City Sounds Music Festival Returns to Chichester

The festival, which will take place across eight venues in the city, has already doubled in size and now even offers a venue for under 18s.

Bands and artists that wish to take part are being encouraged to fill in an application form by 30 September (the application deadline has passed). The organisers are also planning to work with students from Chichester College and the University of Chichester who want to kick start their music career. 

People will be able to follow a musical map of the city and soak up the original sounds of local musicians at a variety of venues from midday until 10pm.

The under 18s stage will kick start the celebrations at Franco Manca at midday, which will focus on emerging talent in an age group that rarely gets to be involved in festivals. Then, from 5pm people will be able to listen to artists and bands in The Escapist, The Fountain, Trents, George and Dragon, Little Monster Tap, the Hole In The Wall and Havana.

"We are really excited to welcome City Sounds back to Chichester this November," says Cllr Jess Brown-Fuller, Cabinet Member for Culture and Events at Chichester District Council.

"The first City Sounds Festival was a huge success with venues reporting a 300% increase in trade on the day; residents and visitors enjoying free entertainment; and local musicians having a stage to perform their own music on.

"As a council, we are really proud to be supporting the festival, which we believe will continue to go from strength to strength and further enhance Chichester's reputation as a creative and musical city.

"This is part of our commitment to provide more events in the district to encourage people to visit, in addition to supporting Chichester's evening and night-time economy. It is also in direct response to what residents have told us that they want to see and enjoy."

City Sounds was created by Chichester resident, Chris Simmons, a professional musician for more than 20 years, and is being supported by Chichester District Council.

Chris has helped many new bands with their first shows, who have subsequently become festival headliners, including Royal Blood, The Kooks, Ellie Goulding and many others. He has also written songs with artists, including Travis and Squeeze. As an artist he has toured the world, appearing with the likes of Jackson Browne, Sir Tom Jones, Simply Red, Passenger, James Bay, Paloma Faith and many others, as well as playing many major festivals across the globe.

"The excitement is really building across the city for the return of City Sounds," says Chris Simmons, organiser of the event and founder of the Smithereen Music Group.

"This year, we are really pleased to be introducing an under 18s stage, which will focus on emerging talent in an age group that rarely gets to be involved in festivals. The aim is to develop a pathway for these artists to move onto the main festival and beyond.

"The first event was a huge success, with amazing comments from residents and visitors. This year is going to be bigger and better than ever, with double the amount of venues. We want to encourage local bands and artists to get involved by filling out the application form on our website.

"We really want to shine a light on the very best artists from Chichester and the surrounding areas at City Sounds. Over 20 artists played in March, and we will be doubling that number this time, which is very exciting and a great thing for the city."

People can find out more by visiting the City Sounds (opens new window) website. 

Date of Release: 13 September 2023                                                              

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