Ramsgate Festival of Sound
Busk Until Dusk • Sonic Trail
10th September | 11th September | 12th September | 13th September | FoS Map
Not long now until the ninth Festival of Sound returns to Ramsgate with a schedule full of activities for all the family – most of which are free to attend!
Starting on September 10th, the festival kicks off with a collaboration with Ramsgate Noise Institute. This opening party is free to attend but you will need to RSVP as space is limited.
The venue is Unit 2, St Lawrence Industrial Estate and there will be a bar on site – expect the sonically unexpected from 7 – 11pm!
ℹ️ Click here for more information and to reserve a spot.
Enjoy a walk around Ramsgate by following the Sonic Trail of sound art around the town. Whether you’re interested in sharing correspondence at The Postal Museum at Bar Finns, or want to listen to deaf poet’s Michael Isaacs specially produced poem at Ramsgate Train Station or imagine what life was like for an elderly Moses Montefiore, there are 8 Sonic Trail installations to choose from with an additional 3 on Sunday including Bob and Robert Smith RA visiting the former home of Vincent van Gogh in Spencer Square. All are free to attend
ℹ️ Click here for more information.
There will be a very special concert on Friday evening at St George’s Church called Sing the Body Electric, so called as each of the three acts explore what it is to be human through music, alongside stunning projections onto the ceiling of the church. Opening with the female choir Hedge Baes, they are sure to raise the roof with the stunning sound of unaccompanied voices. Next up, Kodama blends synths with the Japanese harp or ‘koto’ briging another dimension of sound the concert. The headlining act of the evening is Modulus Quartet performing ANATOM by local composer Nicholas de Carlo, whose music has wowed festival audiences in previous years. With drinks being provided at the back of the church by the much loved local, The Pub, this is an evening not to be missed!
🎟️ Click here for tickets and more information.
Bundle tickets are also available for those of you who would like to go on to Screaming Alley Bar and see the ever inventive and musically awesome Lunatraktors at 10.30pm – these pioneers of broken folk have a new show Timeweavers and you can save on tickets to both events.
🎟️ Click here for tickets and more information.
Saturday 12th September is the busiest day of the festival so be sure to plan your day!
From 10am at Winterstoke Gardens over on the east cliff of Ramsgate, there will be a host of wonderful free family friendly activities and workshops including Baby & Toddler Sensory, Lunatraktors and The School of Noise wrapping up at 4.30pm.
ℹ️ Click here for details.
Back in central Ramsgate from 12 – 6pm Busk Until Dusk will take to the streets from the west to the east, as 20 music acts perform at 14 pubs and bars around town. You can sit in your favourite watering hole and wait for the music to come to you, or follow the bands around town. Acts include Annia – you may have seen her perform at Ramsgate Day – the Festival of Sound producers did and booked her on the spot! Other artists include Ari, Lucy Taylor, Sucker, Django Durrant, Diet Jesus, Thanet Jubilee Singers and lots more. Free to attend – just be sure to get there in time if it’s a small venue to avoid disappointment
ℹ️ Click here for the full schedule.
Be sure to also check out Teenage Kicks stage at the East Cliff Bandstand on Saturday 12 – 6pm, programmed by Behind the Bass, a mentoring programme for young people interested in working in event and sound production.
Back to Winterstoke Gardens at 6.30pm to see the wonderful radical Screaming Alley and their show ‘It’s a Kind of Cabaret’ inspired by the pageantry of royalty and featuring the music of Queen. The evening is free to attend and ends with the foot stomping steam punk band Rotten Boroughs – a huge hit at last year’s festival. All wrapped up by 9pm so you can rest up for what’s in store on Sunday!
Whether you can sing or just enjoy the sound of people coming together to sing, be sure to make your way to St George’s Church on Sunday at 1pm for The Big Gospel Sing with the fabulous musical duo, Sabina Desir and Jessica Lauren.
Sonic Trails – Sunday specials
Be sure to get along to Vale Square for Chase Coley’s performance on his Long Stringed Instrument – you may already know Chase as a musician and director of Margate’s Crab Museum . If you attend towards the end of the afternoon you can have a go on it too. Over in Spencer Square you can check out Vincent van Gogh’s former lodging, meet Bob and Roberta Smith and see his own artwork inspired by van Gogh’s tiny sketch of the square, drawn 150 years ago. If you’re a fan of the tea break be sure to pop into St George’s Hall for Julia Jane Heckles talks about the history of this tradition – talks are 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. All free to attend.
Ramsgate Community Cinema
Film fans won’t be disappointed by the 3 documentaries that have been programmed at minimal ticket cost at Ramsgate Community Cinema. Each one features music and/ or sound – from the pioneering Meredith Monk in ‘Monk in Pieces’ , the short Stories & Songs from Bohemia which was filmed in our own Ramsgate Music Hall and features lots of familiar musician faces. This double bill will be shown 1 – 3pm while 4-6pm has The Reason I Jump about how non verbal young people interact with the world. After the screening the Emmy winning composer Nainita Desai will talk about how it was to score this documentary.
Look Mum No Computer at The Granville
And what better way to end the festival with the hometown show of LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER – our very own Eurovision hero! He is creating something special for his Ramsgate show, so it is not to be missed.
The evening opener is Margate based duo Big Woes – fresh from their excellent set at Smugglers Festival. Be sure you’re not the one with woes if you don’t book your ticket! Available from the Festival of Sound website or The Granville Theatre.
🎟️ Click here for tickets (FoS website)
🎟️ Click here for tickets (The Granville Theatre).
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