Gambian kora player Sura Susso will lead a cross-generational West African ensemble into Bristol on Friday, October 23, for *Manding Melody*, a concert pairing him with celebrated Malian guitarist and singer Habib Koité at Bristol Beacon’s Lantern Hall.
The event is one of the clearest Gambian-linked dates on the UK autumn calendar and comes as part of a short British tour of the project. Habib Koité’s official concert listings show Manding Melody in Reading on October 22, Bristol on October 23 and Southampton on October 24. The Bristol performance is presented by Bristol Beacon.
Date, venue and start time
The Bristol show takes place on Friday, October 23, 2026 at Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street, Bristol BS1 5AR. Bristol Beacon lists doors at 7:30 p.m. and the performance at 8:00 p.m. The venue notes that timings are approximate and can change, so ticket holders should check their event email before travelling.
The concert uses reserved seating. Bristol Beacon lists the age guidance as 14+, with anyone under 18 required to be accompanied by an adult.
Tickets
The official Bristol Beacon event page lists tickets at £28 including booking fee. The venue uses e-tickets, which are emailed after purchase.
Third-party listings may show slightly different prices or availability. Those can reflect allocation or booking-fee differences. For the most reliable current information, start with Bristol Beacon’s own box office.
Who is performing?
Manding Melody is built around Sura Susso’s kora and Habib Koité’s guitar and voice, with additional singers, balafon, percussion and bass. Bristol Beacon describes the project as a collaboration among musicians from Senegal, Mali and The Gambia, using the shared Manding musical tradition as the starting point rather than treating national borders as the organising idea.
For Gambian audiences, Susso is the central connection. The kora is one of the most recognisable instruments of the Senegambian and wider Manding cultural world, and Susso’s work places its intricate 21-string sound inside contemporary arrangements rather than presenting it only as a museum piece. The collaboration with Koité is especially natural because Koité’s guitar language has often drawn from West African string traditions while remaining distinctly his own.
The concert description points to the famous *Ali & Toumani* collaboration between Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté as a reference point, then expands the palette with a larger ensemble. That does not mean the Bristol performance will reproduce those recordings. The comparison is better understood as a clue to the kind of musical conversation the organisers want audiences to expect: acoustic instruments, deep tradition and room for individual players to answer one another.
What should you wear?
Bristol Beacon has not published a dress code for this concert. It is a concert-hall event rather than a formal gala, so comfortable smart-casual clothing is a practical choice, but that is advice rather than a venue rule. The important thing is to dress for late-October Bristol weather and for a seated indoor performance.
Parking and transport
Drivers have a straightforward option close to the venue. Bristol Beacon says Trenchard Street multi-storey car park is directly behind the building, with its venue pages placing it roughly 50 to 200 metres away depending on the entrance referenced. The Beacon sits inside Bristol’s Clean Air Zone, so anyone driving a chargeable vehicle should check the city’s rules before the trip.
For public transport, most city-centre buses stop around the promenade roughly 250 metres from the Beacon. Bristol Temple Meads is the nearest major railway station, about 1.6 kilometres away. The venue says the most direct walking route from the station runs via Queen Square. Taxi drop-off is available on nearby streets, and accessible drop-off points are provided for people with mobility needs.
Bicycle racks are available near the main entrance and in surrounding streets. Bristol Beacon also notes that Bristol Ferry Boats serve a city-centre stop on the Floating Harbour, although anyone using that option should check the ferry timetable for the night of the concert.
Accessibility
Lantern Hall is on Level 1 inside Bristol Beacon. The venue says wheelchair-user spaces are available within the first ten rows on the flat floor. Assistance dogs and emotional-support animals are permitted, and a Sennheiser MobileConnect assistive-listening system is installed. Visitors who require specific seating or support should contact the box office before buying rather than assuming any seat will meet their needs.
Bristol Beacon also operates an Access Register that can support priority booking and personal-assistant arrangements for eligible visitors.
Food and drinks near the performance
The simplest pre-show food option is inside the venue. Colonnade, Bristol Beacon’s restaurant, serves an evening menu Monday through Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., according to the venue’s current information. Bristol Loaf, the Beacon’s artisan café, offers an event-night evening menu until 7 p.m., which can work for an early meal before doors.
The building also has event bars. Bristol Beacon says Golding Bar generally opens around an hour before advertised doors, while Bridgehouse and Simons’ bars open around 30 minutes before doors. Opening arrangements can vary by event, so treat those times as the venue’s normal operating pattern rather than a guarantee for every counter.
Where to stay
Bristol Beacon promotes hotel partnerships on its own visitor pages, but hotel prices change quickly with demand. Rather than quote a rate that may be obsolete by October, visitors staying overnight should look for accommodation in Bristol city centre within walking or short taxi distance of Trenchard Street and compare refundable rates. Fans travelling from London, Birmingham, Cardiff or elsewhere should also check the final train home before assuming they can return after the concert.
How to attend without getting caught by a fake ticket
Use Bristol Beacon’s official event page as the first booking source. Check that the event date is Friday, October 23, the room is Lantern Hall and the start time is 8 p.m. Avoid sending money to an individual based only on a social-media post. If the official allocation sells out, use only a recognised resale channel and verify the ticket-transfer process with the venue.
The same rule applies to any schedule changes. An Instagram flyer can be useful promotion, but the venue website and the artists’ official pages are the places to confirm whether doors, support acts or timings have changed.
Why this one is worth watching
For Gambians in the UK, Manding Melody is not simply another “African music” booking. It places a Gambian kora player at the centre of a collaborative project with one of Mali’s most internationally recognised guitarists and an ensemble drawn from the wider Manding cultural sphere. That makes the night relevant to both diaspora audiences and listeners who may be encountering Gambian music for the first time.
The practical summary is simple: Friday, October 23; doors 7:30 p.m.; music at 8 p.m.; Lantern Hall at Bristol Beacon; reserved seating; 14+; official ticket price £28 including booking fee. Everything else – from train times to restaurant reservations – is best confirmed close to the date.