21-23 August 2026
by
A New Day Festival celebrates its 10th Anniversary this summer taking place in its usual setting of the beautiful gardens of Mount Ephraim at Hernhill—while featuring the very best in Prog Rock, Classic Rock, blues and roots music—as well as camping and glamping.
This year’s 3-day festival organised by Angela Smith, Frank Smith and David Rees gets underway on Friday 21st August at noon but for those who want to arrive early and beat the traffic, the campsite will actually be open on Thursday 20th, together with the bar and some of the food stalls. Those who are up for joining a pre-festival chill-out evening, should book this additional camping night when buying a festival ticket.
The amazing music line-up this year features bands Hawkwind, Gong, Sweet, Lindisfarne and Curved Air—to name but a few.
There will also be a fabulous variety of food on offer throughout the festival, with many of the stalls offering vegan/veggie and gluten-free options, and a wide selection of ales and wines will be available, as well as spirits and cocktails
As ever, there will be great festival merchandise including pictorial books and sought-after T-shirts—as well as some interesting murder mystery—because I’ve taken up an invitation to return to the fest this year on all 3 days of the festival… — No, relax! I won’t be taking to the stage but I will be meeting readers of my Whitstable Pearl crime books and fans of the TV series based on the books. The connection of course is that the festival takes place in the stunning 10 acres of gardens at Mount Ephraim near Faversham and one of my books is set there—Murder at Mount Ephraim—but I can guarantee all murders will remain entirely fictional!
So, come along and camp out at one of the most beautiful settings in Kent and experience one of the very best music fests around on a very special year—or just stay for the day. Early Bird tickets will be available until 7th August—but you can always turn up and buy tickets on the day. And I hope to see you there!
Happy Birthday A New Day Festival!
Check out the website for full info on: https://anewdayfestival.com/
Gallery – Last year’s festival
(Click on images to enlarge)
Julie Wassmer is a Whitstable-based author, TV writer and environmental campaigner. She has successfully fought a number of environmental issues, including fracking in Kent and tree clearances by Network Rail. Her Whitstable Pearl crime novels are now a major TV series, starring Kerry Godliman.
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