Live at The Bandstand returns to Southsea for 2022 - but it's next door in Castle Field

Due to the ongoing coastal defence works, which have taken over large swathes of the Southsea seafront – including the bandstand field – the popular twice-weekly free music events are moving to nearby Castle Field.

Starting this Saturday and Sunday, there is live music from 1pm to 4pm every weekend day up until July 31, before returning on September 17 and 18, with the season finale on September 24.

And the season will also be going ‘on tour’ with events promised for the north of the city for the first time too.

Each day’s bill is put together by a wide array of local promoters and music-related organisations, including Salsa Solent Dance Academy, neu waves, The People's Lounge, Beats & Swing, Unmade Radio, Icebreaker Festival, The Wedgewood Rooms, Casemates Studios, Reel Sound Music, Book.Events and Piece of Cake Productions.

This Saturday’s is presented by Salsa Solent Dance Academy (SSDA).

Kasia Rajca, the founder of SSDA, said: ‘Here at Salsa Solent we are all about fun, dance and community. This event is for all – whether you want to dance or not, everyone can enjoy it.

‘We will start the day with Trio Latino - an acoustic latin band at 1pm. After that – from 2pm, DJ Junior will get us moving with his latin hits.’

And from 3pm, the academy’s teacher will be giving free lessons.

‘We will be showing you all of the dance moves you always wanted to learn – ladies get ready to shake and shimmy-shimmy, fellas get ready to have ladies spinning all around you!

‘Bring some drinks and food, Trio Latino and Bailando Entertainment will bring the music – together we will bring the tropical heat and party to Portsmouth.

‘Spread the word and bring your friends, family and pets.’

Sunday’s line-up is put together by neu waves nights, featuring The Early Mornings, Currls, Deer Ray and Halliwell.

Sam Leadbeater, co-founder of neu waves, the weekly night for emerging music at The Loft in Southsea, added: ‘We’re putting on artists we’ve worked with over the last 12 months – two acts from out of town, and two local – it’s a flavour of a neu waves night on a Sunday afternoon.

‘It’s a good representation of the kind of things we do on a weekly basis in The Loft.’

The season is presented by Portsmouth City Council and sponsored by Victorious Festival.

Councillor Steve Pitt, in charge of cultural matters for the city, said: ‘We’ve bought the mobile stage we used for the music on King George V over the jubilee weekend, and that gives us a lot more flexibility about putting on events – we can be a bit more lightfooted.

‘There are plans to do a number of events in the north of the city and to take the bandstand on tour. I’ve been meeting with people about this in the last couple of days and we will be announcing those very shortly.

‘It’s fantastic that we can be delivering events like this for free again. And I’d like to thank the programming committee for the hard work they put in to make sure things run smoothly.’