Sidmouth Sea Fest
SIDMOUTH SEA FEST 2026
Sidmouth’s homegrown festival kicks off again Friday 15th and Saturday 16th May 2026! Returning to our new venue overlooking the sea at Connaught Gardens.
Bringing back an excellent lineup of grassroots music and entertainment, community groups, arts, local food & drink and more!
Our 2026 theme is Marine and Green. The festival will celebrate the beauty and importance of marine ecosystems, aiming to raise awareness and promote sustainability within the community.
Sidmouth Sea Fest Marine and Green will feature activities designed to foster a deeper connection to the sea and inspire positive environmental action for the future.
Thanks to funding support from the National Lottery Awards for All England – we are working to create a collective Marine and Green Community Charter for Sidmouth.
This charter, developed through outreach and event activities, will share strategies, foster new collaborations between local groups, and unite ongoing community-led, environmentally focused initiatives.
The charter will be developed through listening and involving individuals and groups and aim to strengthen, share, connect, and amplify the actions individuals and groups are taking to address climate change challenges.
Check out our gallery for a reminder of Sea Fest 2025 – thank you to our fantastic local photographers Charlie Fawell and Sarah Hall
Find out more via our Sea Spot supporting grassroots music project and view our Sidmouth Sea Spot @Connaught video to see the difference we are making to grassroots music locally.
Sea Fest enquiries can be sent to: seafest@sidmouthcoastalcommunityhub.org
Check our socials for more updates!
Friday Night Fundraiser
Secure your Early Bird tickets for Sidmouth Sea Fest Party Night, taking place on Friday 15th May at Connaught Gardens.
We are delighted to present an outstanding live music programme to open this year’s festival. Performing at Sea Fest for the first time, Amy True is a formidable UK artist blending Hip Hop, Soul and Jazz with fearless, intelligent lyricism. Recognised as a MOBO One to Watch, her performance promises to be a highlight of the evening.
We are also pleased to welcome back much-loved Sea Fest artist Samantics. A dynamic live performer and rap-poet, he is known for his distinctive fusion of ukulele, beats and socially conscious lyrics, offering a truly unique musical experience.
Completing the line-up is DJ Suv, a pioneering producer and DJ celebrated for his soulful sound and wide-ranging influences, and a key contributor to the Mercury Prize–winning drum & bass album New Forms.
Tickets are limited and early booking is strongly recommended. Proceeds from Party Night help fund our free community festival day on Saturday 16th May, supporting accessibility and inclusivity for all.
Join us as we kick off the festival season in true Sidmouth style.
A New Venue
Due to planned improvement works at the site of our usual venue at The Ham and eastern end of the Esplanade, we relocated in 2025 to the beautiful Connaught Gardens by the sea.
Our debut at Connaught was so well loved, featuring the same great collaborations with local community groups that celebrate everything in, on and by the sea – local talent, our very own choir, and so much more.
We adapted and innovated to curate a super creative event that made the best use of this beautiful park and new exciting venue for us.
With our three grassroots music platforms; Main Stage, The Clocktower Stage and The Clamship plus Creativity on the Coast, The Boatyard and Sea Fest Flea – we successfully created a more immersive festival experience which everyone loved – so much so – we will be back at Connaught in 2026!
The Vision
The Sidmouth Sea Fest vision is the staging of an annual event that celebrates the sea and our coast and the vibrant community of this very special place.
Sidmouth Sea Fest is about the community working and celebrating together, supporting grassroots music talent, promoting environmental awareness and actions that value our marine and coastal environment.
Sea Fest is a shared platform for music artists, community groups, local food, crafts and creatives, encouraging a spirit of shared place, drawing on the knowledge and skills of others to enhance what happens locally.
We invite local clubs, enterprises, schools and the public to an annual event that showcases the activities, heritage and education connected to the sea and coast that Sidmouth offers to local people and visitors.
Proud to be supporting Grassroots Music – promoting, platforming, networking and learning together to support bands, djs, musicians and music industry creatives to learn their craft.
Sea Fest is a nursery ground where talent spawns!
Change Maker Champion
We are on a mission, reduce, reuse and recycle for a greener festival.
One of Sidmouth’s sustainable tourism Change Maker Champions.
Proudly pioneering – first of its kind in Sidmouth – single use plastics free festival since 2018.
Holistic and inclusive, community based and collaborative, protecting and enhancing nature, places and spaces, creative and cultural, nurturing talent – just a few of the things we stand for.
