Battle Festival

29/07/2026

Thank you Keane, thank you BBC Sussex

An East Sussex arts festival says it is "delighted" to have received a donation from rock band Keane, which it says will help to support performers in the area.

Battle Festival said on social media that it had received a donation from the band, who started their careers in the town.

David Furness, chair of the Battle Festival trustees, said the funding will help develop talent which is "paying back and paving the way for new artists".

He added: "Keane are great friends of the festival, so this is wonderful news."

Furness said: "They have played at the festival at least twice over the years, but this year they weren't around so they have very kindly made a generous donation.

"It's lovely to know they haven't forgotten their formative years. This will help us to mentor and develop new talent."

Famous for their hits Somewhere Only We Know and Everybody's Changing, Keane formed in 1995.

The band has had four UK top 10 singles, and five UK number one albums, according to the Official Charts.

Growing up in Battle, the band's fifth album Strangeland charts their youth in the East Sussex town, including the single Sovereign Lights Cafe, named after an establishment in Bexhill.

Keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley is also a patron of the festival, which the band played a show for at Battle Abbey in 2018.

27/07/2026

Battle Festival are delighted to receive a wonderful and generous donation from the band, Keane.

Keane have a long lasting and deep relationship with Battle and the 1066 Country and this has been reflected in their music, which references their formative years here.

The donation will enable the Festival to continue over the years to develop and mentor talent in and around Battle and be a firm fixture in South East England’s cultural calendar.

We wish Keane well in their future musical ventures.

26/07/2026

Last night at Battle Memorial Hall with Karen Drury, Louise Winter and Will Hancox.

The Bluestockings Brigade - what a wonderful event.

26/07/2026

26/07/2026

We still have a few tickets left for the Piano Recital with Gabriele Sutkutė this evening at Battle Abbey, Abbot’s Hall.

Gabriele, who is the winner of over 20 piano competitions, has established herself as one of the most exciting young piano soloists of her generation.

She will present a beautiful programme including works by Beethoven, Brahms, Franck, Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque and Ravel’s La Valse.

This is a must for any music lover!

Doors open 7pm
Concert Starts 7.30pm

Tickets available from www.battlefestival.co.uk

This is the last event of our festival. Please join us to celebrate.

And if you would like to learn more about us and how to support the festival so we can come back next year, please visit our website or talk to one of our amazing volunteers this evening.

26/07/2026

We had a fantastic morning with Kianush Robeson at the Battle Baptist Church. Big thanks to everyone who joined us and to Kianush for a wonderful music.

25/07/2026

TONIGHT!

Step into the world of the original trailblazers.

The Bluestockings Brigade
Saturday 25 July 7.30pm
Battle Memorial Hall

Karen Drury (Actor)
Louise Winter (Voice)
Will Hancox (Piano)

Discover the remarkable story of the Bluestockings — the fearless 18th-century women who fought for education, intellectual freedom, and a voice in the artistic and political life of their time.

Through a captivating blend of words and music, this powerful evening explores how their revolutionary ideas challenged society and continue to shape the world we live in today.

Inspiring, thought-provoking, and deeply moving — don’t miss this unforgettable celebration of women who changed history.

Book your tickets via
www.battlefestival.co.uk/events/the-bluestockings-brigade/

24/07/2026

Big thanks to Jill Woods of Catsfield Village Voice in this week's Battle Observer for this lovely review of Battle Festival.

" Firstly, I want to thank the very special people who have organised the Battle Arts Festival for us all to en-joy. As always, it is such an interesting and ambitious programme. I enjoyed the Cosi fan Tutte with Barefoot Opera in the Abbot's Hall. This young company travel around, no doubt in some discomfort never knowing quite what they will find in their venues. They still manage to put on a superb-ly talented performance on the tiny stage with some difficult steps to negotiate either side, changing cos-tumes on stage as this story involves changing identi-ties (like lots of operas). "

There are three more events this weekend including Classical Guitar Recital with Kianush Robeson and The Bluestockings Brigade on Saturday plus a Piano Recital in Battle Abbey with Gabriele Sutkutė.

Last tickets are available from www.battlefestival.co.uk

24/07/2026

Tickets are still available for this Saturday's concert 🎸🎸at the Battle Baptist Church.

www.battlefestival.co.uk/events/classical-guitar-recital-with-kianush-robeson/

Reposted

I’m so excited to be back in Battle for another amazing summer festival .festival. They have been putting on some incredible events and I’m so grateful to be welcomed back for another year.

I’ll be performing a mixture of works from the 20th century exploring the Bream and Segovia repertoire with one or two surprises along the way. In this video I’m playing a Ponce prelude on an instrument.

Tickets are available from www.battlefestival.co.uk