Tag Archives: lifestyle

East Devon Soul Festival

Dates: 3rd July – 5th July 2026 

Seaton, East Devon 

Outline  

East Devon Soul Festival is a community music event with sustainability and revitalisation at its heart, bringing opportunities for local and national artists to perform in the seaside location of Seaton, East Devon, utilising available resources and infrastructures. The festival will feature multi genre eclectic music from local and national artists, crossing genre divides but all joined by the concept of soul, music that moves, has humanity and expression. All in collaboration with local venue owners and community groups.

Ethos 

Seaton in East Devon is a town with multiple underused venues, a lack of activity but with the infrastructure to support a creative ecosystem. Sitting between the more vibrant towns of Lyme Regis and Sidmouth, Seaton has been left behind. 

The aim of the East Devon Soul Festival is to bring music to the town to support socioeconomic enhancement, providing culture and economic life, encouraging people to come in and support local businesses. East Devon Soul Festival will generate an uplift in culture for the town, providing hope and opportunity for future events to occur and release the creative potential of the region, benefitting a wide demographic, including young people, families, older residents, and those who may otherwise have limited access to arts and live music due to financial, geographic, or social barriers. 

East Devon Soul Festival will offer opportunities for local musicians and performers to showcase their talents, promote wellbeing through shared cultural experiences, and strengthen social connections in the community. Through collaborations with schools, local businesses, and community groups, East Devon Soul will also provide volunteering, training, and educational opportunities to encourage participation in event production and the wider creative industries. 

Sustainability is a key driver for the East Devon Soul Festival. We want people to have a great time in a wonderful location whilst leaving as little carbon trace as possible. Underutilised venues will be opened up. For example, the iconic Seaton Tramway can be transformed into a beautiful 500 capacity venue. The Old Picturehouse Cinema becomes a hub for global funk music. The Hideaway Cafe at the far end of the promenade a venue for late revellers, with DJ’s spinning electronic House or Drum and Bass. The beach front Tide Cafe will have acts performing on its balcony. 

Incentives will be provided to travel to the festival by green transport. The small gauge electric tram can ferry people in from campsites or Bed and Breakfasts of the nearby villages of Colyford or Colyton. Gas buses will be used to connect the nearest train station at Axminster with Seaton, a 20-minute journey. Electric tuk tuk’s will bring spice to East Devon life, a novel way of entering the festival from local villages. Arrival by bike and foot will be encouraged through elements of VIP access, food and accommodation discounts. 

Line Up 

The music ethos for the East Devon Soul Festival is quality eclectic and inclusive. Music for everyone but with a cohesive narrative, where bands featuring female and non-binary musicians are encouraged. Upcoming acts who will engage and educate audiences from across the spectrum, classical to electronic dance music, jazz, funk, soul and folk. East Devon Soul will have appeal for all ages and tastes. From string quartets to New Orleans Soul, Jungle and Grime to Jazz. Music is naturally eclectic, and the festival will showcase this glory, providing opportunities for local artists and showcases for acts brimming on the edge of stardom. The common denominator is that all acts will be approved by the East Devon Soul team, unleashing years of experience across the music industry to bring a festival for the local masses. 

Some of the artists already lined up to play include artists we have programmed previously including Acantha Lang, Dr Meaker, Buena Bristol Social Club, Kirris Riviere and the Delta du Bruit, Hannah Williams and the Affirmations, Moscow Drug Club, the Jazz Defenders, Revelation Roots, The Egg and Fulu. 

Spinning tunes in pop up venues across Seaton will be top artists including legendary DJ Krust, Queen Bee, Beatles Dub Club and the Allergies. 

Seaton 

The seaside town of Seaton sits on the South coast of the UK, just inside East Devon from the Dorset border, flanked by its better-known siblings Lyme Regis and Sidmouth. 

Seaton has a natural aspect, sitting at the end of a wide valley, flanked by beautiful countryside, beaches and cliffs. The town itself has many underused facilities including lots of available venues, outside spaces, some with seating and power, plenty of parking and reasonable transport links. Unlike its bordering brethren, Seaton is never overrun by tourists in the summer months due to a lack of historic buildings or perceived beauty. There is a flow to the way that you can circle the town, making it an ideal location for a festival. 

Map of Seaton 

Venues 

The Gateway Theatre 
Seaton Tramway 
The Old Picturehouse 
The Hideaway 
Tide 
The Vault 
Eyre Court  
 

Fishermans Gap and Jubilee Gardens 
Thury Harcourt Place 
Windsor Gardens 

East Devon Soul Festival promo – https://youtu.be/DVIg4H2cywA 

Weekends

I always get excited from a Thursday late afternoon onwards. The rhythm of the week drawing towards the excitement of the weekend. The end of the week. The finale. Why are we so drawn towards endings, not present in the moment but reaching out for the future. I am like that through the seasons. Desperately holding on through the everlasting dark of winter, looking for the first signs of spring, a new beginning, waiting for the end and a new start. Fridays are exciting, because it is soon going to be time for leisure. To relax. Unwind. But are weekends in reality like that? When you have children this is the time to fight your way to clubs, watch boring cartoons, worry about how to keep them occupied, stop them being bored. As an ageing adult I still love the approach of the weekend, but maybe it is this moment which is the most exciting part. The anticipation rather than the reality. We are constantly waiting. For that lottery win. For one of my tracks to be played on the radio. For that perfect job to arrive. For the post. For an email. For guests. For partners. For your football team to win. If they lose then this can ruin some weekends. How crazy is that. You wait in excitement and then are just bitterly disappointed yet again. Today, though, it is 6.30am on a beautiful late April Saturday morning in Devon. The golden sun is rising, starting to spread through our bungalow, glowing, rich, golden. All is quiet except for the occasional sound of rising birds. The beautiful dawn chorus interrupted by horrific seagull squalls. Two beautiful days spread out in front of us. The chance to chill. Mm possibly. Well actually my mother is arriving in a couple of hours and this place is a bit of a mess, so cleaning, scrubbing, tidying, shopping, cooking needs to happen. Daily chores that wait until the weekend. Surely the week is better then, when all you have to worry about is the day job. And that’s quite fun. Meeting friends, hanging out at the beach, sharing dinner, walking along the coastal path, swimming, exercising, browsing shops. All this is good. Saturday is activity day. Get all those chores and things out the way. Sunday. The only day of the week where I allow myself a lie in. Papers, books, articles, music. Through the week I mainly listen to talking on the radio but Sunday changes things. Sunday is music day. Exit from the real world and dream. Read articles on holidays. Plan your life. Allow a hangover to gently flow through your body, taking away an over active mind so that you exist in a semi dream state. Awake but chilled. Sundays can allow you to go with the natural flow, let the weather take you. Drift around. A holiday. A chance to potter in the garden. Hang out with friends. Take them back to the station after Sunday lunch. That great ritual. Lamb, chicken, pork, nut roast, gravy, too many potatoes. Sticky toffee pudding. Custard. Local beers. Snooze. Walk it off. Snack. Spend ages trying to find a film that might be good on the overly numerous streaming channels. One that you will both like. Possibly. The film comes to an unsatisfactory conclusion leading some debate on its merits. Then it is time. Time to think of the week ahead. At this moment the weekend ends. Abruptly. Getting ready for the week ahead. Meetings, emails to send, places to be, projects to rescue, people to support, money to be made. The dynamism of the week ahead racing through your mind, looking ahead to the next weekend.