Category: Music

The Haslemere Fringe team are delighted to announce that Emma Stevens will perform her distinctively catchy pop melodies, fused with folk instrumentation and a touch of country, at the festival on Lion Green on Sunday 3^rd July.

Originally from Guildford, Emma’s music and incredible voice captures a sound that is unique and totally uplifting.  Weaving together guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, cello and ukulele, and playing the majority of instruments herself, The Telegraph described her as “A very talented multi-instrumentalist”.

From the thought-provoking ballad “Sunflower” (a song written about the loss of her mum to cancer) to the barn-storming “Riptide”, Emma describes her songs as, “all written from my heart and soul to convey beautiful messages based on feelings of loss, happiness, nature, my love for the ocean and my love for people”.

After three million Spotify plays, over a million video views on the back of seven EPs, three album releases and four consecutive singles playlisted by BBC Radio2, Emma’s profile exploded in China after her track “A Place Called You” was featured on a prime-time TV show watched by over 75 million viewers, it has since amassed over 500 million streams.

 

ABOUT HASLEMERE FRINGE FESTIVAL:

Haslemere Fringe Festival is a volunteer-led event supported by local schools and youth clubs, local businesses including The Herald Newspaper Group, BBC Surrey & Sussex and Wey Valley Radio.

Held on Lion Green in the town the event attracts over 10,000 visitors and features a number of stages with something for audiences of all ages celebrating live music, comedy, dance and poetry, as well as welcoming in past years famous artists including ‘Scouting for Girls’ and soul legends ‘The Real Thing’.

At the event, the Festival Village includes stalls staffed by local traders and artisans, as well as hot and cold food served and bars serving everything from local gin and craft beers to coffee.

 

CHARITY

Haslemere Fringe is proud to support The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice as the official charity partner for the event. The Hospice offers care for patients in West Surrey and North East Hampshire.

To find out more visit: pth.org.uk

or for more information about The Fringe visit www.haslemerefringe.co.uk

 

Media Contact:

Email:                            media@haslemerefringe.co.uk

Web:                             www.haslemerefestival.co.uk

Facebook:                     HaslemereFringeFestival

Twitter:                          @HaslemereFringe

Instagram:                     haslemerefringefestival

 

 

 

 

 

Poet, lyricist, and columnist Matt Harvey, who has been a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4 since 2001 when he co-wrote and co-starred in One Night Stanza, has been announced as the Poetry Headliner for the 2022 Haslemere Fringe Festival, which takes place on Lion Green over the weekend of Friday 1^st – Sunday 3^rd July.

Matt also served seven years as regular poet on Saturday Live, hosted two series of The Wondermentalist Cabaret and wrote and performed the adventures of superhero Empath Man.  He was first official Poet-in-Residence at the Wimbledon Championships (“brilliant” the New Yorker) and has been commissioned by – among others – the Science Museum, the Open University and the Energy Ombudsman.

Performing all over the country and appearing frequently on TV, Matt enjoyed success during lockdown when his Hi Corona Virus poem went viral and Can You Hear Me? his collaboration with composer Thomas Hewitt Jones, reached no. 1 in the Classical Charts. Most recently Praise the Whale was a big hit at COP26, inspiring world leaders to reassess their core values!  For more information about the Fringe Festival go to www.haslemerefringe.co.uk

 

ABOUT HASLEMERE FRINGE FESTIVAL:

Haslemere Fringe Festival is a volunteer-led event supported by local schools, youth clubs and local businesses.

Held on Lion Green in the town the event celebrates music, comedy, dance and poetry, including promoting local musicians and other local artistic talent. With over 50 live bands and a wide variety of entertainment, Haslemere Fringe provides something for all audiences, including families.

The Festival Village, hosts stalls from a wide variety of local traders, artisans and craft workers as well as providing a delicious range of hot and cold food from local suppliers. In addition, and as you would expect, there are a number of bars serving everything from local gin and craft beers to coffee.

