Strong Island

Southsea Fest: A Brief History

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010. Published in Albert Road, Local Events, Music & Bands by

Southsea Fest is now in it’s fifth year and is cemented in the calendar now for many people.  Here is a brief look back at where it all started and how it has developed into a fantastic day of music for Southsea.

The idea of Southsea Fest was born on the train whilst going and see a Prince gig at the 02 arena, and is the proud development of organiser Josie Curtis.  Hailing from Gosport, Josie has been frequenting Southsea for a few years now and especially the music scene.

Saturday 15th September saw the first ever Southsea Fest hosted at Little Johnny Russells and Havana which featured The Dawn Chorus, Fresh Legs and Multicoloured Green to name but a few. It was set as a fundraiser for Josie’s brother Beau, to raise money to record an album due to an illness he was suffering and facing a long spell in hospital.  After that proceeds went to The Ellen MacArthur trust as they were the first charity to help Beau. They gave him a laptop to record music during his stay in hospital so Josie felt it necessary to make this her chosen charity for Southsea Fest.

Another one in followed in December 2007 hosted again at LJRs and Havana which saw Little Fish perform for the first time.  3rd April 2008 saw the 3rd Southsea Fest held LJRs and the Fat Fox & Atrium.  Whilst this was happening plans were being made made for a 10 venue spectacle in Sept 08 which lead to the format for Southsea Fest as we now know it.  The following year in 2009 saw media attention from Art Rocker, NME and a small feature in The Guardian with the festival getting some much deserved coverage and again in the latest installment this year the Southsea Fest has acheived rave reviews across the board.  Sept 2010 saw the Kings Theatre added to the festival venue list becoming the showpiece venue. The Strange Death of Liberal England, The B of the Bang, Dawn Chorus and Revere were the lucky chosen ones to grace the Kings stage that day.

In it’s existence so far the festival has hosted Eliza Doolittle, Band of Skulls, James Yuill and Kid Harpoon who have all gone on to make it big nationally, as well as giving many small unsigned acts the chance to appear in front of a large audience they might not normally have the opportunity to achieve.

Southsea Fest is a not for profit organisation and donates most of it’s proceeds to the Ellen MacArthur Trust.  I’m sure you’ll all agree that it is a fantastic event to have here in Southsea and hopefully one that will continue in the future.  Next year is the 5th birthday with some big things in store.  Well done to Josie and all her team and the people who make Southsea Fest happen year in year out!

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4 Comments to Southsea Fest: A Brief History

  1. Really good to see the old posters and find out how everything started.

    RIP Havana

    Paul Gonella on September 23rd, 2010

  2. Such a shame about the Havana indeed. Good memories

    Ben Mills on September 23rd, 2010

  3. [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Dawn Chorus, Strong Island. Strong Island said: Southsea Fest: A Brief History: http://www.strong-island.co.uk/?p=9809 [...]

    Tweets that mention Southsea Fest: A Brief History | Strong Island -- Topsy.com on September 24th, 2010

  4. [...] You can also listen to the official Southsea Fest Playlist over at their Spotify HERE and also have a little read about the whole history of the event HERE. [...]

    Southsea Fest 2011 | Strong Island on August 4th, 2011

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Features

The 2nd Strong Island Ale – Dry Dock No. 1

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012. Published in Features, Food & Drink, Strong Island by

As you may know each year we run a home brew competition in February where the winning brew has the opportunity to be brewed by Irving & Co Brewing Co. and sold around the city in the summer. Last year’s brew, the Strong Island Hopper Ale, was hugely successful being one of Inving’s best selling ales and selling out so quickly it went through a second brew run. This year’s winning ale is Dry Dock No. 1, originally brewed by Lee Immins, went on sale in some of Portsmouth and Southsea’s pubs over the weekend.

We spoke to The Hole in The Wall in Southsea who said the new ale went down a storm with it being their best seller on Sunday and with almost two barrels empty by the end of the Bank Holiday weekend. Those guys at the Hole in The Wall and their regular ale drinkers know their stuff so for us this was amazing early news with the ale.

To officially launch Dry Dock No. 1 we are having a launch party with the lovely souls at The Belle Isle on Thursday evening. The ale will be on full flow, come down and try a pint or two. As well as being on sale all around the city the ale will also be available in Chichester’s Belle Isle too, so you can drink it away from home for the first time too.






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The Isle Of Wight Randonnee 2012 – Team Strong Island

Monday, May 7th, 2012. Published in Bikes & Cycling, Features by

Just over a year ago, a group of Strong Islanders were sat on the Isle of Wight ferry on our way to the yearly Randonnee cycling event; 60 miles around the island spread across 5 checkpoints. Whilst on the crossing we couldn’t help but admire various enthusiasts and their custom team jerseys. Fast forward a year and it is my great pleasure to unveil the Strong Island cycling jersey. Made as a one off for the event, the jersey is our way of representing this city and all the values that come with it. Thanks to the combined designing efforts of Chris Ballingall and Tristan Savage, we were able to produce this clean, retro looking jersey that 11 of Southsea’s finest could wear to conquer the island’s endless hills. Well done chaps.

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