2026 Festival Events

Festival Launch
8 July · Wed · 5pm
The Assembly Rooms · New Romney
The festival opens with a conversation and a glass of fizz. Join the Festival Curator Edward Armitage BEM for an informal preview of the 2026 festival: the ideas, the premieres, the programme.

Changeling Theatre
8 July · Wed · 7pm
The Old School Garden · New Romney
Opening the festival, Changeling Theatre bring Shakespeare's sharpest romcom, Much Ado About Nothing, played with glitz, glamour and scandal. Bring a picnic, a rug and a sense of mischief.

Thomas Kelly & John Frederick Hudson
9 July · Thu · 7pm
St Leonard · Hythe
Sharing a single piano for an evening of four-hand repertoire, a world premiere from Hudson opens the programme and closes with Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Sunflower Singers at Snargate
10 July · Fri · 11am
St Dunstan · Snargate
A coffee concert with JAM's community choir, the Sunflower Singers, led by Rebecca Lodge-Birkebaek. Expect folk songs, musical theatre, a cappella rounds and pop, and a few surprises along the way.

JAM Sinfonia
10 July · Fri · 7pm
St Nicholas · New Romney
JAM Sinfonia takes the stage with two reimagined masterworks: Ravel's Piano Concerto with pianist Cyrill Ibrahim, and Debussy's La Mer. Both in brand-new arrangements commissioned by JAM from Timothy Jackson and Julian Durrand.

Into the Bellows
11 July · Sat · 11am
St Nicholas · New Romney
Three composers arrived at JAM in May. In July, Ryan Corbett (one of the leading performers of his generation) premieres three new works for accordion, written by the sea.

The Roaring 20s
11 July · Sat · 7pm
St Nicholas · New Romney
The 1920s, sung and told. Alexander Armstrong, Claire Booth and Andrew Matthews-Owen take us through Noel Coward, Ivor Novello and the Great American Songbook. Script by Christine Croshaw.

Fenella Humphreys
12 July · Sun · 11am
St Clement · Old Romney
Violinist Fenella Humphreys brings a solo recital of Bach's great Ciaconna at its heart, framed by Biber, Sally Beamish, Caroline Shaw and Anna Berg. Three centuries on one instrument.

Black Dyke Band
12 July · Sun · 3pm
St Nicholas · New Romney
Black Dyke Band will excite JAM’s audience ahead of their 2026 BBC Proms appearance. Strauss, Mealor, Respighi and Malcolm Arnold, with a three-part soloist showcase.

Festival Farewell
12 July · Sun · 4:30pm
The Old School Garden · New Romney
The festival closes with music, friends and a glass in hand. Join the festival curator, the week's artists and the audience who made it happen for farewells and first thoughts on 2027.
With thanks to our funders
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