Stumbling through the summer evening Green Fields at Worthy Farm in the early noughties, some drumming caught our ears. Then a Sheffield resident, we knew of Brighton punk band Flannel, and their silly song which told a cautionary tale about putting their brain in a liquidiser. Was that really a samba band playing a drum and bass cover version of a little known crusty punk classic about veterinary medicine, that we could hear floating over the festival air? We looked in, to find a stylish beast of a band; full of colour and impeccable tailoring having a riot, despite the crowds all being down at the main stages.

A love affair was born with the Brighton institution that is the Carnival Collective. We have gone on to witness them rock a million stages, dancing our socks off as they played to thousands of people, from Shangri-La to the packed streets of the Kemptown Carnival. We danced on the bar of the Blind Tiger club as they brought the house down in that venue’s closing weekend.

Incredibly they are now celebrating their 30th birthday and they have booked the Brighton Dome for the party as part of the annual festival! Expect a cornucopia of pink and blue colour and a heady mix of Latin, samba, ska and pounding kickass drum‘n’bass.

Support on the night will come from local Afrobeat legends Lakuta and the godfather of all that is good about festivals, Mr Chris Tofu OBE, on the decks.

Brighton Festival Presents: Carnival Collective 30th Birthday Party
Brighton Dome, Sunday 12th May 2024
Tickets available here