Brighton has just wrapped up another edition of the Mod Weekender, which ran across the Bank Holiday weekend of 27 to 30 August. This year marked the 21st year of the event, a long run for something that started when The New Untouchables brought the weekend to Brighton in 2004 and 2005 after earlier stints on the Isle of Wight and in Margate. The formula remains the same: scooters, 60s soul, and a dedicated community coming together for music and style, with many of the nights selling out well in advance.
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The weekend was spread across three venues. The evening programme lived at the Komedia in the North Laine, a live music room with a large maple wooden dancefloor, air-con, two late bars and a sound system that does the music justice. The daytime sessions took place at The Volks, about 200 yards east of Brighton Pier — the same stretch of seafront where the scooters roll in in Quadrophenia — which kept things family-friendly with free entry, a well-stocked bar, food all day and a big outside terrace. Patterns Gigs, opposite the Pier on Marine Parade, rounded things out.
At the Komedia, the main room ran late into the night. Friday gave over to Chills & Fever and Cookin' Catfish, Saturday was At The Party with the New Untouchables DJs, and Sunday closed with Phoenix Got Soul. The Studio Bar ran a parallel programme of Beat Club nights, with Child of Panoptes from France on Friday, The Capellas on Saturday, and the New Generation Club on Sunday, with Benson Gibbons & The Sapphires live. Tickets for the Studio Bar gigs and clubs included access to the main room, and the Mod Club Sounds & Classics were spun by the full NUTS DJ team, a line-up of more than a dozen names. Over at Patterns, Saturday evening brought Purple Hearts and The Sha La Las.
The daytime at The Volks was the more relaxed half of the weekend, with sessions running from noon to 6pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, alongside a market selling records, vintage and bespoke clothes, art and memorabilia. It was the natural home for the scooter side of things. Scooters were parked along the Madeira Drive promenade, provided they left the footpath clear, and Sunday brought the rideout — meeting at the Roedean Cafe car park on the A259 opposite the Marina before heading out to Peacehaven Roundabout and back via Pier Roundabout — followed by the scooter competition outside The Volks between 3pm and 4pm.
On the practical front, almost everything was 18+, with the exception of the opening Rifles gig on Thursday 21 August, which was 14+. Tickets went to NUTs members first in February before general sale, with Komedia entry sitting at around £12. If you missed this one, the best thing to do is get on the NUTs mailing list early for next year, as the popular nights tend to go quickly.
Published Date
30 August 2026
