First Light Festival 5th Edition

First Light Festival has made its name as the ultimate showcase for creative talent, accessible to all. Since it’s inception in 2019, First Light has seen over 1890 acts perform across their festivals, 145k people have attended and the festival has impacted and supported creative talent year on year with over 70 new and emerging artists featured throughout the festivals, many of which have gone on to perform at Latitude and Glastonbury festivals, among others.

First Light Festival’s weekend programme is free, un-ticketed and for all, now with 5 satellite venues added as part of our late-night line-up anniversary celebrations.

The theme of this year’s festival is ‘From the Seabed to the Sky’ with a deep-sea focus encompassing the unique beachfront location, key aspects of our ‘Planet Positive’ programme, as well as headline guest speakers and our collaborative opening parade created in partnership with local Lowestoft schools and groups.

Programme highlights include:

MUSIC:

·       SUNLIGHT STAGE:

o   Nubiyan Twist: A blend of virtuosic players, skilled producers and inspired composers join forces to create a unique, infectious sound drawing on jazz, hip-hop, afrobeat, Latin, soul, reggae and dance music - expect ultra-tight musicianship and a powerful 9-piece, big band sound. Alongside their own headline tours, they've performed at Glastonbury, Wilderness, Green Man, We Out Here, WOMAD, Shambala, Love Supreme, Boomtown and many more. Nubiyan Twist will be taking the headliner slot at First Light’s Sunlight Stage on Saturday 21st June to close the beachfront programme whilst the sun goes down…

o   Horse Meat Disco:Taking inspiration from a diverse, counter-cultural history of clubs and DJs; rooted in hedonism, rhythm, freedom and emotion, a Horse Meat Disco set reinforces everything invigorating about disco. A typical HMD set blends classics, Italo disco, house, oddities and punk funk. They have played at every notable club scene in the world, as well as all major festivals. With brand new original music on the skyline as well as a brand-new compilation coming out this year, this will be a beachfront set you won’t want to miss!

o   Girls Of The Internet:The electronic music artist and producer whose style blends elements of 90s rave, house, electro, and experimental electronic music. They have garnered much attention for their distinctive production style and nostalgic yet forward-thinking sound. Girls Of The Internet are part of a wave of forward-thinking, genre-blending producers reshaping the boundaries of dance and electronic music.

o   Molotov Jukebox:“One thing you can expect from a Molotov Jukebox gig is a party from start to finish, it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on!” The world-renowned party purveyors of contemporary world music Molotov Jukebox, have traversed the globe with their headline performances while racking up hundreds of festival appearances including Glastonbury, Eurosonic and Womad. Molotov Jukebox are a band of true universal appeal.

o   World Music Big Band: who will be celebrating & saluting World Music Day on 21st June with an incredible performance.

o   Merry Hell:Multi award winning Merry Hell offer joyful, uplifting folk, rock, with a message for troubled times. Their energy and passion are complemented by their love of what they do and desire to share hope and togetherness with as many people as possible. With chart hit album releases, major festival appearances and a host of sell out gigs, everything points to a band not to be missed!

o   Tom McGuire and the Brassholes – The funk soul powerhouse from Glasgow will be combining rich arrangements with meticulous songcraft for an incredible live performance.

2025 will also see the continuation of First Light’s partnership with Latitude festival, whereby one chosen act from those selected to perform on the New Dawn stage at First Light, will be given the opportunity to also perform at Latitude festival.

·       NEW DAWN: As always, this is First Light’s unique platform to shine a light on incredible talents from the east of England. 2025 sees the launch of a new Sunday, New Dawn Acoustic stage, providing further exposure for these future musical stars.

·       PLAYBREAK SHOWCASE: This year’s headliner will be Jazmine Banks & The Wild Hearts, our first female headliner for Playbreak; also hailing from Lowestoft they are brand new yet heart-warmingly familiar.. 2025 Country at its finest. Through their ongoing partnership, Jazmine will also receive the opportunity to perform at Latitude Festival 2025 enabling further exposure for her burgeoning career.

Also performing as part of Playbreak will be:DSL, Micah, Alex Asher, Miss Lisa-Jane. 

·       DJ IN THE DUNES: Bringing the beach alive with an incredible roster of talented young DJ’s including Sopp, Only Child, Alina, Lily Ann, Hemingways, Lils, Hotline Howard, Levi Fruits and Pussyfoot.

·       WELCOME THE LIGHT: The opening musical strand on the Sunlight Stage sees a brand-new Sea Shanty commission with by The Rogue Shanty Buoys, who will collaborate with local schools and choirs to create a unique performance of a new Shanty for Lowestoft.

