The Blast

The Blast is a Bristol-based event promoter, running club and warehouse nights in the city and across the South West. Founded around 2006–07 by Bristol promoters Tom Hoyle, Rob (TS2W) and Ollie, it began as a party label built around bass-led, multi-genre club nights. Hoyle is also a resident DJ.

Its first party was held at Level, near Dojo. The regular Bristol night later moved to Thekla, following earlier residencies at Dojo Lounge and Native; it has also used Lakota and Motion, among other Bristol venues. The Blast has staged events at The Prospect Building and The Underground in Bristol, and Outernet Live in London. The Blast operates in the United Kingdom.

The music spans drum and bass, jungle, breaks, garage, bassline, electro, grime, dubstep and old-school rave. Bookings have included Jakes and Kasra, alongside Bristol acts L U C Y and Sir Hiss. The promoter gives Bristol artists places alongside headline bookings, and its current focus is local bass music across underground styles, featuring established and emerging performers.

Sequences launched as an outdoor festival at Motion in July 2016, with separate stages linked to Critical Music and Deep Medi. The Blast also ran Shit The Bed events in Motion’s skatepark and staged Carnival of the Dead there in 2019, headlined by Shy FX. By 2019, events had grown from attracting 300 to 400 people to drawing around 4,000. Shit The Bed took place intermittently at the skatepark, and the series had sold out in advance by 2009.