Bristol’s history, this is a homage to Weekenders, a women's music night that started in the late 90s.

‘Crazy summers, days of rage’: how Beezer’s camera immortalised 1980s Bristol

Long before the ‘Bristol sound’ label was applied to the potent sonic brew bubbling from the city in the 90s, Andy ‘Beezer’ Beese moved with the bass-heavy beats of the 80s to photograph the era's pulses, parties and protests.

‘Trust in the grooves’: how Bristol’s independent record shops are navigating an uncertain world

The vinyl revival has provided an unlikely bright spot amid a bloodbath of UK high street closures. Bristol’s indie music retailers explain how they are keeping locked, innovating and creating communities to help them survive and thrive.

‘I can’t die, I’ve not made my solo album’: Holysseus Fly on overcoming cancer and looking forward

The Bristol singer-songwriter and Ishmael Ensemble member discusses overcoming breast cancer at just 25 and launching her career as a solo artist.

Grove: ‘Impending doom definitely plagues my mind, but I’ve sought out the tools to deal with that’

Following an explosive first festival season, Bristol-based producer and vocalist Grove sits down with the Cable to talk punk, power and vulnerability.

Bristol venues brace for another challenging winter in face of energy and cost of living crises

Independent businesses are being hammered by rising energy bills as cost of living rises force customers tighten their purse strings.