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Dec 31, 2023 By Jimi Arundell Web Exclusive

Our favourite festival Rockaway Beach is back in 2024! Bognor Regis Butlins will once again play host to an incredible selection of major headline acts, crucial legacy acts, breakthrough bands destined to explode in the coming months and vital alternative artists from around the world. It’s the perfect holiday camp for indie kids and those with great taste in alternative music.

Kicking off on Friday 5th till Sunday 7th January; the headliners include electro-punk gruesome twosome Sleaford Mods who scored their highest chart position this year with Top 10 album UK Grim. And Sunday sees the top slot taken by the Wakefield wunderkinds The Cribs, best known for such massive indie rock anthems as “Men’s Needs” and “Hey Scenesters!”. Plus, we will be seeing 2-Tone legends The Selecter who will treat us to their rich back catalogue such ska treasures as “On My Radio”, “Three Minute Hero” and “Missing Words”.

Kurt Cobain’s favourite indie pop band The Vaselines have also been booked, famous for their twee take on alt-rock and lo-fi sound, who have inspired countless artists in their wake. Further major names making an appearance are Scottish art punks The Skids, former Stranglers singer Hugh Cornwell and post-punk pioneers The Nightingales.

Beach Bums are already excited to see politically charged pairing Bob Vylan whose hardcore fusion of punk, grime and metal is guaranteed to get the mosh pit going! I’m especially looking forward to seeing Benefits as their debut album Nails was one of the best records of 2023, being blown away by a wall of sound courtesy of DITZ, raucous riot grrl-informed riffs from Dream Wife, the dramatic sound of Desperate Journalist and the welcome return of essential Polish art rock group Trupa Trupa who start their UK tour at Rockaway.

Not forgetting a whole load of abrasive rising stars we cannot wait to see such as creepy goth-inspired synth-pop songwriter Heartworms, ferocious feminist post-punks M(h)aol, mind-blowing psyche rockers Fat Dog, snotty Canadian-British duo Shelf Lives and jagged Irish noisenik trio Chalk.

Rockaway have also just added enigmatic baroque pop songwriter Patrick Wolf plus Sheffield-via-Totnes based psych pop trio Pale Blue Eyes who have proven to be amongst our fav breakthrough bands of the year – could this festival be any more exciting?

And if that wasn’t enough there will be pool parties, a Q&A with Chumbwamba anarcho-punk Dunst Bruce and director Sophie Robinson talking about their upcoming documentary I Get Knocked Down plus screening, panel discussions and even a bit of bowling!

Also, look out for our very own Festivals and Live Reviews Editor Dom Gourlay who will once again team up with The Telescopes’ John Lynch on the decks to provide the big beats and huge tunes in-between performances and host their wildly popular closing party in Bar Rosso.

We cannot wait to return to Bognor Butlins for what promises to be an extra special instalment of Rockaway Beach! Tickets are still available HERE, and we will be back with a full review of all the best bands and highlights of 2024. Stay tuned.