​The Music That Made It Magic

A carefully curated line-up celebrated the artists, genres and eras who shaped a musical landscape across the generations. Saturday evenings headliner Flash as Queen absolutely brought the house down, while Are you ready for love, featuring Charles Duke and his band's Elton John tribute had the entire crowd singing along. The 45s brought us the best from the Britpop era, The Ibiza band gave us 90's bangers that had everyone dancing and Juno Rising gave us a fabulous take on Alanis Morrisette. We were thrilled to showcase Victoria Cluskey's stunning Madonna performance, Maybe Gaga's electrifying Lady Gaga tribute and the sensational Nevaeh covering Girl Power as the powerful 15 year old she was at the time.

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One of our proudest innovations was the GiG Bar area, featuring our "future headliner" stage dedicated to original music. We created this space specifically as a meeting ground where up-and-coming talent could connect with industry professionals such as agents, promoters, and music business veterans. Watching our incredible local talent perform was everything we hoped it would be.

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Family entertainment was at the heart of our festival vision. Music from The Movies - The Ogretones' Shrek, along with Snow princess parties Elsa from Frozen  performed and ensured that parents and children could create lasting memories together, reminding us why we call this a truly family-friendly event.

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Building Our Festival Family

One of the most exciting developments has been connecting with fellow festival organisers from events like Guilford based Shynefest. These conversations have sparked our plans for a "festival family," which is a network of independent events supporting each other and offering discounted tickets across the communities.

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We're incredibly grateful to New Milton Town Council for their unwavering support and to every single person who came along and helped make our weekend so magical. The enthusiasm from our community has been overwhelming, and we're already deep in planning for next year's festival, scheduled for May 16-17, 2026.

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We're actively seeking local sponsors and businesses who want to be part of our growing festival family. This isn't just about sponsorship; it's about joining a community-driven movement that's enriching New Milton's cultural landscape. What we've started here will continue to grow, bringing more music, more joy, and more connection to New Milton. Thank you to everyone who believed in our dream and helped make it reality.

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The complete story of how Sham Rocks came together, featuring insights from our performers, behind-the-scenes moments, and the full lineup that made this weekend unforgettable, offers a deeper look into what made our inaugural festival such a remarkable celebration of music and community spirit.