The inaugral Bristol New Music took place in February 2014 and featured work by Quatuor Bozzini, a world premiere by composer Claudia Molitor, composer and saxophonist John Butcher presenting the world premiere of Tarab Cuts, Cevdet Erek, Emptyset, Klavikon, Roly Porter, Addison Groove, the latest work by pianist Keith Tippett and Christian Wallrumrød Ensemble. Ellen Fullman performed her Long String Instrument, an installation of dozens of tuned wires fifty feet or more in length.
The centrepiece of the Festival featured Ensemble musikFabrik performing a UK Premiere of Harry Partch’s seminal work And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma on recreated versions of Partch's unique microtonal instruments. The concert also included reinterpretations of Frank Zappa.
Bristol New Music 2016 saw the commission of a major new installation work, Requiem for 114 Radios, by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, in which 114 radios were installed in Colston Hall's Victorian cellars and individually tuned to separate singing voices performing the Gregorian chant Dies Irae.
Max Richter performed his landmark From Sleep alongside The Blue Notebooks and Kronos Quartet celebrated the work of Terry Riley.
There were also concerts by Immix Ensemble, John Bence and Arve Henriksen.
Bristol New Music 2018 featured performances from Ulrich Mertin, Ensemble Variances, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Moritz von Oswald and Rashad Becker, Eric Chenaux, Sarah Angliss and Kaitlyn Auralia Smith. At the heart of the festival was an installation, talks and performance programme created by AUDINT (featuring Hyperdub founder Steve Goodman aka Kode9), and the commission The Anatomy of the Orchestra created and performed by Charles Hazlewood and The Paraorchestra & Friends.