Jazz on the Pantiles, which has been running in its current format in the iconic promenade every Thursday evening in the summer since 2013, used to be free to enter and would see hundreds of people descend to the town centre spot to listen to the live music.
But the format of the popular event changed during the pandemic. A fence was erected to separate the bandstand and participating restaurants from the rest of The Pantiles, while a £5 entry fee and a requirement to book a table at one of the participating venues, including The Tunbridge Wells Hotel, The Kirthon and Casa Vecchia, was also introduced as a condition of entry.
Following the Covid crisis, organisers of the weekly music night, which showcases some of the top jazz musicians in the country, decided to keep the revised format, saying it made the event ‘more manageable’.
After Jazz on The Pantiles returned last Thursday (May 5), a backlash grew over the revised format, with some calling it ‘segregated’, ‘classist’ and that the event had ‘lost its soul’ and ‘spontaneity’.
On Facebook’s Tunbridge Wells page, which has 28,000 members, the launch of Jazz on The Pantiles received more than 175 comments from disgruntled music fans decrying the new format.
Organisers say they will now look to review the changes.
Julian Leefe-Griffiths, who puts on Jazz on The Pantiles and also runs the Tunbridge Wells Hotel, told the Times: “I’ve run the event for 10 years as a free to attend night, but as it became more and more successful it has become more and more difficult to do that.
“In past years we have had increasing problems with organising and funding the festival.
“As the event organiser we were responsible for completely clearing the area with a considerable amount of litter and rubbish after the event.
“Much of this was left by people who weren’t really here for the Jazz they just wanted a night out drinking on The Pantiles. Much of this alcohol was also brought onto site and not purchased from any of the operators down here.”
He continued that the event cost around £70,000 a year to put on and two hospitality venues on The Pantiles were no longer willing to fund it.
But he said he would now ‘review’ the changes and that people can go and listen to the music by just paying £5 and they would no longer need to book a table.
Mr Leefe-Griffiths continued: “We are so pleased to hear that Jazz on The Pantiles feels so close to the heart of the community spirit of Tunbridge Wells and would love to hear constructive ideas and on how we can better run this event in a responsible, safe and viable format to be more inclusive to all.
“We will review what’s possible to be more inclusive. We love running the Jazz nights but it was unsustainable in its old format; however there might be a compromise to be discussed and explored.”
The free Pantiles Food Festival returns for its tenth year and runs this weekend (May 14-15).
