Brighton’s decided to show off this weekend – and we’re here for it. We’ve got (actual) sand on the seafront, a suspicious amount of sunshine on the forecast, and a full three days of good stuff: free cookies, £5 pints, countryside markets, jazz listening sessions, baseball in the Downs, you get the picture. Come on in – the water’s cold, but the vibe’s hot.
Get your sustainable shop on at a beautifully curated pop-up
North Laine wanderers, this one’s for you. One of our favourite pop-ups is back at Gallery 40 for three days, bringing a tightly curated mix of high-end preloved fashion (Secret Store Pop-Up and Circle Boutique), handmade gold and silver jewellery (Emma Stanton and Katrina Alexander), prints (Betikat) and ceramics (Rarebit Design) – the kind of pieces you’ll see and want to take home in a flash, safe in the knowledge you’re supporting indie creatives rather than fast fashion.
Fri – Sun; 11am – 5pm (10am Sat, 4pm close on Sun); free
More information
Start your weekend with some laughs – absolutely free
Free comedy on a Friday night? Don’t mind if we do. Freak of Nature is back downstairs at The Caxton Arms (it’s there every third Friday) with a stacked line-up of rising names and award-ticked acts, from sharp one-liners to proper storytelling. You’ll be treated to everything from rural Ireland riffs and Catholic guilt to dating disasters and properly questionable life choices – all for exactly zero English pounds. You might not know every name yet, but that’s kind of the point.
Fri; 8pm; free
Book tickets
Don’t miss the ultra-low tides this weekend
If the super-low tides when Brighton’s pebble beach briefly transforms into a (squidgy) sandy haven tend to pass you by, here’s your heads up. Pop down to the beach on Friday for 5.50am and 6.09pm for a glimpse of what Brighton beach could look like if it wasn’t covered in pebbles. It’s super-low for the following four days too, so even more chances to experience it in real life rather than just on Instagram. And if you want to be sure you stay up to date for future events, Gary, aka Brighton Food Boy, has been doing the Lord’s work, creating a nifty tool that alerts you when they’re coming up. No more FOMO.
Fri – Tues (approx 40 mins later each day)
Dive into experimental sound at The Old Market
If your music taste leans a little… left of centre, this one’s for you. Colour Out of Space festival is back at The Old Market in Hove for its ninth edition – a deep dive into experimental sound, from ambient minimalism and sound poetry to full-blown noise and everything in between. You’ll find an international line-up of boundary-pushing artists, late-night sonic intrigue and the kind of performances that are much more ‘experience’ than ‘gig’.
Fri and Sat; from 5.30pm; from £20
theoldmarket.com
Get your groove on at a disco takeover
If feel-good music to dance to’s more your thing, then head to Carne on Friday where Wild Love Disco are turning up the volume and taking over the steak restaurant (check out our review here) for the evening. They’re kicking things off with laid-back drinks and sunshine tunes in the secret garden before DJ Sophie Lloyd takes things up a notch in The Cellar for four solid hours of dancefloor action. Expect bangers and a crowd that’s here for a good time rather than a 2am existential crisis.
Fri; 7pm – 1am; £15
carne-hove.co.uk
READ ALSO: Brighton Fringe is back with more weird and wonderful shows
Get tasty pints for a fiver all weekend
Have we got your attention now? Unbarred Brewery are throwing a full taproom weekender to celebrate their newly refurbed space and that means all draught beers are just £5 a pint all weekend long. But there’s more: DJs on Friday, Brighton Pier-style games, and a half-hourly raffle (you get a ticket with every beer you buy) with prizes including a generous £100 bar tab. It’s basically a very good excuse to accidentally stay put all day.
Fri – Sun; from 4pm
More information
Support Afrori Books and get yourself some great reading material
Afrori Books, one of our favourite bookshops in the city, have been doing great work since they started, even before they had a bricks-and-mortar store. They’re the UK’s largest supplier of books by black authors but it’s more than a bookshop, it’s a proper community hub. Think author events, five (!) book clubs, a choir, hair education workshops, and a genuinely welcoming space to settle in and find your next read (not always a given, let’s be honest). But like so many indie businesses right now, things are tight – and Afrori needs to sell 1,000 books this month to stay afloat. So if you’ve been meaning to pick up something new, this is your sign. We’re off for platonic love story Love By The Book) – and you’ll find plenty more where that came from, plus merch, in store and online.
afroribooks.co.uk
Score free warm cookies at a new coffee spot launch
The Flour Pot’s sister brand The Milk Shed is throwing a launch party for its new dedicated coffee spot on Prince Albert Street and they’re coming in strong with the freebies. They’re giving away 100 freshly baked cookies from 10am (first come, first served, so don’t hang about) plus free samples of their signature drinks. Alongside single-origin coffee, roasted by them just down the road, they’ll be serving up pretty-as-a-picture drinks like strawberry OMGTea matcha, yuzu lemonade and miso caramel latte. And the one we’re most excited about: a souped-up drinkable ‘tiramisu’. Espresso, chocolate, mascarpone foam and lady’s finger biscuit. We’re sold. The launch party’s on Saturday, but if you want to be one of the first to get your hands on these, they’re opening Friday at 9am.
