Head east along the Sussex coast and the industrial port of Newhaven is having something of a glow up right now. And nothing could cement the town’s new ‘hot spot’ status more than the first ever Port of Cool festival, held in the Sidings last Saturday. With Brighton’s Family Store in the driving seat, alongside Look Again Newhaven, hopes were high.

Pulling together a one-day festival at short notice is no small feat, but the event was charismatic, quirky, and, well, really, really good. From the programming to the layout, the food and drink to the sound, everything worked together to make this a really promising little event. After a dusty little bus trip through the Sussex countryside, SOURCE was gently deposited just steps from the entrance. The site, next to the Abyss Brewery tap room, is nestled between the port itself and the river mouth, and the sea breeze helped to keep things comfy on what turned out to be a scorcher of a day.

The music kicked off with somewhat cheeky, somewhat punky Crab and they utterly set the tone for what was a full day of less-known but brilliant bands and performers. It was a diverse line-up, with Charlie Keen’s Silver Birch’s enchanting ambient trombone melodies, Nick Granata’s folkscapades, synth-infused indie from Minor Dents, indie moodsters M. Woodroe and grunge-tastic, Baby Seals.

The crowd stayed and the flags swayed, the Super Pale flowed and pizza and burgers kept the people ready to rave. As the sun set over the industrial harbour, the ‘expect the unexpected’ vibe carried on into the evening with sets from the undefineable Paddy Steer, eclectic tunes from Slack City DJs inside the tent, and headliners Memorials finishing out the day.

Altogether a great first run out for this event. A small start, but the site could easily accommodate a bigger crowd in the coming years. Very friendly, very chill, very well put together and actually pretty damn cool.

Photo Credits: Sam Elfer, Louise Bloom