Empowering Communities, Amplifying Voices & Transforming LIVEs with Culture.
Our Impact In 2025
ARTISTS APPLICATIONS
Would you like to apply to perform or deliver a workshop at one of our festivals, then please complete our artist application, and you will be considered for all of our festival both in London and Essex.
Upcoming events
Listen Up! - The Evelyn Glennie Foundation and City Lit are delighted to announce Listen Up!, a two‐week residency taking place 7–18 May 2026, inviting the public to rethink what it truly means to listen.
Gallions Park - Summer in the Park is a free, family‑friendly festival popping up in local parks across Royal Greenwich. Co‑designed with local families and community groups, it’s a hyperlocal celebration made by and for the people who live nearby.
Maryon Park - Summer in the Park is a free, family‑friendly festival popping up in local parks across Royal Greenwich. Co‑designed with local families and community groups, it’s a hyperlocal celebration made by and for the people who live nearby.
In the rockpools of a town called Crabbiton lives a little crab. Although SMALL in stature, he had a BIG curiosity and loved watching the humans who lived near the shore. But, over time, he became worried about the impact they were having on his watery home.
St Osyth Summer Sounds: Music & Food Festival, your new destination for world-class performances, family-friendly fun and mouth-watering culinary delights.
Step inside Luminarium, a spectacular walk-through installation that fills St Osyth Summer Sounds with light, colour, and calm. Tickets (£3.50) are required to enter.
Brass Rascals at St Osyth Summer Sounds - (AKA Brasscals) are a band composed of session musicians that tour with different artists and play in the London and UK music scene.
Step inside Luminarium, a spectacular walk-through installation that fills St Osyth Summer Sounds with light, colour, and calm. Tickets (£3.50) are required to enter.
St Osyth Summer Sounds: Music & Food Festival, your new destination for world-class performances, family-friendly fun and mouth-watering culinary delights.
King’s Cross Summer Sounds, for 11 days (13th Aug - 23rd Aug), brings together music, culture and community in the heart of King’s Cross. Featuring a diverse lineup of live performances from local and emerging artists, this milestone event offers a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive experience for all.
Len Blake - With honeyed vocals and storytelling that feels specific yet entirely relatable, Len Blake builds worlds full of character with her music.
Little Granddad - Americana-indie with a twist: shades of The Band and the 90s alt-country greats, shot through with power-pop urgency. Four-part harmonies, brass bursts, and songs that flip from half-time to double-time.
Tomorrow’s Warriors Junior Band with Binker Golding - A Tomorrow’s Warriors alum, MOBO winning saxophonist Binker Golding will be joining Tomorrow's Warriors Junior Band
Ankora - These eight incredible young musicians met through Tomorrow’s Warriors and were selected perform in the all-female Tomorrow’s Warriors Frontline ensemble, under the direction and tutelage of drummer, composer, and educator Romarna Campbell.
Tomorrow’s Warriors Youth Ensemble with Denys Baptiste - Tomorrow's Warriors Youth Ensemble, a band punching well above their weight - a unique sextet aged 15-19, the band boasts exceptional talent.
Nu Establishment with Gary Crosby and Zara McFarlane - Nu Establishment will be joined by Tomorrow's Warriors Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and bassist Gary Crosby - the man behind the legendary Jazz Jamaica – as they serve up an infectious mix of ska, calypso, mento, and Blue Beat with an impulsive jazz influence.
Tomorrow’s Warriors Big Band with ESKA - The Tomorrow’s Warriors Big Band development ensemble features 16 young musicians aged 14-25 years old and is mentored by TW alumnus, trumpeter, composer, and band-leader Axel Kaner-Lidstrom.
Musical Dialogues of the East - is a rich cross-cultural concert experience that brings together outstanding musicians and vocalists from across South Asia and the Middle East for an evening of melody, rhythm, and improvisation.
Yshee Black (Host) - (pronounced whYSHEE BLACK) is known for curating and hosting her own lip-sync competition in her home city of Birmingham, aptly named The Church of Yshee from 2017-2022.
