Welcome to Hurst Life’s HURSTfolk event page. Here you will find our most recent information for everything regarding the festival.

HURSTfolk is the brainchild of Hurstpierpoint resident, Debbie Clare. Debbie is drawing upon her extensive live music career to weave together this community-focused weekend of live music performances.

A celebration of live music in Hurstpierpoint

By Debbie Clare

HURSTfolk returns this November with three packed days of music, workshops and interviews across Hurstpierpoint. From Friday 7th to Sunday 9th November, the festival will bring together over 30 acts across seven village venues – with tickets ranging from free entry to just £10.

Now in its third year, HURSTfolk continues to showcase outstanding talent from in and around our village, while making live music accessible for everyone. As always, a portion of tickets are set aside free of charge for people from low-income households, ensuring the whole community can experience concerts on their doorstep. Venues this year include: Danny House, Lyona, The Hop Tub, The Poacher, The New Inn, Hurst Works and the Players Theatre.

Festival highlights include: Mini Concerts at Hurst Works – two days of intimate 40-minute shows, priced at £5, Danny House all-female line-up and Lou Beckerman’s Singing Workshop for Adults - back for a third year, always a sell-out, this uplifting workshop will take place at Lyona.

Players Theatre concerts – featuring music legend Eddy Temple-Morris, drummer and storyteller Terl Bryant, plus The Self Help Group with live visuals. Pub stages – free-entry performances at The Hop Tub,

The Poacher and The New Inn, with a vibrant mix of local favourites and new discoveries including Crystal Clear, Adam Whitby, Aidan Walker, Jon Wood, Neil Ferrigan, Mess of Blues, Scott Reece, Poni Mitchell, Relics, Breeze In, Dukes, Taking Back Tuesday, Room 3, Adulam, No Hat for Jo, The Defenders and The Dream Escape.

Special screenings and themed events – including Pink Floyd: Live in Pompeii, presented by Hurst Village Cinema.

Event tickets range from free entry to £5 and £10. For tickets and full programme details, visit hurstfolk.org

HURSTfolk fights for survival

By Debbie Clare
HURSTfolk is a grassroots music festival in Hurstpierpoint which I started it a few years ago after realising how many brilliant artists lived here – but had nowhere local to perform. That sparked the idea for a small community festival that could give them a stage.

Every November, we take over five village venues for three days, showcasing 60+ performers – from first-timers to seasoned musicians. It’s joyful, inclusive, and gives our high street and community a much-needed boost at a quiet time of year.

But right now, we’re desperate for funding. It costs around £8,000 to run, and we’ve only raised £2,000 so far which goes towards venue hire, licensing, production, insurance, and paying our small crew (all of whom work for reduced rates because they believe in the festival).

This year, like many festivals, we’re facing funding cuts – so we’re turning to our community for help to help keep HURSTfolk alive. If you’ve been to HURSTfolk before, you’ll know how much heart goes into it – from the performers, the venues, the crew, and the whole community who show up year after year to make something magical happen right here in the village.

We’ve just launched a crowdfunder to help us raise the £6,000 still needed to make this year’s festival happen – and we’d be so grateful for your support.

If you’re able to contribute anything at all, it really would make a difference. Even the smallest donations help keep this festival going – and every share or bit of encouragement helps too. You can find the campaign and donate here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hurstfolk2025

Thank you so much for being part of HURSTfolk.’s story so far. With your help, we’d love to write the next chapter this November.