Mary Rose & Royal George Morris Dancers

We’re thrilled that the Mary Rose & Royal George Morris Dancers will join us for this summer’s event.
They will dance on Saturday 23rd September – times and locations to follow.

Mary Rose and Royal George are a Portsmouth based dancing team, who aim to bring a lively new approach to the entertaining morris style of dancing. Their unique style takes its inspiration from a number of morris traditions including, Border, Cotswold, Molly and Rapper. These influences added with their own unique flair make them a true pleasure to watch.
Established in 2015 they are building a fantastic reputation for themselves as a team of unique dancers who are fun and enjoyable to watch and socialise with.

Find out more: Mary Rose and Royal George.

Mary Rose and Royal George Morris Dancers

What an absolutely fabulous weekend! ⭐️

Thank you for sharing our festival with us here in Bognor Regis – it has already been cited as ~
“A wonderful, well-received festival”
“Another great festival”
“2022 was probably the best festival so far”
“Such fun!”

With huge thanks to all the wonderfully talented people involved – the musicians, the crafters, the singers, the dancers, the technical teams, the workshop leaders, the stewards, the venues and promoters etc and to all those who bought tickets to support our local music scene.

It was so good to enjoy live music, dance, workshops and so much more, together.⠀
We’ll be sharing more images (and videos) from the event over the following few days. ⠀
Do tag us into your festival images and videos, we’d love to see them.⠀

With love and HUGE thanks, the Southdowns Music Festival team.⠀
Photo credits to @lynandtrevsports

Chichester Area Talking News

Huge thanks to the autumn edition of Chichester Area Talking News for the interview with Roger Nash, our festival chair person and organiser.

You can listen to autumn version of Talking News just here: Chichester Area Talking News.

The programme includes:
Introduction to the Autumn 2022 edition of Insight
David Bathurst on singing Beatles songs
Roger Nash – Southdowns Music Festival
Shetland Islands 2 with Kate Cameron
ROVI – Melissa Ratledge and Lesley Gogarty
The Kings Ride – Helen Millen
Phil Hewitt talks about the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chartres with Michael Bevis
Chestnut Tree House – Nicky Clark
Dragonflies and Aircraft with Richart Williamson

The Country Diary In Song – A Folk Musical Tribute To An Edwardian Lady

The Country Diary In Song – A Folk Musical Tribute To An Edwardian Lady | Saturday 24th September
2.30pm | Regis Centre Studio 1
South Downs regulars, acapella quintet Broomdasher bring their much much-praised folk musical based on Edith Holden’s Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, to this year’s Festival.

In the show, almost thirty of the most popular traditional folk songs – including Wild Mountain Thyme; Bushes and Briars; The Seeds of Love and If I was a Blackbird – take you on a nostalgic journey through the year in a musical version of the classic book recreating a heart-warming and intimate atmosphere – with encouragement to join in the familiar choruses.

Described as “Wonderful” by Fatea Magazine, “Fantastic Entertainment” by Folking and “A Stunning Evocation of Rural Life” by The Birmingham Mail, the show has entertained sold-out houses across the country.

Tickets for this event are £10.50, concessions £8.50 and free to our 4-day festival ticket holders. Tickets are available at www.regiscentre.co.uk

Our Outreach Projects – Join Us!

Here's a reminder of our forthcoming outreach project dates:

Wednesday 13th July - Selsey 'Making Your Mark'
Wednesday 20th July - Bognor `Making Your Mark` at The Waverley
Saturday 16th July - `FamyShanty` at Regis Centre, Bognor Regis
Saturday 16th July - 'Shanty Heads' at The RAFA Club, Bognor Regis

We do hope you can join us!

Find out more via our Outreach Project page

FamyShanty
Making Your Mark

Our Forthcoming Outreach Project Dates

Here’s a reminder of our forthcoming out-reach project dates:

Wednesday 11th May – Selsey ‘Making Your Mark’
Saturday 14th May – `Shanty Heads` at RAFA Club, Bognor Regis
Wednesday 18th May – Bognor `Making Your Mark` at Waverley
Saturday 21st May – `FamyShanty` at Regis Centre, Bognor Regis

Advance notice: Waverley Jam Sun 5th June at Queens Platinum Jubilee, 4pm, Waterloo Square

We do hope you can join us!

Find out more via our Outreach Project page

Honey & The Bear

British folk and roots duo Honey & The Bear play Greyshott Folk Club. They combine delicately interweaving vocal harmonies with emotive and evocative song writing. With a diverse range of sounds, textures and rhythms that flow from the fast and furious to gentle ballads, their live performances are spirited and dynamic.

We’re so pleased to support our friends at Grayshott Folk Club with their shows.

Conjuring stories in song, Honey & The Bear tell tales of Suffolk folklore, courageous people they admire, their passion for nature and the odd heartbreak or two. The multi instrumentalist pair, comprised of songwriters Jon Hart (guitar, bass, bouzouki) and Lucy Hart (guitar, ukulele, bass, banjo, mandolin & percussion), have been writing and performing together since early 2014, having met at a song writing event two years previously.

Since then, they have played at many revered venues and festivals across the UK as well as travelling across the channel for their first European tour. They have supported Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys on two UK tours and opened for The Shires at world renowned Snape Maltings Concert Hall.

Born and raised in Suffolk, Lucy learned to play Violin and Drums at school, sung in the Suffolk Jubilee choir and started song writing at age 15. She taught herself guitar whilst at University in Canterbury, and began performing her creations not long afterwards. At 27, she released her debut band album ’Step Right On’, songs from which you can now hear her perform with Jon. Jon, a Yorkshire boy, raised in East Anglia, has been performing his own songs since his teens. A self taught guitarist, his love of driving guitar riffs is a core aspect of his song writing process. He has released three band albums, the latest of which was entitled ‘Level With Me’, featuring ‘Wrist Burner’ which is a gig favourite.

‘Journey Through the Roke’ was released on 23rd April 2021. The album features many talented musicians including Toby Shaer (whistles, harmonium, flute, fiddle, bass), Evan Carson (drums, bodhran, percussion), Archie Churchill Moss of Moore, Moss, Rutter (melodeon) and Graham Coe of The Jellyman’s Daughter (cello).

“Lucy and Jon’s vocals are gentle, rich and mellifluous throughout. This is an accomplished album from a masterly duo”.
– Folk London Magazine

“Dexterously played with beautifully crafted arrangements around a perfect pairing of voices delivering personal fine songs this is a stunning album.”
– FATEA

“This album is one of the clearest recordings I’ve heard in a decade, holding its head above the roke and into the sunlight on every track” – Irish Music Magazine

“Lucy’s vocals are as beautiful as ever…she is now one of this country’s best folk singers” – Stephen Foster, Radio Caroline & EADT.

This gig has been rescheduled from November 2020 but this time around, Lucy and Jon have invited some of their gifted musical friends to join them.

honey & the bear