JAM on the Marsh 2026
Five-day classical and contemporary music festival staged across medieval Romney Marsh churches and Hythe community spaces every July.
- When
- Where
Multiple venues across Romney Marsh and Hythe — St Dunstan's Snargate, St Clement's Old Romney, St Nicholas' New Romney, the New Romney Old School, the Assembly Rooms, and St Leonard's Hythe.
- Info
Visit the official JAM on the Marsh website for the full programme and tickets.
Founded in 2014, JAM on the Marsh has become one of the UK's most distinctive summer chamber-music festivals — five days of classical and contemporary programming staged inside the medieval churches that punctuate Romney Marsh. The 2026 edition takes the music of France and jazz's influence on classical writing as its theme, with works by Debussy, Ravel and Mussorgsky. Headliners include Alexander Armstrong with soprano Claire Booth and pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen, the Black Dyke Band, and the returning JAM Sinfonia, alongside open-air Changeling Theatre. Past editions have featured the BBC Singers, Britten Sinfonia, The King's Singers and VOCES8.
New Romney is a twenty-minute drive from The River Haven. The festival's audience tends to plan the trip around the programme and book two or three nights — pair an evening at Snargate or Old Romney with a daytime walk on Camber Sands or a stop at the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway on the way home.
Stay at The River Haven
The Romney Marsh church venues are a twenty-minute drive from The River Haven. The festival's audience tends to plan two- and three-night trips around the programme — a riverside base in Rye puts you within easy reach of every venue.
