Thousands of people poured into Bognor Regis last weekend to enjoy some brilliant live
music, dance and hearty shanty singing.
Organised by the team from Southdowns Music Festival, the 13th such festival saw great
performances from the Friday headliners, Megson & Phil Beer at Venue 24 on the Pier,
plus on Saturday, the brilliant Roving Crows and the sensational Sorrel Nation Band joined us.
On Sunday evening, the long awaited and emotional return of local lad Ed Goodale
supported the hugely entertaining 3 Daft Monkeys (there`s four of them!).
The ever popular Ukulele Festival under marquee in Waterloo Square was rammed most of the
time with jams and live performances from The Mighty Lemons, Only Ukes, Sputnick Weazel
and many others.
There were some great dance displays from festival regulars Knickerbocker Glory, Elmer English
and Chameleon Dance which crowds in the town centre really warmed to.
No fewer than eleven shanty groups sang in various town centre venues on Saturday and
Sunday to much acclaim, with many people joining in with well known sea songs.
Seven different venues were used for the festival including the RAFA Club, The Lamb, The Alex,
Bonito Lounge, The William Hardwicke, Venue 24 and the Green Dragon which hosted the hugely
successful Rox/ Bognorphenia stage which proved a real hit.
Chairman of the Festival Committee, Roger Nash said, “Once again we’ve proved that if you
put the right things on, people will support you, and they did that in spades with packed out
venues and a real buzz around the town. We hope to be back in 2027 and using the
new Alexandra Arts Centre which opens in Spring next year.”
