PREVIEW: Feel Good, The Old Market from Wednesday 2nd September to Tuesday 8th September.
From soothing sounds to ambient sound baths, storytelling, 360 degree visual and audio soundscapes to electronic and traditional folk music – Feel Good brings together artists and communities, creating new ways to join in, gather, connect and be present through the live arts.
So what is it? Essentially a week of healing through the power of music and listening.
Expect a joyous week of music, visuals and unforgettable performances with an exciting line-up of established and up-and-coming performers all exploring and celebrating the healing power of listening together.
“Feel Good is about what happens when we slow down and really listen – together,” Helen Jewell. Creative Director, The Old Market, said.
“Live performance has an extraordinary power to connect us, and this festival is designed to lean into that fully: immersive sound, stunning visuals, and the simple but profound experience of being in a room with other people and feeling something”.
She added that, alongside the performances, the Old Market will be working with grassroots and youth-led organisations to explore what creativity and shared experience can mean for our wellbeing.
The launch of Feel Good, on September 2nd, kicks off with an evening of uplifting folk music from one of Sussex’s leading bands in this field – Hiraeth Folk Club.
This promises to be an immersive evening blending traditional English, Irish and Scottish folk music with visual art.
Following on from this is Faisal Salah, known by his stage name ‘Facesoul’, who will perform tracks from his current album YRSA.
By Friday of that week, we are really getting into it. The Old Market will host INDIGAURA PRESENTS SAKR x KLSR, described as a 360º Live AV – a boundary pushing 360-degree sensory experience featuring a top line-up of visionary producers and digital artists who blur the line between sound and sight.
“Step into the future of Audio Visual with live, real-time hi-def visuals – perfectly synced to the music as they perform, along with surround sound audio. This is a wholly new way to experience music,” the description reads.
This night will feature both Sakr -the visual mastermind behind Evanescence’s latest single, and Brighton-based Klsr, an innovative audio-visual artist exploring light and textures through real-time processes.
LIGHTWORKS by eott, is on Saturday September 5th. This is a project that exists to familiarise and energise mental health conversations for young people that mixes the power of music with the necessity of mindfulness.
On Sunday September 6th, Flux returns to The Old Market with an immersive deep listening experience – creating space to slow down, feel, and connect through sound. Blending live music, sound design and visual art, the session invites you to lie back and listen or engage in your own way – whether through stillness, observation, or quiet creative expression.
The evening features composer kiskadee (Jack Chown) and digital artist Studio Aszyk (Neal Coghlan), presenting a multi-sensory installation where sound and image unfold together.
Field recordings, organic electronic composition and responsive visuals combine to form a calm, reflective environment shaped by natural textures and rhythms. Alongside the installation, kiskadee will premiere new material from his forthcoming second album.
Feel Good’s penultimate event on Monday 7th September welcomes Former Toploader Guitarist, Julian Deane to The Old Market to perform The Plough – a longform ambient film and live music performed by Deane as the Woodchester Piano Company.
The Plough explores slowness, landscape and attention — offering temporary pause from the pace and noise of everyday life.
Another Premiere will close out The Old Market’s first ever Feel Good programme on Tuesday 8th September – ANATOM, presented by Four Arrows of Light.
ANATOM is a journey through spellbinding film montages, soundscapes, with a vibrant, lively string quartet, performed by Modulus Quartet.
Completing The Feel Good line up will be immersive 20 minute Sound Baths running throughout the week on the back of their sell out success at The Old Market’s recent Of Land Sea and Sky season for Brighton Festival.
Tickets are on sale now for Feel Good which runs at The Old Market from Wednesday 2nd September to Tuesday 8th September. Full programme of events and details on how to book are available here: https://www.theoldmarket.com/feel-good/
