20 years and Rox are still rolling!

All the great and the good from the local area gathered to show their support for the Rox Music & Arts Organisation as they prepare celebrate the provision of music and arts within the community for the last 20 years. The dates for the 20th annual Rox FREE music & arts Festival have now been set for July 23rd, 24th and 25th (subject to licence). Not only has a third day been added to the programme in their celebratory year but there also plans to expand the popular ‘Fringe’ area along the seafront back towards the pier. With over 50 bands, nearly 200 artists and 30,000 spectators involved in Rox 2009, next year’s Festival is out to break the records again.

Butlins has been a major supporter of Rox for the last two years and Resort Director Jeremy Pardey is keen to maintain the link. ‘The annual festival is a major event for the town and the region and it plays a big part in putting Bognor Regis firmly on the map. The event dovetails perfectly with our community engagement programme and we all wish Rox a huge success for 2010 and the years beyond’.



Seen here are just some of the friends and supporters of Rox who lined up at the new Ocean Hotel at Butlins to demonstrate their commitment. One of them, Jim Dicks, Managing Director of John Wiley & Sons said ‘Wiley has a large network of facilities in Bognor, currently employing around 240 staff, and all the Directors, Management and Staff are delighted to be involved with this vibrant community organisation, which we look forward to continuing to work with them both now and in the future. At this time we would particularly like to wish all the best for Rox 2010!’ Mr. Tony Wayne of Wayne Windows added 'we have supported ROX from day one because we feel as a local family business it was our chance to support a local charity & put something back into the town'.

The picture also shows Simon Haslam Manager of the Ocean Hotel, Sarah Stannard Vice Principle of Chichester College, Sally Austin Station Manager of Sprit FM, Mr Sri London Stores, Neil Hancock Manager of the Royal Norfolk, Wendy Sealy University of Chichester, Don Ayling Chairman of Arun District Council and partner, Sandy Daniels Deputy Mayor, Roger Clayden Chair of the Trustees as well as Jewels Richards, Paul Ayling, Steve Goodheart, Robin Parker and Terry Slade from the Rox crew flanked by two of the renowned Butlins Red Coats.

Steve continued, ‘It’s our sponsors, both large and small, plus the undying commitment of our volunteers that make Rox as a whole the success that it is and we can’t thank them enough. But, it’s also the public and the local community that make all the hard work so worthwhile and we’re really looking forward to working with you all in our special 20th year!’
If anyone is interested in helping, performing or getting involved with Rox Music & Arts, you can drop an e-mail to information@the-rox.com



The commitment here is a strong as ever and plans to launch new, much needed ‘Rox Sessions’ are firmly underway for 2010. Drums, guitar and keyboards will no doubt be as popular but workshops in DJ/beat box, singing, brass/woodwind/strings, and drama/musical performance are all being put forward for the New Year.

Live gigs are also being re-introduced with a series of branded live ‘showcases’ which will be hosted at a number of venues throughout the town as Rox are keen to reinvigorate their support and help promote live music in the Bognor area.

From their new offices on the Bognor campus of the University, Steve Goodheart says ‘the last two years have been brilliant for us as an organisation and we’ve been overwhelmed by the support that University, Butlins and many others given us. We’ve entered in to new, positive dialogues with Arun District Council and Bognor Town Council and our partnerships with John Wiley & Son, Chichester College, The Observer Group, Spirit FM and The Audience Magazine are also developing very well’.

To date, thousands of bands and artists have performed at the annual free festival and the number of spectators and workshop participants over the years is estimated to be over 500,000. Businesses to have benefited from this major annual event; in 2001, Dr Andrew Clegg of the University of Chichester calculated that the festival had generated £2 million worth of trade for the local economy for that year alone.

Background and History

It was back in 1999 when Rox made their first move in to creating partnerships with local schools and colleges to help create ‘affordable’ professional music tuition for young people who were socially disadvantaged. In 2005 the ‘Rox Sessions’ were launched at the Westloats Youth Club which became so successful that in 2008, Rox supported ‘Roxstars’ to become self-sufficient and made further financial contributions in 2008 and 2009.

It seems like a long time ago that 150 people turned up on Bognor seafront to watch the first ever ‘Rox on the Prom’ where a few local young bands were given a platform to play on due to the sad lack of live venues in the town. Such was the success of the little event, the organisers we persuaded to repeat the gig the following year and the rest as they say, is history.