From Fri at 9am; launch party Sat; 10am – 6pm
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Get stuck into some (more) excellent eats
If you need some more solid reasons to prioritise eating this weekend too (as if we’re never NOT prioritising it), we’ve got you. Med are in the third week of their residence at Patio (they’re in the kitchen until the 25th) and they’ve got another banging menu in store. Patio have also reintroduced bookings, so you can be sure of getting a spot, but they’re still keeping half free for walk-ins. Curio are turning two this weekend and they’re pulling out all of the celebration stops: Friday sees 2-for-1 on Ichnusa beers, and DJs and on Saturday, it’s the return of their salt beef sando birthday special, plus plenty of oysters and Muscadet. Hitting the foodie and the hilly heights (yes, they’re in Hanover), Howie’s at The Greys have launched a new menu (with a dedicated seafood section) and we hear it’s well worth scaling Muesli Mountain for. And over in less hilly Hove, MasterChef quarter-finalist Lulu is bringing her spice-laden Swahili Kitchen to The Foghorn on Saturday (1pm – 8pm). Phew.
Immerse yourself in sound at an exclusive listening event
If your idea of a perfect Friday night involves actually listening to music (we know, so radical), Capsule Records has you sorted. They’re hosting a low-lit session in their dedicated listening room with Chip Wickham, who’s bringing his latest spiritual jazz album The Eternal Now into a space designed for proper, immersive sound (he’s also playing Alphabet next Tuesday). It’s basically an audiophile’s dream. You’ll quickly forget that there’s traffic trundling up and down Church Road just a few metres away. It’s intimate, it’s one-off, and yes – there are only 16 seats, so don’t sleep on it. Plus, it’s the perfect warm-up for Saturday’s Record Store Day.
Fri; 6.30pm – 8pm; from £15
capsulerecords.co.uk
Celebrate independent record shops and grab exclusive releases
On to Record Store Day itself then. Founded back in 2007 to celebrate indie record shops, it’s the perfect opportunity to nab exclusive releases that are only available on the day. Whether you’ve already got a list of all the records you want to snap up or just fancy a day of record shop mooching, freebies and music, there’s plenty to get stuck into this RSD in Brighton.
Capsule are kicking Hove proceedings off at 9am with free coffee and merch for the early birds, DJ sets in the morning, open decks in the afternoon and the chance to win a record-player with 120 special titles on sale on the day. Unsurprisingly, Resident Records have also got a big day planned, throwing open their doors from 8am for punters to get their hands on over 500 exclusive vinyl releases. They’ve also got signings, free beers, DJ sets, a bumper charity raffle, an evening set by Blood Wizard and a hangman window competition to keep you busy while you’re in the inevitable long queue. And while they might not have any specific RSD events on Saturday, two of our favourite indie music shops, Bella Union and Dream Street Records are always well worth your time.
recordstoreday.co.uk
READ ALSO: Visit Kemptown’s secret garden
Don’t miss your last chance to see this immersive exhibition
If you’re after something more arty, then you might like Resonance, the Sussex Contemporary group exhibition at Fabrica, the city-centre art space that used to be a church. It’s the perfect home for this collection of works across photography, installation and mixed media, each a response to the theme of ‘resonance’, “exploring how ideas, materials and experiences echo across time, place and community”. One for when you want something immersive enough to actually hold your attention. The exhibition closes this weekend, so pop in if you’re in the city centre – it’s free.
Until 19th April; free
fabrica.org.uk
Join an arty party in a Regency townhouse
If you like your art with a side of fizz and a DJ, this one’s worth knowing about. Artists Tboy and Lucy Delano got together to present Townhouse – an arty takeover of a Grade I-listed Regency Hove house. The multi-room, two-floor exhibition brings together a stacked line-up of mixed media collaborators, including The Postman, Neon Tony, and more, with original works, unreleased pieces and properly considered curation. Friday’s already sold out, but they’ve added a Saturday daytime slot so you can still get your fix.