CHARITY

Haslemere Fringe is proud to support The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice as the official charity partner for the event. The Hospice offers care for patients in West Surrey and North East Hampshire. To find out more visit: pth.org.uk

Media Contact:

Debbie Bowyer:        07863 115984

Email:                       media@haslemerefringe.co.uk

Web:                        www.haslemerefringe.co.uk

Facebook:                 HaslemereFringeFestival

Twitter:                     @HaslemereFringe

Instagram:                haslemerefringefestival

Britpop favourites Sleeper, who enjoyed huge critical and commercial success in the 90’s with well over a million sales, is to play at The Haslemere Fringe Festival, closing Friday night as part of this hugely popular biennial event, which will run from Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd July 2022.

With music characterised by astute, observational lyrics and big, hook driven melodies, the group had eight UK Top 40 hit singles including ‘Inbetweener’, ‘Nice Guy Eddie’ and ‘Sale Of The Century’.

Fronted by one of Britpop’s biggest female stars, Louise Wener, the band also had two tracks featured on the era defining movie ‘Trainspotting’: which was named as one of the best film soundtracks of all time by the likes of music magazine, Rolling Stone.

Sleeper appeared numerous times on key music shows of the time like TFI Friday, Jools Holland and Top Of The Pops, and played the main stages of Reading, Glastonbury, V and Shepherd’s Bush Empire. The band reunited in 2017, completed a sell-out tour in 2019, and co-headlined a UK tour with The Bluetones in 2021.

Sleeper will join Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Feeling who have also been announced as headliners for the 2022 Haslemere Fringe. More great names will be announced soon, including emerging young talent from across the south of England.

 

ABOUT HASLEMERE FRINGE FESTIVAL:

Haslemere Fringe Festival is a volunteer-led event supported by local schools, youth clubs and local businesses.

Held on Lion Green in the town the event celebrates music, comedy, dance and poetry, including promoting local musicians and other local artistic talent. With over 50 live bands and a wide variety of entertainment, Haslemere Fringe provides something for all audiences, including families.

The Festival Village, hosts stalls from a wide variety of local traders, artisans and craft workers as well as providing a delicious range of hot and cold food from local suppliers. In addition, and as you would expect, there are a number of bars serving everything from local gin and craft beers to coffee.

 

CHARITY

Haslemere Fringe is proud to support The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice as the official charity partner for the event. The Hospice offers care for patients in West Surrey and North East Hampshire. To find out more visit: pth.org.uk

Media Contact:

Debbie Bowyer:        07863 115984

Email:                       media@haslemerefringe.co.uk

Web:                        www.haslemerefringe.co.uk

Facebook:                 HaslemereFringeFestival

Twitter:                     @HaslemereFringe

Instagram:    haslemerefringefestival

Iconic rock/pop band ‘The Feeling’ are coming to Haslemere Fringe Festival on Saturday 2nd July night as part of the three-day event.

The award-winning band whose hits include ‘Fill My Little World’, ‘Sewn’ and ‘Never Be Lonely’ are fronted by lead singer Dan Gillespie-Sells whose West End musical hit ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ which was released as a Hollywood Movie in 2021. Their new album ‘Loss. Hope. Love’ is set for release in Spring 2022 and will be followed by a major UK tour.

The band are mostly from West Sussex and have performed all over the world as well as iconic British venues including the Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage and Wembley.

Festival Director Paul Ashton says: “we’re honoured to have such a world-renowned group of such virtuosity and brilliance join us to celebrate one of the South of England’s most vibrant and growing music, comedy and arts festivals.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Sleeper have already been announced for the 2022 Haslemere Fringe. More great names coming to the festival will be announced soon, including emerging young talent from across the south of England.

 

ABOUT HASLEMERE FRINGE FESTIVAL:

Haslemere Fringe Festival is a volunteer-led event supported by local schools and youth clubs, local businesses including The Herald Newspaper Group, BBC Surrey and Wey Valley Radio.

Held on Lion Green in the town the event features a number of stages with something for audiences of all ages celebrating live music comedy, dance and poetry, as well as welcoming in past years famous artists including ‘Scouting for Girls’ and soul legends ‘The Real Thing’.

At the event, the Festival Village includes stalls staffed by local traders and artisans, as well as hot and cold food served and bars serving everything from local gin and craft beers to coffee.

 

CHARITY

Haslemere Fringe is proud to support The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice as the official charity partner for the event. The Hospice offers care for patients in West Surrey and North East Hampshire. To find out more visit: pth.org.uk

 

Media Contact:

Debbie Bowyer:        07863 115984

Email:                       media@haslemerefringe.co.uk

Web:                        www.haslemerefestival.co.uk

Facebook:                 HaslemereFringeFestival

Twitter:                     @HaslemereFringe

Instagram:                haslemerefringefestival

 

Kitchen Disco legend Sophie Ellis-Bextor will play out the last night, Sunday July 3rd of one of the South of England’s best-known festivals – The Haslemere Fringe.

Sophie was originally booked to perform at the 2020 Fringe, which sadly had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.  Since then, her fame rocketed during the Covid-19 lockdown when her weekly ‘Kitchen Disco’ live Instagram streams provided a means of virtual escapism for everyone tuning in.

Each week, underneath the family’s sparkling kitchen disco ball, Sophie, her husband Richard Jones (who also plays bass in Sophie’s live band), and their children’s familial exuberance put a smile on the face of the hundreds of thousands watching. The individual videos of songs from the performances also garnered millions of views on Twitter.

Sophie went on to release a greatest hits album ‘Songs from the Kitchen Disco’ which includes her previous Top 10 hits, ‘Groovejet’, ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ and ‘Take Me Home’ as well as a cover version of the Alcazar song ‘Crying at the Discoteque’, which she had performed during her lockdown concerts.

She also launched a podcast, Spinning Plates, with each one-hour episode featuring an interview with another working mother about the difficulties and joys of a work/life balance. With episodes featuring the likes of Fearne Cotton, Myleene Klass and Caitlin Moran, it has become Apple’s number one Parenting podcast.

Festival Coordinator Paul Ashton said “we’re delighted that Sophie Ellis-Bextor has agreed to re-sign for 2022 and close this year’s festival. We’re proud that artists of Sophie’s stature, now recognise the Haslemere Fringe as one of the leading festivals in the South of England. 2022 is set to be the best party yet”.

 

ABOUT HASLEMERE FRINGE FESTIVAL:

Haslemere Fringe Festival is a volunteer-led event supported by local schools and youth clubs, local businesses including The Herald Newspaper Group, BBC Surrey and Wey Valley Radio.

Held on Lion Green in the town the event features a number of stages with something for audiences of all ages celebrating live music comedy, dance and poetry, as well as welcoming in past years famous artists including ‘Scouting for Girls’ and soul legends ‘The Real Thing’.

At the event, the Festival Village includes stalls staffed by local traders and artisans, as well as hot and cold food served and bars serving everything from local gin and craft beers to coffee.

 

CHARITY

Haslemere Fringe is proud to support The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice as the official charity partner for the event. The Hospice offers care for patients in West Surrey and North East Hampshire. To find out more visit: pth.org.uk

 

Media Contact:

Debbie Bowyer:        07863 115984

Email:                       media@haslemerefringe.co.uk

Web:                        www.haslemerefestival.co.uk

Facebook:                 HaslemereFringeFestival

Twitter:                     @HaslemereFringe

Instagram:                haslemerefringefestival

FIRST THE BAD NEWS
It is with great sadness that the committee of the Haslemere Fringe has decided to postpone this year’s planned event until 2021 because of the current unprecedented Coronavirus crisis. The move follows advice from the UK Government and Public Health England for everyone but key workers to stay at home to save lives and protect the NHS.

