Ace © Kieran Morgan

Ace partner for Hastings Fat Tuesday, 2016

Hastings Fat Tuesday was started in 2009 by event producer Adam Daly and musician Bob Tipler and is now the UK’s largest Mardi Gras festival;  It is Hastings’ answer to the New Orleans Mardi Gras, with a programme of live music over five days featuring local, national, and international acts.

And next year guitar legend Ace, of internationally famous rock band Skunk Anansie, has partnered up with Hastings Fat Tuesday for the 2016 Mardi Gras festival, which is shaping up to be the best yet.

Ace has recently taken up the position of Head of Creative Industry Development at ACM (The Academy of Contemporary Music) in Guildford, and as a result ACM is confirmed as the official education partner of Hastings Fat Tuesday Festival.

Festival co-founder and organiser Adam Daly said: “This is fantastic news and will enable us to expand and develop our educational program, as well as giving us access to even more exciting new acts to be showcased at various events during Hastings Fat Tuesday 2016.”

Since Skunk Anansie exploded onto stages at the Dragon Bar, Lord Nelson and The Carlisle, for unforgettable performances as headliners of Hastings Fat Tuesday 2013, Ace has been a supporter of the festival. The guitarist was a panellist at the Un-Convention music business seminar and delivered guitar master-classes at this year’s Hastings Fat Tuesday, in February.

Ace said: “It’s really exciting to be involved with Fat Tuesday again next year, but this time with my involvement as Head of Creative Industry Development at The Academy of Contemporary Music. It’s an amazing event full of passion and talent. Now that we can add to that with our fantastic up and coming artists and bands from ACM it’s going to be even more of a powerhouse of Mardi Gras infused musical madness! I can’t wait to see everyone again next year, and this time with my own wrecking crew!”

ACM acts, who will have auditioned for slots on the Unplugged Tour, Off-Axis and Hastings Fat Tuesday Tour events, will appear alongside the festival line-up of great local bands and others from across the UK and further afield, to make Hastings Fat Tuesday 2016 even more diverse and fun-packed than ever before. There will also be workshops and seminars contained within the Un-Convention programme, covering all aspects of the music business, which will include advice for aspiring musicians wishing to develop in the music industry.

Hastings Fat Tuesday festival has gone from strength to strength – 40,000 people  attended this year – and cemented its position not only as one of Hastings’ largest festivals, but as a music festival of national significance, with artists, bands and music industry experts attending from all over the country.  The festival also received a large amount of media coverage including mentions from Cerys Matthews on BBC 6Music and Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 1.

Planning for 2016 is already well underway, and the Fat Tuesday team is inviting anyone who would like to be involved whether as a performer, stage-manager, technician or volunteer, to contact Adam Daly at adam@hastingsfattuesday.co.uk.

Fat Tuesday is from February 5-9, 2016.  For more information about ACM visit acm.ac.uk/why-choose-ACM

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