Can you spot yourself?

The official photographs for the 2026 festival are now available to purchase online – with huge thanks to Lyn and Trev Sports for the wonderful images.

You can purchase them via this link.

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.”

Sadly, Hollie Rogers is now unable to perform at this year’s event, and sends her sincere apologies.

She was due to perfrom on Saturday as part of our free concert series.

📣 Headline show announcement 📣

We’re introducing the Venue 24 Concerts at this year’s festival:

Friday 11th September Phil Beer + Megson
Saturday 12th September Roving Crows + Sorrel Nation
Sunday 13th September 3 Daft Monkeys + Ed Goodale Music

Tickets are £20 per evening or £45 for all 3 evenings.
Both evening concerts commence at 7.30pm.
Ticket prices are inclusive of all booking and administration fees and can be purchased from here.

*Kindly note: The evening concerts at Venue 24 replace the evening Marquee Concerts.

In memory of Jim Brooks who was a big part of our event, but who sadly passed away this January, we will create the ‘Jim Brooks Memorial Stage’.
The stage will operate at the southern end of London Road and will feature great dancing, Shanty singing and other exciting entertainment.

We’re thrilled to be introducing the Marquee Concerts at the South Downs Music Festival 2025

Friday 19th September – Gerry Colvin followed by Merry Hell
Saturday 21st September – Flossie Malavialle followed by The Alistair Goodwin Band
Tickets are £15 per evening or £25 for both evenings.
Both evening concerts commence at 7.30pm.

More info: Marquee Concerts

ROX Returns to the Seafront!

After a gap of over 10 years, the iconic ROX Music & Arts brand is set to return to Bognor Regis seafront this September as part of the Southdowns Music Festival.

In close partnership with Bognorphenia, they will be hosting the Rising Stars stage which will be situated on the closed seafront outside The Promenade Bar and will run from 12 noon to 6pm on the 21st and 22nd of September. Chair of the Southdowns Music Festival, Roger Nash, said “It’s great to give the team from ROX the opportunity to get back to their roots after over 30 years championing young local artists and providing a professional platform for them to perform on. Bognorphenia have also been incredibly supportive of young artists in recent years through their dedicated community work so it’s exciting to bring them together to try and recreate some of the special atmosphere that they are both so well known for.”

ROX Co-Founder, Steve Goodheart, added “A number of issues stopped ROX from holding any events over the last few years, none less so than a global pandemic! I think everyone thought we’d disappeared; it hasn’t been easy but here we are – back on the seafront ready to do it all over again! We’re grateful to Roger and all the team at Bognorphenia for allowing us to dip our toes back in the water and we’re looking forward to working with all of the partners involved in this event.”

Whether you’re in an up and coming local band or already a young established performer – if you would like to showcase your talents, you can apply by emailing bognorphenia@gmail.com please include your contact number, any links to performances you’d like to share with us and a brief description of your musical style and why you’d like to play!