Sat; 11.30am – 3.30pm; free but ticketed
Register for tickets
Celebrate spring with an afternoon of folk
If you’re after some proper folky vibes this weekend, Circus Street’s Spring Folk Celebration has your name on it. Think a live choir, clog dancing, crafts, games and a traditional English Mummers’ play all about piggy folklore… obviously. There’ll be plant and market stalls, free goodies, and food from Kernel Canteen, so you can have a wander and a snack while you mull over getting in to the folk scene.
Sat; 1pm – 4pm; free
More information
Party by day – and all night
A day party that turns into an all-nighter? Now we’re talking. The Funk Phenomenon, co-presented by English Disco Lovers, is taking over Quarters Brighton for a proper daytime session – rare groove, jazz funk, nu disco and funky house, all spun the way it should be, proper vinyl crackles included. It kicks off at 3pm, builds nicely, and by the time you’re a couple of drinks in, you’re already halfway to a night out without even trying. For the easiest option, stay put for the evening sesh as the venue rolls almost straight into late-night programming with groove-heavy house from French duo Oden & Fatzo. So what starts as a wholesome-ish daytime dance party quietly ramps up into a full session under the arches. No Uber, no outfit change, just a seamless slide from sunshine to strobe lights.
Sat; 3pm – 10pm; £13.62 and 11pm – 4am; £27.07
quartersbrighton.co.uk
Chat and swap perfumes at a Scented Social
Your Sunday plans just got a little more fragrant. Perfume boutique Wild Iris is hosting a Scented Sunday Social, and this one’s all about samples. Bring half-used minis, niche finds, ‘why did I buy this’ mistakes, and get stuck into a proper perfume swap and discussion over coffee, pastries, and fellow perfume aficionados/discoverers. You know it makes scents (sorry).
Sun; 12.30pm – 2pm; free (but RSVP)
RSVP here
Go offline and create some self-care products
Put your phone down. No, seriously. Logging Off Club has teamed up with Lush Brighton for a phone-free self-care session designed to make you do the unthinkable: exist offline for a bit. Book in for hands-on product making, guided prompts, and a genuinely calm space to chat, switch off and remember what your brain sounds like without notifications pinging. Our challenge: see if you (we) can get through the hour without any pick-ups.
Sun; 9.30am; £14.25
Book tickets
Take a hike with Babble
Fresh air, good chat and a pint at the end? Sold. Babble’s 10-mile spring hike sets off from Ditchling Beacon and winds its way through the Sussex countryside before finishing where it matters – back at Babble in Hove for a well-earned sundowner (or one of their great roasts – last chance to get one this weekend, by the way). It’s totally free or you can pay a fiver to secure a glass of Everflyht bubbly during the planned vineyard stop. Right this way for big views, a sociable pace and a low-key Sunday that still ends at the bar.
Sun; from midday; from free; meet at The Bull Pub car park in Ditchling
Book tickets
Watch some baseball as Brighton Baseball Club open the new season
Big glove energy incoming. Brighton Baseball Club is kicking off the season with Sunday’s Opening Day at Waterhall Baseball Diamond (just off the A27) where the Brighton Brewers are taking on the Herts Cardinals. Who knew Brighton even had a baseball club? We certainly didn’t, but every day’s a discovery day. Founded in 1962, Brighton’s club is actually one of the oldest in the UK. Happily (for us), you don’t need to know your innings from your elbows to get involved, you can just turn up to enjoy some bats, beers and maybe even some sporting drama, all with a side of stunning South Downs backdrop. And if you fancy giving it a go some time, we hear they’re always looking for new players…
Sun; midday first pitch; free
brightonbaseball.co.uk
GET OUTTA TOWN
Dive into a lido as one of the UK’s oldest reopens
Lido season is back, and yes – it’s still pretty darn cold, especially if you’re not used to it. Pells Pool (the UK’s oldest freshwater open-air pool, no less) over in Lewes reopens this weekend, with the spring-fed water currently sitting at a brisk 14 degrees. But if you’re the kind of person who enjoys (or wants to) a post-swim glow and regularly uses the word “invigorating”, you’ll love it. Early morning dip surrounded by lush trees, fresh Lewes air, and a stroll around some new-to-you coffee and antique shops? Saturday sorted.
From Sat; from 8am; from £4.40
pellspool.org.uk
Mooch around a countryside food and drink market
If your ideal Saturday involves good food, fresh air and a casual stroll with something delicious in hand, Trenchmore Farm’s Spring Market is calling. Head out into the countryside (about a 40-minute drive from Brighton) for a stacked line-up of Sussex growers, makers and street food – from tacos and burgers to their tasty Silly Moo small-batch cider, coffee and baked goods – plus live music and proper countryside vibes.
Sat; 11am – 4pm; free; dog-friendly
trenchmore.co.uk
