Live Review - A New Day Festival 2026

Live Review – A New Day Festival 2026

Mt Ephriam Gardens, Kent – August 21^st-23^rd, 2026

Reviewer / Photographer – Paul Dubbelman

A New Day Festival (ANDF) celebrated its 10^th Anniversary in the picturesque settings of Mt Ephriam Gardens, near Faversham, Kent with a blend of classic rock, prog, roots and blues that have proved to be a very successful mix. Music to please the masses mixed with the weird, the wonderful, and the plain outrageous that has people coming back year after year. The festival was not without its challenges this year with seven of the 33 acts pulling out for a variety of reasons, including Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre, Curved Air, and Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash, the latter literally days before the festival following the sad passing of drummer Tim Brown. However, all was not lost, Festival director Dave Rees scoured his contacts list and found some very capable replacements in bands such as The Whisky Flowers and Soho Dukes to fill some of the vacant slots.

I am not going to dwell too much on the musical styles of the bands; there are others with greater knowledge and better vocabulary who can and will do that. Instead, I am going to focus on the vibe of the festival (as a newbie) and let the pictures do the talking. Although the festival proper started at noon on Friday, the Campsite was open on Thursday to allow people time to park up or pitch up, and enjoy a chilled evening in the bar, and sampling some of the fine food offerings whilst enjoying the magnificent Kent scenery.

With two stages – the Wantsum Brewery Stage, and the Mick Abrahams Dee Palmer Stage – a short walk apart, and with one stage starting 5 minutes after the other finished, the scene was very much set for some 11 hours of near-constant music each day, with barely enough time to climb the hill to the bar for much-needed refreshments. Set within a natural amphitheatre, the Wantsum Brewery stage was viewable from all angles, so it was possible to amble up to the bar, stop for some food on the way back down the hill AND still watch the action happening on the stage.

With 33 bands on show, some very familiar, like Stray, Soho Dukes and The Dirty Strangers, others less so, or completely new to me, the weekend was an assault on all the senses, not just the ears. Particularly Haze, with their constant costume changes, Henge bringing Space-Rock theatrics to the party, and Gong who were, quite frankly, plain odd. Folk-rock in its various forms was well represented in the shape of Peatbog Faeries, Cornish rockers Hanterhir, Scottish croft-rock from Shooglenifty and the neo-folk rock of Albion along with the legendary Lindisfarne. ANDF demonstrated its international reach with Sets from Czech vintage rockers Cuprum (who sang in Czech about death, alcohol and space travel, or so they assured us) and Peruvian prog instrumentalists Flor De Loto.

Trying to find a highlight from each stage each day is not an easy task. Of course, the Headliners Sweet, Hawkwind, and Gong deserve a mention, but we all know what they are about and it is some of the acts further down the bill that really caught the ear and the eye. The furious folk-punk of Leatherat definitely started the day with a bang, and was a counterpoint to the enchanting, pure voice of Hayley Griffiths as her band delivered a seated acoustic set, that had the audience in varying degrees of rapture. Sadly, after weeks of never-ending sunshine, Stray fell victim to the weather, their set cut short before it really got going due to a lightning storm getting too close for comfort.

Saturday was a truly tough day to decide, would it be The Mentulls (who I hadn’t seen for about 7 years), Solstice (Last seen in 1984 or 5), or The Whisky Flowers, drafted in at the last knockings to replace Curved Air who had to withdraw due to health issues. In the end it had to be The Whisky Flowers with a storming, take-no-prisoners, set featuring some powerful originals mixed in with some blues rock classics, closing out with their take on Rory’s ‘I’m Not Awake Yet‘. Over on the other stage, Solstice has to be my band of the day, even with Hawkwind bringing ‘Silver Machine‘ out for a rare airing. Not having seen Solstice for so long, the question was “Would I still like them or had time diluted their appeal?”. I am pleased to say that I still like them. A Lot. Their music still stirs me, their performance excites, and there was the added bonus of having Leonie Jane Kennedy on guitar.

Sunday started in boisterous fashion with a rare tribute act in the form of ZZ Toppd opening the day. Despite some unfortunate sound issues, they gave a good show for the early risers. Stand-outs for me however were Neon Fields and Karnataka. Neon Fields are a Techno Prog three-piece and vocalist Ed Barrett has a voice that demands you stop what you are doing and LISTEN! Karnataka was a new band to me (despite being around in one guise or another for 30 years) but caught my attention with their symphonic rock and epic soundscapes, and the commanding stage presence of singer Sertari.

An exhausting weekend, as all good festivals should be, but a mighty fine one, with good people, good music, good food, and first-class organisation. Here’s to the next 10 years of A New Day Festival.

Click on photos to englarge / scroll.