Fat Tuesday 2015 Programme

The festival kicks off on Lucky Friday, 13 February, with Dr Savage and the Fat Tuesday Second Line performing in turn at Pissarro’s, General Havelock and the Jenny Lind, where Cajun Dawgs will also take to the stage (8-11pm).

Unplugged Saturday, 14 February, gets under way with Cardi Gras at the Jenny Lind, with tea, cake and sensible music for people who want to keep their cardigans on, while in the Stade Hall Radiator Arts will run umbrella decorating workshops (10am-4pm). Through the afternoon there will be live acoustic music in the bars and restaurants of the Old Town, with 200 gigs in total over the course of the afternoon (1pm-6pm).

In the evening the Grande Mardi Gras Ball will be held at St Mary in the Castle, to the sound of swamp-infested gypsy blues from the Congo Faith Healers (8pm-3am, tickets £10). At the ball a Mardi Gras Monarch will be elected for the first time, with party-goers given ballot papers on arrival. Three pubs, the St Leonard, the Brass Monkey and the Crown, will compete for the crown, represented respectively by artists and designers Maika Crampton, Peter Quinnell and Linda King.

Those decorated umbrellas will be on show on Sunday 15 February when the Umbrella Parade, complete with marching bands, costumes and floats, will proceed along the sea-front from the Stade to St Mary in the Castle (noon-1pm). The entertainment at St Mary in the Castle then morphs seamlessly into Preservation Sunday, a traditional jazz and beer festival with live music and DJ (1pm-6pm).

In parallel Off Axis, a new event upstairs and downstairs at the Carlisle, will showcase 12 upcoming bands from all over the country keen to impress music industry representatives and win new audiences (1pm to 7pm). Bands include Of Empires (from Brighton), Native People (Kent) and Dorey the Wise (Hastings).

Another new event is Sonic Sunday, a mystery tour of sound, film and performance with a focus on experimental electronic music will take place at various venues in St Leonards, culminating in a live extravaganza at a secret location (1pm to 11pm). Perfomers include Warrior Squares, Roger Clarke and the Record Player Orchestra, Stasis73 and Alex Allmont with his music-making Lego constructions.

A new event – Un-Convention Hastings – takes place at St Mary in the Castle on Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 February (10am-6pm, £10 per day or £15 for both). Un-Convention is an international initiative aimed at exploring innovative ways for artists to connect and build sustainable careers – Hastings will be the 73rd edition. Highlights include a guitar masterclass from Ace of rock band Skunk Anansie.

The sole event on Slim Monday, allowing everyone to catch their breath, will be at Brass Monkey, with music by King Size Slim (7pm to 11pm). This is also a chance to meet Fat Tuesday musicians off-duty.

The festival reaches its climax on Fat Tuesday itself with the Fat Tuesday Tour, when 16 bands will perform at 11 Old Town venues, while there will also be live music and DJs at 10 fringe venues (8pm and 11pm). Acts include Bosco Rogers (Hastings), Skinny Lister (London/Hastings), Prose (Manchester) and The Jacques (Bristol).

After-parties will be held at West Exit and the Brass Monkey, both with guest musicians and DJs (10pm-3am, £10 for wristband giving entry to both parties).

 

Tickets for the ball and the aftershow parties are available from The Crown, All Saints Street, the St Leonard, London Road, and Substance, Robertson Street; or online. Tickets for Un-Convention Hastings can also be acquired online.

Photo competition A £200 prize and runners-up prizes are offered to the (amateur) photographers who best capture the essence of Fat Tuesday. Enter via the Facebook page. And there is also £50 for the best Instagram photo (use hashtag #hft2015).

Fat Tuesday website. Guide to bands.

See also Fat Tuesday extravaganza kicks off Friday

Also in: Music & Sound

« fat tuesday last two days
fat tuesday 2015 »