Four-day music extravaganza at Rochester Castle this July!
Set in the beautiful grounds of Rochester Castle in Medway, Kent, the much-loved four-day music extravaganza that Rochester Castle Concerts, is truly one of a kind. Strategically placed astride the London Road, guarding an important crossing of the River Medway, this imposing fortress that provides an epic backdrop to the concerts has a complex history which dates back to the 12th century.
Bringing the location bang up to date though, the Rochester Castle Concerts have played host to a fantastic, eclectic array of musical artists including Van Morrison, Jools Holland, Soul II Soul, The Libertines, Craig David, Level 42, Wet Wet Wet, Status Quo, Will Young, Billy Ocean and much more!
For more information on the castle concerts, click here.
Thursday, 6 July at 5pm
Among music legends, Nile Rodgers is truly exceptional. He amplifies his legacy as a multiple GRAMMY-winning composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music. As the co-founder of CHIC and the Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rodgers pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like “Le Freak,” (the biggest-selling single in the history of Atlantic Records) and sparked the advent of hip-hop with “Good Times”. Nile transcends all styles of music across every generation with a body of work that’s garnered him inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
His unforgettable live performances with CHIC have been included in “festival best performances” at both Glastonbury and Coachella resulting in a BBC Music Awards nomination for “Best Live Performance”, and the LA Times stating, “Nile Rodgers influence stretches all over Coachella, beaming the sound of a better future”.
Nile’s work in the CHIC Organization and his productions for artists like David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Madonna have sold over 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide while his trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Keith Urban, Disclosure, Sam Smith and Lady Gaga reflect the vanguard of contemporary music.
It's been confirmed that Icognito, British Soul/Jazz funk group will be appearing with Nile Rodgers and CHIC as their special guests at this year's concert!
SOFT CELL will perform live in an exclusive outdoor concert in the stunning grounds of Rochester Castle, Kent on Friday 7 July 2023, with very special guests PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT who will perform music from Peter Hook’s first bands, New Order and Joy Division.
Having met at Leeds Polytechnic University in the late 70’s, Soft Cell (Marc Almond and Dave Ball) released four UK Top 20 albums between 1981-1984, spawning hits such as 'Memorabilia’, ‘Torch’, 'Bedsitter', 'Down in the Subway', ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’; and of course their boundless, era-defining #1 hit ‘Tainted Love’.
The duo performed to a sold-out crowd at The O2 in London in 2018 for what was intended to be a farewell concert, but in the intervening years spawned a brand new album ‘*Happiness Not Included’, as well as recent UK and North American tours celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut album, ‘Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret’.
Peter Hook & The Light feature one of the founding members of both Joy Division and New Order, Peter Hook. His group The Light celebrate the music of both legendary groups performing hits and fan favourites in a spectacular live performance.
Saturday, 8 July at 3pm
Internationally regarded as one of the world’s finest live draws, seven piece band Fat Freddy’s Drop is on fire with fourth studio album BAYS. Over the last three LPs the New Zealanders have navigated their way from the incubator of sunshine reggae through a colour-saturated field of soul psychedelia before swerving onto a desolate Detroit superhighway at night. It’s a sound that demands to be heard live, a potent mixture of jazz virtuosity and diaphragm-wrecking digital sonics.
These influences have not only been formed by the band’s individual predilections, but also experiences on the road: Fat Freddy’s appearance at Detroit’s Movement festival in 2006 was a watershed moment for the band, fuelled by hearing May’s, Atkin’s and Craig’s stark futurism ricochet off the cold concrete of America’s broken dream. This stoked producer DJ Mu’s love of analog techno, balancing and fusing vocalist Dallas Tamaira’s adoration of soul and reggae with the band’s collective passion for Jazz, Rhythm & Blues, Rock, Disco, House, Post Punk and Balearic oddities.
Tickets available online soon.
Sunday, 9 July at 3pm
Sugababes became one of the most successful British girlbands of the 21st century with six Number One singles, millions of global sales and multiple multi-platinum albums. Along the way they told one of the most spectacular stories of the modern pop era, but it all started with one song, three voices and a mysterious white label 7”.
Fast forward two decades, the original line up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy arrived back in full force becoming the talk of the summer festivals including having to shut down their field at Glastonbury due to demand.
The next chapter for Sugababes is just getting started!
Tickets available online soon.
| £55 General admission plus booking fee | £99 Seated plus booking fee |
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Address
Rochester Castle Concerts Rochester Castle Gardens, Castle Hill, Rochester ME1 1SW
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