FIRST WORD: POETRY, SPOKEN WORD & COMEDY curated by acclaimed poet Luke Wright.

·       Jackie Kay:A poet, novelist and writer of short stories, Jackie Kay has enjoyed great acclaim for her work for both adults and children. Her novel, Trumpet, won the Guardian Fiction Prize. She has published three collections of stories with Picador, including Mayday, Coorie Doon & Why Don’t You Stop Talking; three poetry collections, as well as her memoir, Red Dust Road. From 2016-21 she was the third modern Makar, National Poet for Scotland. Jackie will be in conversation with Peggy Hughes from National Centre for Writing followed by readings from her collections.

·       Brian Bilston:Sometimes referred to as the Banksy of poetry, Brian Bilston has generated a huge following, drawn to his witty, powerful, and accessible work. As part of the late-night programme, his show will see him reading a selection of much beloved poems from across his bestselling collections alongside new poems, at The Seagull Theatre. Brian has published several bestselling volumes of poetry, including You Took the Last Bus Home, Alexa, what is there to know about love? and Days Like These. His novel Diary of a Somebody was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. He has also written collections of poetry for younger readers and his acclaimed poem Refugees has been made into an illustrated book for children.

·       Brigitte Aphrodite:Punk Poet, Musician, Writer, Theatre Maker and Feminist Showgirl. Brigitte is also the writer and performer of 'My Beautiful Black Dog' an original musical on depression.

·       Tom Ward: Comedian. Tom has appeared on 'Live at The Apollo', ‘QI’ and ‘Roast Battle’ as well as presenting the LAD Bible series ‘In My Personal Space’. He has supported Joe Lycett, Ricky Gervais and Jack Whitehall on tour and done two of his own national tours of the UK.

·       Ben Moor: Presents 'A Three Thing Day’, a comedy concerning past, present, and future; friends, family, and strangers; affinity, vertigo, and hopefulness. Ben Moor’s new show combines hilarious one-liners and observations with beautiful digressions. “An English Wes Anderson” Broadway World.

·       Kim Carnie:Presents "Up Close with Kim Carnie" at the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club as one of our Sundown Events. This award-winning singer and composer has featured on some of the UK's biggest stages, as well as across the world via film and computer games soundtracks, including Netflix's 'Outlaw King', 'Black Mirror' and 'The Bard's Tale'. Since launching her solo career in 2018, Kim has become one of the most sought-after singers and session vocalists. Kim will also be performing on the Sunlight Stage on Sunday 22nd.

·       Luke Wright – performing ‘Luke Wright’s Pub Grub’, a compilation of fun + filthy poems from Suffolk’s favourite poet.

ART & SCULPTURE:

The environmental and elemental theme of the festival underpins the ever-growing focus on sculpture for 2025. In partnership with Messums East’s inaugural Sculpture on the Beach programme, three works will be presented, responding to ideas of materiality and temporality, with an incredible installation of two bronze figures, ‘Shimmer’ and ‘Borrowed Breath’ by Laurence Edwards – always a highlight of the festival for attendees to witness his awe-inspiring creations in-situ on the beach and a new work by artist Zena Holloway will also ‘take root’ on the beach – three large scale works grown from grass roots which reference figures walking on the sand, ranging in size from 2m to 4m in height.

SUNDOWN EVENTS:Continuing the party throughout Saturday night are a series of events to please all attendees, a selection of these are ticketed events including:

• Horse Meat Disco DJ set @ infamous Mossy’s nightclub (Saturday 10pm)
• Brian Bilston: As part of the late-night programme, his show will see him reading a selection of much beloved poems from across his bestselling collections alongside new poems, at The Seagull Theatre on the Saturday evening. 10-11pm
• ‘Up Close with Kim Carnie’ @ Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club – 10pm
• Moonlit Soundscapes at St Peter & St John Church
• Take Cover – an evening of live music from the region’s top covers bands at East Point Pavilion – 10pm onwards.

DAWN PROGRAMME:Our distinctive dawn programme welcomes the most easterly solstice sunrise with a programme rooted in the sea, land and sky with a communal Seal Calling, Celtic bagpipes, a fish feast, beach yoga and as the sun rises a new music composition Ocean Songs with Sonic Collaborations featuring live instrumentation, vocal, hydrophone and electronic looping.

PLANET POSITIVE: Our Sustainability-focused programme encompasses:

·       Charity SuperMkt & Community Catwalk are back! Following the success of the inaugural Charity Super.Mkt on the beach for 2024, come to shop from the incredible curated edit of local and national charities collections alongside the brilliant Community Catwalk, created in partnership with the University of Norwich. This year the sustainable shopping market will again take pride of place on the beach with a larger footprint!

