Welcome to Hurst Life’s HURSTfolk event page. Here you will find our most recent information for everything regarding the festival.

HURSTfolk is the brainchild of Hurstpierpoint resident, Debbie Clare. Debbie is drawing upon her extensive live music career to weave together this community-focused weekend of live music performances.

HURSTfolk fights for survival

By Debbie Clare
HURSTfolk is a grassroots music festival in Hurstpierpoint which I started it a few years ago after realising how many brilliant artists lived here – but had nowhere local to perform. That sparked the idea for a small community festival that could give them a stage.

Every November, we take over five village venues for three days, showcasing 60+ performers – from first-timers to seasoned musicians. It’s joyful, inclusive, and gives our high street and community a much-needed boost at a quiet time of year.

But right now, we’re desperate for funding. It costs around £8,000 to run, and we’ve only raised £2,000 so far which goes towards venue hire, licensing, production, insurance, and paying our small crew (all of whom work for reduced rates because they believe in the festival).

This year, like many festivals, we’re facing funding cuts – so we’re turning to our community for help to help keep HURSTfolk alive. If you’ve been to HURSTfolk before, you’ll know how much heart goes into it – from the performers, the venues, the crew, and the whole community who show up year after year to make something magical happen right here in the village.

We’ve just launched a crowdfunder to help us raise the £6,000 still needed to make this year’s festival happen – and we’d be so grateful for your support.

If you’re able to contribute anything at all, it really would make a difference. Even the smallest donations help keep this festival going – and every share or bit of encouragement helps too. You can find the campaign and donate here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hurstfolk2025

Thank you so much for being part of HURSTfolk.’s story so far. With your help, we’d love to write the next chapter this November.