Somerset is a county in the south west of England. It has a varied cultural tradition ranging from the Arthurian legends to The Wurzels, a band specialising in Scrumpy and Western music.

Traditional folk music, both song and dance, was important in Somerset's agrarian communities. Somerset songs were collected by Cecil Sharp and incorporated into a number of works including Holst's A Somerset Rhapsody. Halsway Manor near Williton is an international centre for folk music. The tradition continues today with groups such as The Wurzels, who specialise in Scrumpy and Western music. The number of Morris dance sides declined drastically following the First World War, but saw a resurgence during the 1950s, and Morris dancing is now a common sight at events throughout the summer.

Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote while staying in Coleridge Cottage, Nether Stowey. The writer Evelyn Waugh spent his last years in the village of Combe Florey. The novelist John Cowper Powys (1872–1963) lived in the Somerset village of Montacute from 1885 until 1894 and his novels Wood and Stone (1915) and A Glastonbury Romance (1932) are set in Somerset. His brothers, T. F. Powys and Llewelyn Powys, were also successful writers.

Many traditional rural trades such as basket making have survived, and many other crafts such as jewelry, leatherwork and pottery can be found at studios around the county.

An annual competition for the Bard of Bath aims to find Bath's best poet, singer or storyteller. The Bard uses the title to develop artistic projects in the area and leads evening bardic walks around the city. The title resurrects an Iron-Age Celtic Druid tradition where Druids were the law-makers, judges and ceremonial leaders, Ovates were mediums, healers and prophets and Bards were poets, musicians and history-keepers. All of them held high status and a place in mystical/religious circles.

Bath has the greatest number of theatres in the county. The oldest is the Theatre Royal which was built in 1720 by Thomas Greenway, and was Beau Nash's first house: The theatre, along with the neighbouring Garrick's Head public house, is a Grade II* listed building and is considered a prime example of Georgian architecture. The auditorium has tiers of ornate plasterwork, with sumptuous red and gilt decoration, and a majestic trompe l'oeil ceiling and glittering chandelier. It was extensively renovated in 1982, and refurbished in 1999 and now provides a 900-seat auditorium. The Ustinov Studio, a studio theatre is the Theatre Royal's second space, built in 1997 at the rear of the building on Monmouth Street. It is named after the actor Peter Ustinov. It is the home of Britain's largest annual international festival of adult puppetry, and a venue for an eclectic range of drama, dance and classical music. In 2006 it closed for a £1.5million, 15-month refurbishment undertaken by Haworth Tompkins. Also connected to the Theatre Royal is the egg which was built specifically for the use of young people. It was converted from a former cinema by architects Haworth Tompkins. The Grade II listed Victorian building houses the eponymous 'egg'-shaped auditorium, around which an arts cafe, rooftop rehearsal space and basement technical workshop are arranged. The idea was supported by the children's author Bel Mooney. It opened in October 2005. In 2007, the Peter Hall Company made use of the space in order to stage a production of George Orwell's Animal Farm. The auditorium is unique in the UK enabling both fully day-lit or blacked out theatre and is usable end-on, in the round, flat floor and traverse.

In 2004, the Next Stage Theatre Company took possession of a grade II listed building in Bath originally built as a Congregational hall in 1797, which had been used by The People's Mission until 1998, and began building work to convert it into the Mission Theatre. It is now owned by the Bath and North East Somerset Council, which has granted a lease to occupy and use the building as a 100-seat theatre, arts centre and multi-purpose facility for community activities. On the first floor there is a small 30-seat theatre (The Theatre Upstairs) and a Bistro open during the day and providing meals before performances in the theatre. The Rondo Theatre, which was established in 1989, is located in the former church hall of St. Saviours Church, Larkhall. The building, purchased in 1976 by Doreen and Wilf Williams, has been converted into a 105-seat theatre. The facility received extensive renovations and upgrades after the receipt of lottery grants in 1996 and 2003.

The Blakehay Theatre in Weston-super-Mare was originally built in 1850 as Wadham Street Baptist Church. During World War II the theatre was hit by incendiary bombs. After the war it was rebuilt inside the original Victorian shell. In 1985 the building ceased to be a place of worship. In 1986 the Blakehay was saved from demolition by the Weston-super-Mare Building Trust and run by the Civic Society. In September 2004 Weston Town Council purchased the theatre for £195,000. Also in Weston is The Playhouse a 664-seat theatre that hosts a largely entertainment based programme of shows all year round including opera, ballet, comedy, music and pantomime performances. In 1946, an old market building, designed by local architect Hans Price, was converted into a 500-seat theatre. For the next 18 years this theatre, The Playhouse, provided the town with a great variety of entertainment and played host to stars including Frankie Howerd, Bob Monkhouse and Ken Dodd. On 21 August 1964, a fire destroyed most of the theatre and the unsafe structure had to be demolished. In 1969, at a cost of £230,000 a new theatre opened and has been in continuous use ever since. The stage measures 59 feet (18 m) by 28 feet (9 m) and can be extended by covering the orchestra pit.