A FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS

FOUR DAYS OF FANTASTIC LIVE MUSIC

This year’s inaugural Sidmouth International Jazz and Blues Festival exceeded all expectations during the Platinum Jubilee weekend which ran over four days from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 June. 

Wonderful things come from small beginnings and whilst modest in its size this year, the dynamic festival programme of music provided quality, diversity, inclusion, and a wide range of choice of music styles featuring talent from the across the region and from further afield.  

We express our gratitude to Greg Towning for his superb photography, and go to the top navigation bar on the website to access the gallery.  

Thank you to Paul Strange for his reviews in the Sidmouth Herald, see the following links: Mica Paris  and The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars .  

The festival’s free outdoor community stage located on the lawn at Kennaway House hosted an array of fabulous Jazz, Swing, Roots, Blues, Funk, Cuban and Latin music performances during the festival. 

The festival expresses our thanks to all of the following superb musicians and bands; Benny Carr Guitar, Russell Sinclair and The Southern Honey, Freak Flag, Slinky Machine, Southern Fried Groove Queens, Indira Roman & Aji Pa’ti, Paul Strange Quartet, Mark Harrison Trio, All Jazzed Up, Craig Milverton Quintet, Vine Lee & The Big Combo, The Fabulous Red Diesel, The Sugar Kings, Mojo Travellers, Smokey’s King Shufflers and The Jazz Defenders. 

Sidmouth Market Place and the Sidmouth Esplanade (seafront) burst into life from 2.30pm onwards on Sunday 5 June with the fabulous funky and infectious sounds of the talented ‘Brass Funkies’ an eight-piece marching band from Bristol who certainly gathered a large and appreciative crowd.  

The festival programme also included four extremely well attended headline concerts presented at Sidmouth Parish church, with UK Bluesman Ian Siegal and The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars performing on Thursday 2 June, and two further exceptional concerts with Italian virtuoso jazz guitarist Antonio Forcione and acclaimed pianist, singer, and songwriter Joe Stilgoe on Friday 3 June. 

Audiences were also treated to a unique and intimate concert with multi award – winning jazz singers Ian Shaw and Liane Carroll held at Dissenter Sidmouth on Sunday 5 June. 

The UK Queen of Soul Mica Paris performed a stunning evening finale concert on the outdoor performance stage at Kennaway House on Sunday 5 June. Mica performed with her exceptional band to a packed and very appreciative audience which ended a truly memorable first year festival. 

The festival also presented two art workshops ‘Jazz & Blues Rhythms Collage’ at Kennaway House on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 June from 12:00pm to 3:30pm. All ages and abilities participated in the workshops titled ‘Express what you see, hear and feel together to create a new artwork for Sidmouth’ using fabrics, paper, pens, and paints. 

We gratefully thank The Big Lottery Fund, Sidmouth School of Art and Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub and Coco Hodgkinson, Sophie Larter, Kat Heueston, Lucy Gichuru and Louise Cole. 

We thank our media, tourism and accommodation partners, Visit Sidmouth, Visit Devon, Visit South Devon, East Devon Excellence, Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce, Visit Exeter, East Devon County Council, Sidmouth Herald, East Devon News, Sidmouth Folk Festival, Sidmouth Tourist Information Centre, Sid Valley Radio, Eonic Digital, Studio Michael and GWR Great Western Railways. 

We extend our gratitude to all the venues within Sidmouth that have kindly participated, hosted live music, Sidmouth Parish Church, The Dukes Inn, The Swan Inn, The Volunteer Inn, The Radway Inn, Sidmouth Conservative Club, The Balfour Arms, The Marine, The Courtyard Café, The Fort Café, The Hotel Riviera, Rincon Coffee House, 14 Mile East and Dissenter Sidmouth. 

A special thank you goes out to the wonderful musicians that are performing during the festival, our amazing team of festival volunteers, the core festival team, Louise and Coco from Sidmouth Community Hub, John Radford at JR Event Services, East Devon District Council events team and licensing, our logistic and technical partners, JVHA, Matt Roe for sound at Kennaway House, Stage Engage, Limegreen, ASAP Fire for security, Toadpit Medical and Bradfords Building Supplies for providing fencing at Kennaway House.  

Superb music performances also took place at venues within Sidmouth at local restaurants, pubs, and hotels and a special afternoon Jubilee Swing Jazz concert with the Pete Allen Jazz Band enthralled audiences at the Sidmouth Conservative Club on Sunday 5 June. 

The festival would not be possible without the wonderful and appreciated support of individuals, patrons, funding partners, venues, and sponsors who we gratefully thank and acknowledge. 

A special thanks goes to our amazing festival volunteers, the core festival team, the talented musicians, our production partners for providing (staging, lighting, sound) security, medical, bar and food facilities and of course, everyone that attended the festival.