blues & roots 2023

Welcome to what will be our 10th blues & roots festival which will, hopefully, be as enjoyable as all of the previous nine. This will be the last festival that I will be organising but there are strong indications that others may take over the reins with maybe some help from me.

Due to the success of last year’s festival and the demand from musicians who want to be involved we have added an additional evening which will take place on Thursday 27 July at Crowborough Community Centre and hopefully this will help to strengthen our fanbase.

This year’s line-up includes several award-winning acts including the sensational Cinelli Brothers who recently represented the UK at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and were runners up in the best band category, the highest any UK act has ever achieved. Other top liners include, Alice Armstrong, Catfish, Brave Rival, James Oliver, Veronica Sbergia & Max De Bernardi, Sam Kelly’s Station House, Luke Jackson, Saints & Sinners ( aka The Spikedrivers plus Fran McGillivray & Mike Burke ) and Stormy T and Bluesman’s Lane  (who made loads of new fans at last year’s festival ).   We are delighted to tell you that Sean Taylor has been added to the Thursday night line up- please see the ‘Home’ page for the revised schedule

Our Sunday afternoon session at The Highlands Inn will again be free to attend and we sincerely hope that the weather will be kind to us. We have put in place measures to provide better outside cover to allow for the occasional shower ! We have a fantastic afternoon line up including the Desperate Dan band ( featuring Bob Brookes and friends ), Mad Max and Midnight Canonball plus some special guests including Ben Tyzack, Nigel Bagge, Stuart Bligh, Eddie Armer and Joel White. Make sure you don’t miss Midnight Canonball (featuring the sensational Neil Grove ) ! For reasons beyond our control The Curst Sons will no longer be appearing – please see the ‘Home’ page for the revised schedule

Last year was the first time that we have completely sold out every evening so please do book your tickets as early as possible. Please also note that the only certain way of attending the Sunday evening session at the Highlands Inn is to buy a weekender ticket ( limited to 50 ) as the evening is reserved for weekenders and sponsors and their guests. Any spare capacity for Sunday evening will only be announced within a few days of the event.

Once again, we are indebted to our many sponsors, venues, sound engineers, photographers, volunteers and fans who have all contributed to the success of Uckfield Blues & Roots Festival which resulted last year in being one of the five nominees for best festival in the UK Blues Federation’s Awards. I would like to give a special thank you to Graham Smith and Sarah Reeve for their tireless support without which we would not have made ten years.

Finally, I hope you all have a great 2023 festival.

Graham Pope ( aka Big G ! )