Music line-up unveiled for Eastbourne Beer & Cider Festival-goers

The three-day event takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday May 17-19 on the Western Lawns on Eastbourne seafront.

Each of the four sessions will have top class entertainment ranging from festival crowd pleasers Fat Freddie & The Queens to the laid-back sounds of jazz repertoire with The Frontier Jazz Jam.

The festival kicks off on the evening of Friday 17 May with a 5-10pm session and music provided by Fat Freddie & The Queens, a larger-than-life professional Queen tribute band who take the music seriously but not themselves.

First up during Saturday’s daytime session – from 11am-4pm – is Brotherhood, a hugely popular rock, pop, funk and soul covers band who have performed at the festival before. The band is made up of five musicians Tom, Harry, James, Keith and Claire who are guaranteed to have the crowds up singing and dancing.

Guitar duo Stray Dogs will also be playing during the afternoon session and in the evening session – 5-10pm – it’s the turn of The Morph Ska 6, a high energy Ska and Two-Tone tribute band.

The all-day session on Sunday – 12-5pm – features music from The Court Brothers – Eastbourne singing and songwriting duet Harry Court and James Court followed by Frontier Jazz Jam and Southern Revival.

The Frontier Jazz Jam is the result of a fortnightly jazz jam event held at The Stage Door and The Frontier Bar, run by Duncan White and Roger Hilton with Paul Whitten and Terry Pack on bass.

Musicians and singers attend and sit in with the house band and while the music sometimes sits outside the standard jazz repertoire, it predominantly focuses on improvisation and spontaneity.

Southern Revival is a six-piece band from Bexhill playing covers and originals.

On top of the music, beer and cider enthusiasts can enjoy sensational cask ciders, craft beers from a KeyKeg bar and real ales – and members of CAMRA, which supports the event, will be on hand to guide visitors through the carefully selected beers, ciders and ales available.

There will also be gins, wines, prosecco and cocktails on offer plus tasty food stalls and pop-up retailers.

Councillor Margaret Bannister, Eastbourne Borough Council’s Lead Member for Tourism, Leisure, Accessibility & Community Safety, said, “This is a fantastic musical line-up for this year’s Beer and Cider by the Sea. What could be better than a choice of more than 100 tipples from beer and cider to gins and wines from around the world – all washed down with some first-class entertainment and with the stunning Eastbourne seafront as the backdrop.

“It’s promising to be bigger and better this year and I would encourage people to buy their tickets now to avoid disappointment.”

The spring festival’s popularity continues to grow so organisers are urging people to get in early and book their tickets to avoid disappointment.

Ticket prices start at £4 (including booking fee) for CAMRA members, £6 for the public and £3 for children.

Tickets are available to buy now online at www.EastbourneBeerFestivals.co.uk. They can also be purchased at Eastbourne Visitor Centre on Compton Street, the Seafront Office on Grand Parade lower prom or by calling 01323 415415.