Brighton Early Music Festival 2026: Bringers of Dreams

Brighton Early Music Festival returns to Brighton & Hove from 2 to 25 October 2026, with pre-festival events starting as early as 19 September. This year's theme is Bringers of Dreams, and it's a broad one: the organisers say it looks at the boundaries between the real and the imagined, the past and the future, and the mysteries of the night sky. The whole thing is built around the power of imagination in early music, drawing on divine visions and human aspiration to invite artists and audiences to dream boldly and create a better world.

The programme is a mix of choral and instrumental workshops, baroque dance, and an early-music open mic. There are family concerts for pre-schoolers, the Dowland Day concerts, and a showcase for emerging artists. New commissions sit alongside the experimental Dream Lab, and the festival's signature SongPath walks run throughout the week, linking nature and song.

Looking at the line-up, the Polyphony Crawl features the BREMF Consort of Voices, and there's a choral workshop led by Donald Greig. Noodle Music brings the Laboratory of Lullabies, while William Lyons leads an instrumental workshop and Mary Collins runs baroque dance sessions. Emily Baines hosts the Early Music Open Mic. City of Dreams brings together the Monteverdi String Band, the BREMF Consort of Voices, and The Royal Sackbut Collective, and The Planets (Pre-imagined) features Spiritato and OAE TOTS. Purcell's The Fairy Queen is performed by the London Handel Players and BREMF Emerging Artists, who also have their own showcase and clubnight. Other performances include the Artemis Consort, Send it by the Water with The Fine Hand, and Dowland Day with Kieran White & Republic of Viols, Dowland's Foundry, and Ruby Hughes & Jonas Nordberg. Ymnus also appears, alongside the BREMF Community Choir with Patrizia Bovi and Leah Stuttard, and Nocturnalia with Utopia Ensemble. There's even a coffee morning discussion with Philipp Blom.

Events take place across various venues throughout Brighton & Hove, so you'll be moving around the city rather than staying in one spot. Tickets start from £5, and with the festival running for nearly a month, there's plenty of room to pick and choose what fits.