Kimmy Beatbox (Host) - (they/them) is one of the UK’s top beatboxers, reaching the semi-finals of the UK Beatbox Championships 2019 whilst being the first person who isn’t male to get that far in the competition for over 10 years.
Toby Corton (Host) - Sounds Queer founder, Toby Corton, is the cash you dreamt of finding, rolled up, in the inside pocket of a favourite jacket.
Thandi Phoenix - London-based South African-Australian, Thandi Phoenix, is a versatile and innovative artist who consistently pushes the boundaries of her sound and self-expression.
Arno Sacco - a Belgian-born artist of Caribbean heritage whose rich, emotive voice and intimate songwriting have quickly made him a rising figure within the new wave of European R&B.
Bessi - (They/Them) is a London-based jazz & soul artist, known for their lyricism, that swims between tenderness & fast pace, warm vocals & arrangements that feel like coming home or exploring somewhere entirely new.
Swing into Summer with the Kings Place Jazz Orchestra - a handpicked, project-based ensemble, made up of the UK’s finest jazz and big band musicians, alongside rising-star young artists. Kings Place Jazz Orchestra is more than a new resident ensemble, it’s a bold statement of artistic ambition.
Mishra are a global folk band from the UK gathering international recognition, who draw together roots in UK traditional music with continent-spanning musical textures into a breathtaking 5 piece performance.
Pons Aelius are a six-piece progressive instrumental folk band from Newcastle upon Tyne, known for their rich acoustic sound, bold arrangements and explosive live energy. Fusing tradition with innovation, they have toured extensively across the UK and Europe, appearing at festivals including Celtic Connections, Towersey and Priddy.
Motown Gospel Choir - Bringing the timeless sounds of Motown to life, this show is packed with legendary hits, from Dancing in the Street to I Want You Back, guaranteed to keep you dancing All Night Long!
Chaps Choir - is a large male singing gang from London; say goodbye to the male voice choir most would recognise. The group has been sharing its joy-inducing, heart-string pulling repertoire to audiences since 2013. Prepare for pop re-hashes, snowy hunting calls, self-aware pirates and, well, lots of men singing …
News
What does it look like to widen access to the arts through a free music festival? Our latest audience postcode analysis for King’s Cross Summer Sounds offers an answer.
We’re building a pool of production crew to work across St Osyth Summer Sounds, Summer in the Park and Creative Tendring events in the future.
We’re building a pool of workshop leaders and creative facilitators for future opportunities across St Osyth Summer Sounds, Summer in the Park and Creative Tendring.
This is an on-the-day problem-solving role. We use a simple Ticketmaster ticket system, and you’ll support the entry team by helping stewards and volunteers scan tickets, resolving ticket issues, and answering questions from festival-goers.
This is a rare role for someone who loves building things with people: spending time across Tendring’s towns, coastal communities and rural villages, listening deeply, spotting local energy and turning those early conversations into visible, joyful cultural activity.
Working side by side with authenticity and a shared 10‑year vision, a free heritage setting becomes a living festival that belongs to and uplifts the whole community.
Creative Tendring has been awarded £750,000 as part of Arts Council England’s largest ever Creative People and Places (CPP) Portfolio, investing £42 million across 45 UK programmes from 2026–29 to spark more grassroots-led cultural experiences in areas where participation in the arts is below the national average.
We’re absolutely thrilled to share that Arts Trust has been shortlisted for the 2025 Fantastic for Families Awards, this recognition underscores our ongoing mission: to use creativity to connect people, reduce isolation, and empower communities.
-
Well done to everyone involved in running and funding this wonderful free festival! Keep doing this!
EFDSS - Katy Spicer
-
Great to have an accessible and free event that supports people’s love of music
King’s Cross Summer Sounds Audience Member
-
Great day of activity for the kids with culture, music and fun
Summer in the Park Audiance Member
-
this is one of the most amazing experiences my daughter has ever experienced
Fire Songs: PMLD Audience Member
Make a donation.
Donating to Arts Trust helps us bring cultural experiences to our less privileged communities.
We are Currently supported by:
