Hastings Winkle Club Jazz and Blues Festival

Early in the summer, the Stade by the fishing beach becomes a jazz and blues stage. The Hastings Winkle Club Jazz and Blues Festival is a free weekend of music on the Stade Open Space, beside Hastings Contemporary and the net huts, run by the Old Town charity the Hastings Winkle Club to raise money for good causes. With the boats on the beach and the sea a few yards away, it is one of the most atmospheric places to hear live music in the south of England.

The Winkle Club

The Hastings Winkle Club is a charity founded in 1900 by Old Town fishermen to help the families of local fishermen in need. Its members each carry a winkle shell and must be ready to show it when challenged, on pain of a donation to the club’s charity box. Over more than a century the club has raised money for good causes in the town, and the statue of a winkle on Winkle Island, at the bottom of the High Street, is its emblem. The Jazz and Blues Festival is one of the ways it raises money today.

The weekend

The festival usually begins on the Friday night and runs through the weekend, with acts on the Stade stage from lunchtime into the evening. Expect a range of jazz and blues, from traditional and swing to rhythm and blues, played by bands from Hastings and beyond. The music is free, and visitors are asked to give generously to the Winkle Club’s good causes, with collections through the weekend.

Old Town pubs put on live music to coincide with the festival, so the music carries on after the stage closes, with gigs in pubs along the High Street, George Street and All Saints Street.

Dates

The festival has usually been held over a weekend in early June. We have not yet found dates for the next festival; as they are announced, they will appear here, along with the programme.

The Stade

The Stade is the shingle beach and open space at the eastern end of the Old Town, home to Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet and the tall black net huts unique to Hastings. The Stade Open Space, a paved area between the net huts and the gallery, hosts events through the summer, and the jazz festival is among the best loved. Bring a chair or a blanket, sit back and listen with the sound of the sea behind the band.

Planning your visit

The festival is outdoors, so check the weather and dress for the coast: early summer by the sea can be warm in the sun and cool in the wind. Bring sun cream, water and a layer. The Stade is busy on a festival weekend, especially on a fine Saturday, so arrive early for a good spot near the stage.

Getting there

Hastings station is about fifteen minutes’ walk from the Stade along the seafront, with trains from London, Ashford, Brighton and Eastbourne. Parking near the Stade is limited on busy weekends. The Stade Open Space and the seafront are mostly flat and paved, though the shingle beach itself is hard going for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

With children and dogs

A free music festival by the beach is a good day out for families, with plenty of space and attractions nearby, from the aquarium and museums on Rock-a-Nore to the East Hill Lift. Dogs on leads are a common sight on the Stade; bring water for them and keep them away from the speakers.

Eating and drinking

Fish and chips from the Old Town’s chip shops, eaten by the net huts, is the classic accompaniment to an afternoon on the Stade. The Old Town’s pubs, cafés and restaurants are close by, and the fishmongers on Rock-a-Nore sell fish landed on the beach that morning.

A different jazz festival

Hastings has more than one jazz festival, and it is easy to confuse them. The Winkle Club Jazz and Blues Festival is held on the Stade in the Old Town; other jazz events take place elsewhere in the town through the year. Check each event’s venue before you go.

Giving to the Winkle Club

The festival is free to enjoy, but it exists to raise money, and the Winkle Club’s good causes depend on the generosity of the people who come along. Look out for the collection buckets on the Stade through the weekend, and give what you can. Every pound raised goes to helping people in Hastings, in the tradition of the fishermen who founded the club more than a century ago.

If the weather turns, the music carries on in the Old Town pubs, many of them a few minutes walk from the Stade. A rainy afternoon spent moving between a blues band in one pub and a jazz trio in another is not a bad consolation.

This year's programme

As the festival’s dates and line-up are announced, they appear in the programme below, with each event linked to its details. Add the ones you want to your calendar.