Sussex SummerFEST

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Sussex, NB
Sussex SummerFEST

First hosted in 2018, Sussex SummerFEST is an annual non-profit & volunteer-led music festival in Sussex, NB featuring premier Canadian talent.

A presentation of Sussex Tourism Festival Inc, a registered non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board of directors.

07/04/2026

Good morning, Sussex! The day is finally here. Months of planning, stage setups, and practice sessions have all led to this, and our volunteer team couldn't be more excited to open the doors tonight for the Valley Wealth Management SummerFEST 2026 main stage showcase!

If you are heading down to the 8th Hussars Sports Centre tonight, we want to help you get inside and into the music as quickly as possible. To save yourself some time and skip the box office lineup, we highly recommend grabbing your advanced tickets online at summerinsussex.ca before you head out. Our online system stays open right through the evening so if you are running a little late you can easily buy them right from your phone in the parking lot and scan your screen straight through the front doors.

Putting together a night of this scale is a massive team effort, and we want to share a heartfelt thank you to the partners who stand on our side of the table to make it affordable for our neighbours.

🇨🇦 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. / Nous reconnaissons l'appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.

Between the vital grant funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage and the incredible local commitment from Steve Downey and the team at our title sponsor, Valley Wealth Management, we are able to bring this level of production to Sussex while keeping admission accessible for the community we love.

As you get ready for the big show, we have a few quick reminders to help everything run smoothly for everyone:

🚫 Seating: By order of the fire marshal, no outside lawn chairs or personal seats are allowed inside the venue. We will have seating options ready for you inside and plenty of open space to move with the music.

⏰ Doors & Times: Doors will open up at 6:00 PM, and the music officially kicks off at 6:30 PM.

💳 On-Site Payments: If you are grabbing tickets at the door or buying refreshments, we accept cash, debit, and credit on site.

🍻 Refreshments: Our bar area is 19+, and you must show a valid government ID to purchase alcoholic beverages. Please consume responsibly and look out for one another. We will also have a selection of soft drinks and water available for purchase. For convenience, 1 drink ticket will get you either one licensed beverage or two soft drinks.

We are so proud to shine a spotlight on our incredible home-grown New Brunswick talent tonight: Ethan Paquet, The Big Wind Show Band, the legendary Joan Kennedy, and our headliner, Riley Taylor.

Thank you all for supporting this completely volunteer-run dream. Let’s make it an unforgettable night!

🎟️👇
summerinsussex.ca

07/03/2026

Lily Alexander is providing the talent and Mother Nature is providing a nice breeze at the Rotary Amphitheatre tonight! 🎙️☀️🌬️

Tomorrow night: Riley Taylor, Joan Kennedy, The Big Wind Show Band, and Ethan Paquet take the indoor stage to blow the roof off of the arena. Tickets available in advance at www.summerinsussex.ca (skip the line) or at the door.

Special thanks to the Government of Canada and Valley Wealth Management for the financial support to make this event possible.

07/02/2026

We are getting closer to the weekend, and tickets for Saturday’s main stage showcase at the 8th Hussars Sports Centre are available. As a non-profit organization, we want to remind you that 100% of the proceeds from these tickets go directly into covering our event programming so we can keep doing this for Sussex year after year.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. / Nous reconnaissons l'appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.

We also want to remind everyone to stay incredibly vigilant against online ticket scams. Whenever we post about ticket availability, bot accounts and scammers flood the comment sections pretending to have "extra tickets for sale." Please do not buy from these accounts. Unless you know the person face-to-face in real life, only buy through our official, verified festival channels. We want to make sure everyone gets through the door safely with a real ticket in hand.

Head over to summerinsussex.ca to grab yours securely today and get ready for an amazing weekend brought to you by Valley Wealth Management. See you all very soon!

07/01/2026

As we get closer to Saturday night’s main stage showcase, we want to share a few logistical tips specifically for our time at the 8th Hussars Sports Centre. Moving the festival energy indoors means a slightly different routine than our park night.
To keep lines moving quickly when doors open at 6:00 PM, please have your official tickets pulled up on your phone or printed out ahead of time.

Tickets will be available at the door while supplies last.

Parking around the sports centre can fill up quickly, so we recommend arriving with a little extra time to find a spot and get settled before our title sponsor, Valley Wealth Management, helps kick off the evening at 6:30 PM. Let's make it a smooth, safe night for everyone—head over to summerinsussex.ca to secure your admission before the weekend arrives.

06/30/2026

With two different events happening over the weekend, we want to make sure you know exactly what to expect at our two festival locations so your weekend goes off without a hitch.

