Fabulous Festival Season in Suffolk

June and July is a fantastic time to visit Suffolk for a weekend break or a longer cottage holiday – especially as it’s fabulous festival season here in our beautiful county. To help you plan your festival tour around Suffolk, we’ve compiled a list of a few of our favourite events that are taking place over the next few months:-

Aldeburgh Festival of Music and ArtsFriday 13th June - Sunday 29th June 2014The 67th Aldeburgh Festival offers an outstanding choice of classical and contemporary music, exhibitions and films, all set within the beautiful backdrop of Snape Maltings.

Started by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in 1948, The Aldeburgh Festival is today one of the most well-regarded and acclaimed musical festivals in the world, attracting some of the most talented musicians from the UK and overseas. Performances by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Monteverdi Choir, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, organist Masaaki Suzuki, and Arcanto Quartet are just a small sample of some of the wonderful musicians and orchestras that you can look forward to this year.

One of the most exciting events to take place during the 2014 season is the “Aldeburgh Musicircus” which will transform the seaside town of Aldeburgh into one large concert hall. Taking place at 11am on Sunday 22nd June”, the “Musicircus” will see Aldeburgh’s much-loved musicians inhabit many areas of the town including the seafront, outside the Tudor Moot Hall, Jubilee Hall and some of the high street shops.

The idea is based on John Cage’s “Musicircus” - an extraordinary, free-spirited event that took place in the late 1960s - where musicians gathered to perform simultaneously in large spaces.

“Musicircus” spectators will be able to enjoy soloists, orchestras and quartets performing throughout Aldeburgh alongside bell-ringers, folk musicians, brass bands and jazz musicians.  This magical, musical event will then be followed by a seaside picnic on Aldeburgh beach.

The Southwold Arts FestivalSaturday 28th June – Saturday 5th July 2014The first ever Southwold Arts Festival will prove to offer a colourful pick and mix of art, live music, poetry, theatre, photography and street art. This exciting Suffolk event will be opened by Emma Freud on Saturday 28th June when Southwold high street will be transformed into a colourful street festival filled with musicians, performance artists, choirs and food stalls.

During the week, visitors can choose from an exciting programme that features The Operababes, An Evening with Andrew Marr, Street Art at The Pier, a mini “Crime Writers Festival”, an Art Exhibition featuring works by Thomas Smythe, Mary Gundry, and Henry Davy and a special Festival Service at St Edmund’s church.

Click here to find out more about the Southwold Arts Festival and to book tickets online.

Soul by The Sea, Aldeburgh seafrontSaturday 5th July 2014Soul by The Sea - a joyful celebration of Motown and Soul music - follows on from the resounding success of last year’s Sixties by The Sea event, and will take place in a wonderful open-air setting on Aldeburgh seafront.

This soulful Summer extravaganza will take place on Saturday 5th July, and whilst admission is free, the event is a fundraiser for several local charities including Town 102 Kids’ Trust, Help an East Coast Child, and Aldeburgh United Charity, so donations are welcomed.

This year’s foot-tapping line-up includes legendary soul man Geno Washington, The Motown Troubadours – who will pay tribute to some of the world’s best loved soul groups including The Temptations and the Four Tops, Soul Kitchen – an energetic seven piece band who perform an uplifting mixture of funk, soul and ska music and Freddie B whose soulful voice pays tribute to some of the greatest "Soul Legends" including Luther Vandross, George Benson and Lionel Ritchie.

To keep the festival spirit strong, there will be a BBQ, food stalls, drinks marques serving champagne and beer in addition to death-defying aerial displays by the RV8tors who have promised to thrill with their dazzling displays of aerial acrobatics.

The finale to the fabulous Soul by the Sea event is a seafront firework display.

Maverick Festival, Easton Farm ParkFriday 4th – Sunday 6th July 2014Americana and roots music from both sides of the Atlantic plus comedy, film and dance across five stages.

Latitude Festival 2014, Henham Park, SouthwoldThursday 17th to Sunday 20th July 2014Latitude is returning to the beautiful Suffolk coastal area for its ninth time this year.

This fabulous, multi-arts festival and winner of the UK Festival Award’s “Best Line-Up” title in 2013, will return to the beautiful Henham Park estate near Southwold between Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th July 2014.

All set amongst green woodlands, this year’s fantastic line-up includes Two Door Cinema Club, Clean Bandit, The Black Keys, Bombay Bicycle Club, Haim, Editors, James Vincent McMorrow, Tame Impale, Crystal Fighters, Royksopp & Robyn and Chrissie Hyde. Visitors will also be treated to the usual Latitude extravaganza of family-friendly workshops, literary and comedy heroes, art installations and fringe theatre.