JackoFest 2024

Jackson Peacock — ‘Jacko’ to his mates — looked forward to turning 22 in 2024, the year his mother and brother would celebrate their 60th and 18th birthdays. Collectively adding up to 100, the trio planned a big summer ‘Centenary’ party 

Celebrating his 21st birthday in Barcelona surrounded by friends — describing it as ‘the best week of my life’ — Jacko had loved every minute of what turned out to be his last summer. Tragically, he died in an accident on September 20th 2023… 

JackoFest grew, phoenix-like, from the embers of the ‘Centenary’ party. With an exciting, eclectic musical line-up (including Nerina Pallot, 5onger, Jack Valero, Erin Bloomer and Theo Sawyer, with a guest appearance by Mica Paris, a DJ set by Jon Carter, all hosted by Steve Furst), the festival takes place at the iconic de la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea — a modernist masterpiece on the south coast —  the day before what would have been Jacko’s 22nd birthday. 

Whether or not you knew him, everybody is invited to celebrate Jacko's beautiful life the way he would have wanted — with profits going to two charities that help bereaved parents and siblings: The Good Grief Project and The Compassionate Friends

We've sold 400 tickets — and a big thank you to everybody who has bought those! — however, with four weeks to go before major decisions have to be made by the venue, it is projected that we will not sell enough tickets by the end of June to be able to commit to putting on JackoFest in its current form. This would be desperately sad as so many people — from our fabulous artists, who are giving their time and talent for nothing, to our ace poster illustrator/designer, via the de la Warr team — have invested so much in the event's potential success

We know these are tough times financially for many. We also know that — on one of the summer's busiest weekends — there are lots of other events on which to spend your money and invest your time. However, with a potential capacity for 2000 guests in total, the 'festival' infrastructure — stage, fences, loos, security, bar staff — comes at a cost. If we can cover those costs in the next three weeks, we know that we can put on the event

Build it and they will come... After we buy the tickets we know can get them to the people who'll really want them—but who can't/won't (for whatever reason; they're finishing their Finals/A levels/GCSEs etc) currently commit in time to meet our first deadline, in June. We just need a bit more time to create our Field of Dreams... 

So, do please help us buy enough advance tickets to ensure that this very special event — honouring Jackson's memory, celebrating his beautiful life and creating a wonderful music-filled day out by the seaside — can go ahead. Thank you