The decision was taken to safeguard the thousands of people who attend the bi-annual event and the many volunteers who help run the festival.

Great news from two of the long term collaborators of the Haslemere Fringe:

St Bartholomew’s C of E (Aided) Primary School in partnership with The Music Works is delighted to be opening a new music centre on the school’s site in Haslemere.   The Music Works is a community interest company whose mission is to help make music education as accessible as possible to all children in the local area.

Their experienced Yamaha accredited teachers provide high quality music lessons and would like to offer local children a free introductory lesson.  To sign up, visit www.themusicworks.co/freelessontmw 

Using the world renowned Yamaha syllabus, students can learn Drums, Guitar, Keyboard and Singing from age 7+. Younger students can join our bespoke Ukulele course for ages 5+.  The centre will also include a recording studio with state of the art software and equipment, enabling children to make multi-track recordings of their music to a professional standard.

Head Teacher, Charles Beckerson is also a well-known local musician and has said ‘This music centre is a dream come true for me.  I am passionate about music and I’m delighted that we are going to be offering this incredibly exciting opportunity to the children of Haslemere and beyond.  Let’s bring happiness, joy and entertainment to the next generation by keeping excellent music very much alive in the 21^st century!’

For more information about who we are and what we offer, please visit www.themusicworks.co/faq

The Music Works, Derby Road, Haslemere, GU27  1BP

Info@themusicworks.co

01483 51 60 60

The multi-million selling British music star Sophie Ellis Bextor is to play out the last night, July 5th of one of the South of England’s best-known festivals – The Haslemere
Fringe. With massive chart hits including ‘Groovejet’ and ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ Ellis Bextor’s unique vocal style and stage presence have made her an international super star. Festival Coordinator Paul Ashton says ‘we’re delighted that Sophie Ellis Bextor has agreed to close this year’s festival which has grown every single time it’s held. We’re proud that artists of Sophie’s stature, now recognise this event as one of the leading festivals in the South of England’.

Known as ‘The Dance Queen’ and ‘Mademoiselle EB’ Sophie established herself as a vocal and dance talent with her debut album ‘Read My Lips’ in 2001 and has enjoyed continuing success more recently with her 2016 album ‘Familia’ which saw her back in the charts with her hit song ‘Come With Us’.  More names are due to be announced for the festival including local artists who are an important part of this volunteer led event. Local schools and youth clubs are also taking part in The Haslemere Fringe 2020, which is supported by local businesses and media organisations including BBC Surrey and Wey Valley Radio.

About Haslemere Fringe
This bi-annual festival takes place over the weekend of July 3rd, 4th and 5th and is held on Lion Green in the small town of Haslemere nestled between the Surrey Hills and the South Downs National Park with excellent rail and road links.

The event celebrates music, comedy, dance and poetry, promoting local musicians and other local artistic talent, as well as welcoming in past years famous artists including UK rock sensation ‘Scouting for Girls’ and soul legends ‘The Real Thing’. With over 50 live bands, Haslemere Fringe provides something for all audiences, including families. Children aged 10 or under are admitted free, and tickets for 10-16 year olds available from £4. The Festival Village, hosts stalls from a wide variety of local traders, artisans and craft workers as well as providing a delicious range of hot and cold food from local suppliers. In addition, and as you would expect, there are a number of bars serving everything from craft beers to coffee. As we are attracting thousands of visitors, The Haslemere Fringe is proud to support The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice as official charity partner
for 2020.

Contact:
Debbie Bowyer: 07863 115984
Jamie Crick: 07921 483392

Email: media@haslemerefringe.co.uk 
Web: www.haslemerefringe.co.uk
Facebook: HaslemereFringeFestival
Twitter: @HaslemereFringe
Insta: haslemerefringefestival