Fat Tuesday (website is here) is fast becoming one of the key music events on the calendar.
A four day event in Hastings, it’s a key part of the small south coast town’s reinvention that has been going on quietly and successfully as it has become the ‘new Brighton’. Becoming a place for artists and musicians to relocate to the sea and live in a cheaper space away from the helter skelter property paradox of London and Brighton. The capital city is becoming almost impossible for many art types to live in and the same goes for Brighton which even if it happens to be where 90 per cent of the UK’s music journalists live and a beautiful city is also becoming challenging.
Hastings is a nice looking town – there’s plenty of regency, white christmas cake buildings and the blustery wind and choppy waves are a perfect British seaside backdrop – there is something magical about living in a seaside town and it’s a very London thing to relocate to the seaside – in the north people tend to head for the hills – places like Hebden Bridge but in the south east there is a different kind of tide (ha!) that flows into faded seaside towns and Eastbourne and Margate are also starting to boom. (maybe one day people will see the value of places like Blackpool or Morecambe?)
Hastings is happening anyway but Fat Tuesday is a key part of its cultural renaissance that sees an off kilter event that is a south coast version of the Mari Gras with a fancy dress parade winding its way through the old streets and pubs jam packed watching up to 200 bands. The town has some great venues in it and every year a few more new ones seem to open up – there is an electricity in the air and the standard of groups playing is high. This year we put festival organiser Adam Daly on the spot and asked him his favourite bands at the event and although he wasn’t that keen to favour anyone he gave a nod to
Jamie Smart
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