Baxter Dury performing at a Fat Tuesday concert at White Rock Theatre last year (photo: Mark Richards).

Fat Tuesday prepares to return!

As we (hopefully) learn to live with the virus, and enjoy entertainment in public venues once more, let us welcome with open arms the return of Fat Tuesday to the life of the town, with a first event planned for late August and others to follow in the autumn and thereafter. The Fat Tuesday Team lay out their plans.

During the pandemic, while any form of actual live music has been limited, the Fat Tuesday Team have been working tirelessly behind the scenes, making sure that we stay strong as an organisation and planning future projects for when the Covid chains have finally been fully released.

Although we were unable to deliver the 2021 Festival, with the support of Arts Council England we have been able to make some strategic decisions that will support our future development. The first of these is to appoint a new general manager, Hannah Deeble, who will be working alongside directors Adam Daly and Sally Lampitt to deliver our vision for year-round activity.

‘We’re delighted to welcome Hannah into the Fat Tuesday Team, as she brings a wealth of experience as both a musician and experienced arts manager,’ says Sally Lampitt. ‘ Over the last 12 years Hastings Fat Tuesday has grown to become a vital part of the town’s cultural offering and together we’ll continue to realise our vision to support and develop opportunities for local artists, grassroots music venues, the cultural economy and of course the community of Hastings and St Leonards.’

Arts Council funding has also enabled us to plan a revised programme of ambitious events throughout the summer and autumn right up to the 2022 Fat Tuesday Festival, which takes place 24 February to 1 March, as well as launching new community and education work.

Late August diary date

Kicking off this summer, we are delighted to be working with the fabulous Hastings Rocks team on our first large-scale summer event, taking place on the Oval on 28 August. This full day of music is an opportunity to showcase the very best local talent, and tickets are already on sale.

Fat Tuesday director Sally Lampitt, right, and newly appointed general manager Hannah Deeble at Unconvention music convention in Manchester this week (photo: Hastings Fat Tuesday).

This Autumn we will be continuing to support emerging artists and diverse genres by launching a series of monthly Under the Radar sessions in partnership with BBC Introducing The South. We can’t wait to support one of our best grassroots music venues – the newly revamped The Brass – with these sessions showcasing the best new young alternative music from across the South East.

In line with our aspirations to become a charity we are developing Hastings Fat Tuesday Learning and Engagement, and will be launching a series of opportunities for participants from all backgrounds. In our ambition to provide the best musical experiences for everyone, we will be delivering a variety of sessions into key areas, with guest artists to support the work.

We are also in the planning stages of Sonics 2021, an experimental, electronic, audiovisual extravaganza – more information coming soon!

And finally this Autumn, a new collaboration takes us into cabaret, circus and top flight DJs. Stand by for announcements!

We can’t wait to celebrate the return of live events with you all – see you out there!

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