Friday night at Burton Park is all about that relaxed, open-air park atmosphere. There is no assigned seating, so it is a true "bring your own lawn chair" setup where kids can run around and everyone can soak up the summer air.

Saturday night shifts the energy indoors to the 8th Hussars Sports Centre for our concert environment, proudly brought to you by our title sponsor Valley Wealth Management. We’ve worked with our friends at Public Safety and the town of Sussex to secure more seating inside the arena.

We’ll have clear signage on site for parking, entrance lines, and accessibility at both spots to keep things simple for everyone. Whether you prefer the quiet park lawn or the excitement of the arena, we’ve got you covered. You can learn more about the venues and pick up your Saturday passes by visiting summerinsussex.ca.

06/29/2026

If you are planning your weekend for the main stage showcase presented by our title sponsor, Valley Wealth Management, on Saturday, July 4th at the 8th Hussars Sports Centre, we wanted to give you a quick breakdown of how the evening will flow.

Doors will open up at 6:00 PM, giving you plenty of time to get inside, find your spot, and settle in. The music officially starts up at 6:30 PM.

We have a packed schedule of incredible New Brunswick talent lined up for you. Ethan Paquet will be starting the night off. Right after that, The Big Wind Show Band will keep the energy moving with their set. Next up, we are thrilled to welcome the legendary Joan Kennedy to the stage, all building up to our headlining set with Riley Taylor.

It is going to be an unforgettable night of East Coast music from start to finish. Mark those clocks so you don't miss a single minute, and make sure to head over to summerinsussex.ca to s

06/28/2026

Now that our planning is in the home stretch, we want to take a moment to shine a light on our incredible title sponsor, Valley Wealth Management.

When we talk about what makes SummerFEST work, it always comes back to the people behind it. For us, Steve Downey and the team at Valley Wealth Management are the perfect example of that. Steve has been an integral part of our festival team for years, giving his time, energy, and heart to help us keep this weekend running smoothly as part of our core crew. On top of that, his business steps up as our title sponsor to provide the critical backing that makes this festival accessible.

In his own practice at Valley Wealth Management, Steve talks a lot about how "bigger doesn’t always mean better" and how relationships and truly looking after your neighbours matter most. That is the exact same philosophy we try to live by here at SummerFEST. None of our board members are on a payroll, so having a title sponsor who shares those exact values sitting on our side of the table means the world to us.

Thank you, Steve, and thank you to Valley Wealth Management for your leadership in keeping this festival alive for Sussex.

Tickets for the Saturday night showcase are moving quickly, so head over to summerinsussex.ca to grab yours early and support the festival.

06/27/2026

We are officially one week away from Saturday night’s main stage showcase, and the excitement is building. On Saturday, July 4th, we are opening the doors at the 8th Hussars Sports Centre for a massive evening of home-grown country and East Coast music proudly presented by our title sponsor, Valley Wealth Management .

This is the big ticketed concert environment of the weekend, and we have a full lineup of incredible local talent ready to take the stage. Ethan Paquet kicks things off accompanied by The Big Wind band, followed by a high-energy set from Terry Gale and The Big Wind Show Band. Then, we are thrilled to welcome the legendary Joan Kennedy to the stage, leading right into our headliner, Riley Taylor.

Because we are a non-profit, 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales go straight back into making these community events possible. Spots are filling up quickly, so head right over to summerinsussex.ca to secure your passes today and make sure you’re in the room for an unforgettable night.

06/26/2026

With our free night at Burton Park coming up in just one week, we wanted to answer a few quick questions we often get about the setup at the Rotary Amphitheatre. Because this evening is all about open access and keeping things simple, there is no ticketing or formal entry gate required.

The park format is entirely open-air, meaning you can arrive whenever fits your schedule between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Since there is no built-in seating on the lawn, we really encourage everyone to bring comfortable folding chairs or a couple of thick blankets for the kids.

It is designed as an informal, low-stress evening to help everyone unwind after the work week. Pack some snacks, gather up the kids, and enjoy an evening of local music right in the heart of town.

06/25/2026

We know that a big part of making a festival feel welcoming is making sure that everyone can actually come out and enjoy it. That is why we are kicking things off this year with our Free Family Night.

Join us on Friday, July 3rd from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM down at Burton Park at the Rotary Amphitheatre. This evening is completely free, totally casual, and built for all ages. We have the wonderful Lily Alexander performing live music in the park, making it the perfect setting to unpack a picnic or just sit back and chat with friends.

Grab your lawn chairs, dust off your favorite picnic blankets, and bring the whole family down. It is a completely open community space, and we just want to see your smiling faces there.

Address

Sussex, NB
E4E2S4

Website

https://www.summerinsussex.ca/

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