Reggae legends set to perform in Hastings

Henry Ward Hall opens its doors to two landmark performances as part of a new wave of cultural programming led by acclaimed local musician Mike Willis and events producer and international DJ Dan Wiltshire (High Tides, One Love Festival).

Their joint vision is to bring world-class music and community-rooted culture to the heart of Hastings in one of the town’s most atmospheric venues.

Fresh from the main stage at Glastonbury Festival, Jamaica’s enduring reggae ambassadors Third World arrive in Hastings on Tuesday July 1 with their full live band and brass section.

Formed in Kingston in 1973, the band are celebrated for blending roots reggae with soul, funk, R&B, and rock — a sound they’ve described as “putting branches on top of the roots.”

With classics like “96° in the Shade” and “Now That We’ve Found Love”, and collaborations with Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Damian Marley, and more, Third World are global icons. Still led by founding members Stephen “Cat” Coore and Richard Daley, the band bring decades of experience, positivity, and soul-stirring musicianship to the stage.

Third World have received nine Grammy nominations and are recipients of the United Nations Peace Medal and Jamaica’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

There will be support from: Earl Gateshead (Trojan Records), Henry ‘Matic’ Horn and Roots and Rhythm.

Two nights later, on Saturday July 5, the echo chamber returns with UK dub visionary Mad Professor, performing a rare live dub reinterpretation of Massive Attack’s Mezzanine and Protection albums. Known for his landmark 1995 album No Protection and decades of studio innovation via Ariwa Sounds, Mad Professor’s live sets are immersive, analogue dub experiences — rewiring sound in real time with deep bass, swirling delay, and roots pressure.

A central figure in UK bass culture, Mad Professor Mad Professor is widely credited with bringing dub into the digital age, with over 50 albums released and collaborations spanning reggae, jungle, and trip-hop.

He has worked with Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sly & Robbie, Horace Andy, and Massive Attack themselves. His return to the material that helped shape trip-hop’s dub dimension is a cultural event not to be missed.

Support comes from Coreysan + Ink Project – a genre-fluid collaboration blending future soul, Bristolian trip-hop, and global dub atmospheres, rooted in live performance and electronic storytelling.

Dan Wiltshire explained: “These will be intimate, full-sound performances rarely experienced outside major international stages.

You can get tickets for Third World here and tickets for Mad Professor here

Henry Ward Hall is a historic venue in Robertson Street, Hastings, undergoing a cultural renaissance through music, community events, and heritage-focused programming.