When it comes to live music, you're spoilt for choice. From international headliners appearing at the De La Warr Pavilion to festival weekends on Hastings Pier, taking in the rich variety of performances at St Mary in the Castle, there is so much to choose from. Or if you're feeling spontaneous, just wander the streets of Hastings Old Town where music spills out from the doors of its busy pubs most nights of the week. You'll also find wonderfully retro record shops in the America Ground of Hastings and the tranquil streets of Bexhill.
There are plenty of music festivals too. Check out Hastings Fat Tuesday (the UK's biggest Mardi Gras event) and the International Piano Festival in February, the Bexhill Festival of Music in May and the Rye International Jazz Festival in August.
Music is part of our heritage, from the coastal clashes of the mods and rockers to the huge names who played in the ballroom of Hastings Pier in the 1960s and 1970s – The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, The Who, Pink Floyd and many more.
With such a wealth of history, venues, festivals and musicians – not to mention an enthusiastic audience – in February 2017 Hastings and Rother declared themselves a Music City, under the International Music City movement.
The Music City model brings together the music community, local authorities and others to work together to support and develop the music economy and place it at the heart of regeneration in the area. Key to this is our gig-packed Music Month, which this year runs from Valentine's Day to St Patrick's Day.