“Being a co-founder of First Light Festival, I’ve always how it was set up as a unique proposition that responds to its unique locale on the beach in Britain’s most easterly town, Lowestoft. Last year bringing Charity Super.Mkt to its first ever ‘on the beach’ location was a joy to see - crowds mobbing the rails full of brilliant charity fashion, cheering on the community catwalk and coming away with not only brilliant garments, but also raising an incredible amount of money for local charities - more than they took on their busiest days in their  retail store! Bringing it back to celebrate First Light’s 5th anniversary, we’ve gone bigger and better – more charities, more upcycling workshops and what promises to be an uplifting, incredible beachfront catwalk show. So  bring your clothes that are in need of a bit of love and get help in bringing them back to life and a keen eye to spot a bargain, oh and your friends and family, your dancing shoes, and open mind to take in all the art, culture, music, workshops, performances, talks and debates,  fab food and positive human energy generated by the thousands of happy revellers!“

Wayne Hemingway MBE, Co-Founder, First Light Festival and Charity Super.Mkt

·       Interstellar Ideas working with Oceans Rising featuring Lisa Blair: Exclusive talk with the Australian round-the-world yacht’s woman. Lisa was the first woman to sail solo around Antartica. She is a climate activist and champion for the Importance of our oceans.

·       Port to Port:  Marking National Refugee Week, this large-scale installation by artist Sophie Giller will be on display in the Battery of Ideas on London Road North over First Light Festival. Produced by Art Station in partnership with First Light Festival, SPILL Festival and Hamilton MAS. The project celebrates the local history and maritime crafts of Lowestoft, Ipswich, and Felixstowe as well as the collective memories of the communities. The installation artwork will transform and grow as it travels and reflect different stories, individuals and communities as it moves from one port to another over the next 12 months.

WELLBEING: Returning with a packed programme of yoga, pilates, meditation, Qigong, drumming, sound baths and massage, Wellbeing by the Waves is a haven of calm and tranquillity amongst the hustle and bustle of the festival. Set your alarm and join us for a special dawn yoga class as the sun rises over the horizon on the UK’s most easterly beach starting at 3.30am.

MOONDANCE: Dance East return to the Moon Dance Tent with a jam-packed programme of workshops and performances guaranteed to get you into the groove. From energising contemporary dance, Hawaiian Hula Magic, Afro-fusion with Unboxed, to the much loved ‘Baby Loves to Boogie’, Dance East’s curates a line-up across the weekend at the Moon Dance Tent not to be missed including a special Family Silent Disco, line dancing, the Sunrise film festival and much more.

GARDENS PROGRAMME:Once again, the Gardens stage will feature some of the region’s most exciting musical acts and celebrate a diverse range of community music-making groups from the local area.  Kensington Gardens provides a beautiful backdrop for festival-goers to relax and enjoy an eclectic mix of quality day-time sounds including The Waveney SHE Choir, The Seagull Community, Rogue Shanty Buoys and the renowned folk duo, Christina Alden ad Alex Patterson.  Saturday evening in the Gardens has become known for its upbeat, party atmosphere and this year will feature The Molee Shakes, Spacehopper and local favourites, Lincoln Skins.  Sunday will see a welcome return from the popular New Dawn artist, Sign Along with Jessica, our annual Big Ukulele Strum and to end the festival, an enchanting performance of South American music by INCA.

MOONLIGHT SOUNDSCAPES:Step into a world of Moonlit Soundscapes and immerse yourself in a programme of late-night music with an atmospheric mix of classical and acoustic, from electronic to opera at St Peter and St John Church.

COSMIC PIRATES: Our Kids-focused zone encompassing storytelling, art & interactive activities.

·       Marina Theatre Creation and Imagination Station:

o   Recycled Music Making and Paper Puppet Making

o   Drama workshop with the Marina Theatre

·       Willow Boat creation built by our youngest of festival-goers

·       A brand-new HMS Doodle interactive area

MAKER’S MARKET: Supporting local and emerging makers encompassing fashion, craft, art, food and much more.

FOOD & DRINK: A plethora of the best local independent traders including Aspalls, Greene King & Sir Toby’s for our festival bars, First Light will create a street-food market offering delicious artisan offerings from around the region.

For full programme timings and details on all ticketed events, please visit the website.

The festival will run from 12pm noon to sundown (9.30pm) on Saturday, and from 10am – 4pm on Sunday, with a Dawn sunrise programme from 3.30am on Sunday morning.