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  • Photo: Chris Johnson Photography

    Countdown to Hastings Beer and Music Festival

    As Glastonbury’s vibes reverberate across the land, here comes Hastings’ own Beer and Music Festival, four nights of good music, beer and bonhomie on the Oval open space organised by Hastings Round Table. Nick Terdre describes what waits in store. Continue reading…


    Public Image Ltd

    Public Image Ltd at the White Rock. Outrageous!

    Over the years, John Lydon (nee Rotten) has become something of a national treasure. A kind of punk Dame Judi Dench (in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they shared the same hair stylist.) The forming of Public Image Ltd (or PIL) was initially Lydon’s response to the acrimonious break up and demise of the Sex Pistols in 1978. Andrew Logan saw them recently at the White Rock Theatre.

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    An afternoon of classical guitar with Kianush Robeson at Blacklands Church

    Blacklands Church hosted an afternoon of classical guitar music with Kianush Robeson on 15 June. The programme was dedicated mainly to Andrés Segovia (1893-1987), who dominated the field of classical guitar for most of the last century, before closing with a work written for Julian Bream. In appreciative attendance was Stewart Rayment, who also took the photos.

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    Community Energy Fortnight (1–14 July) is coming!

    Local community benefit society Energise Sussex Coast (ESC) will be joining Battle Solar Town and others next month in celebrating Community Energy Fortnight (1–14 July), a national celebration of people-powered energy. ESC’s Gabriel Carlyle explains what’s happening.

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    Free holistic therapies for young people

    Hastings Voluntary Action continues to host a variety of community-focused events at Central Hall. This Saturday, 28 June, there will be a Holistic Health event with the chance to try different complementary therapies. Young people aged 18–24 will be able to experience the different therapies for no charge.

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    Jack and the Beanstalk

    Giant casting revealed for Jack and the Beanstalk

    Polka Dot Pantomimes and The Guildhall Trust are thrilled to announce that Richard Blackwood and Clair Norris will lead the cast of this year’s pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk at Hastings White Rock.

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    Hastings Fat Tuesday: the next generation

    The UK’s biggest Mardi Gras Festival, Hastings Fat Tuesday, welcomes three new directors following the retirement of longstanding former Directors, Sally Lampitt and Adam Daly.

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    Hastings Philharmonic Choir sing works by living composers

    Hastings Philharmonic Choir, accompanied by the strings of the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra, present two works by contemporary composers at its Northern Lights summer concert, to be held at Christ Church in St Leonards on Saturday 5 July. Press officer Gareth Simpson describes the background to these pieces.

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    ice lolly melting animation text reads Summer Music Meltdown

    DJ Wendy May’s Summer Music Meltdown

    Join the party at the Electric Palace for another summer of handpicked, blistering music-related films, including firm favourite Summer of Soul, plus The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith, Becoming Led Zeppelin and more, says Annie Waite. This year, renowned DJ Wendy May has chosen a trio of Americana, Punk and Soul-inspired selections for your enjoyment.

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    Let’s Get Loud! Active Arts presents an evening of inclusive performance and creativity

    Active Arts, Bexhill & Hastings Mencap’s flagship visual and performing arts programme for adults with learning disabilities, presents its annual showcase Let’s Get Loud! at the De La Warr Pavilion on Wednesday 2 July. Prepare for a truly unforgettable evening of talent, creativity and community spirit from over 60 performers, says deputy CEO Lianne Buttrey.

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    The Cove: A special pop-up exhibition at Hastings Contemporary

    HOT’s Judy Parkinson spoke to Louisa O’Shaughnessy, learning coordinator at Hastings Contemporary about The Cove: Against the Tide – a pop-up exhibition about to open of work by students from The Cove – the Special Educational Needs facility at St Leonards Academy.

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    Full House for the opening performance at the Hot Tap Theatre

    Dee Williams reports on the opening event at the new Hot Tap Theatre in St Andrews Mews and soaks up the atmosphere of this up-and-coming part of town.

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    Sustainable futures for local people – and local trees?

    The future of a mature lime tree in St Leonards is under threat because it has ‘poor form’. Erica Smith meets Beau, a local resident who feels lack of consideration, connection and protection of local ecology over profit is a form of colonialism.

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    Spiderman at the entrance to Hastings Comic Con

    Hastings Comic Con 2025 review

    Armed only with my Tom Baker scarf and a pocket full of Dalek Rolykins, I was heading off to the first Hastings Comic Con, where for a whole weekend, the geek may not have inherited the Earth, but they did take over the White Rock Theatre, writes Andrew Logan.

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    The sun feeds the wind, audio-visual installation

    Lucia Scazzocchio, audio producer and curator of the  XMTR Audio Arts Festival met Jude Montague at the Hastings Contemporary and we went to sit by the fishing boats. Here as the tide swelled and we watched the fishing crews at work and discussed the exhibition.

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    Tuba maestro Oren Marshall guests at Jazz Hastings

    Next guest on the Jazz Hastings stage is an astonishing musician who has been described as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Tuba”. The master of this unusual jazz instrument is Oren Marshall, who will be appearing with his trio Perturbando on 1 July.

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