The Festival Team

Ian Bowden

Festival Director & Producer

Ian is a motivated, experienced, and creative producer with over twenty-five years of experience in the music, arts, and entertainment industry.

Ian is the Festival Director of the Rye International Jazz & Blues Festival which he founded in 2012 which takes place in the beautiful and historic town of Rye in East Sussex.

The festival celebrated its tenth anniversary in August 2022 and is established as one of the best boutique music festivals in the UK.

Vicki Haxton

Logistics & Finance Director

Vicki has over fifteen years of events and marketing experience and combines her experience with her passion for the charitable sector.

She looks after the financial aspects of the festival and provides her knowledge and expertise in marketing and event management.

Vicki is also very hands on as are all our team and looks after ticketing and managing of events during the festival itself.

Kate Glover

Event Manager & Director

Kate has an Advanced Diploma in Event Management and has a wealth of experience across a wide area of live music events looking after artiste and sponsors hospitality, logistics, accommodation and many other aspects. 

Kate manages a specialist team and coordinates various aspects of online digital marketing.

Kate is very much an all-rounder and works closely with the festival director to implement new initiatives and programming elements.

Alex Dodd

Assistant Event & Site Manager

Alex works closely with Ian Bowden and the core festival team bringing years of experience and his passion for live music events, production, and management.

As a former DJ and live music event producer Alex enjoys sharing his joy of music with everyone!

His love for 'All things Jazz' was born in his teens and his passion to share contemporary music was undeniable. From local live events to National DJ competitions, Alex was excited to see others enjoy the music he loved and the events he curated.

Alex has four children and is often found dragging them up mountains in The Breckon Beacons!

Matt Roe

Production Manager

Matt has been mixing live music his whole adult life; from touring with bands, organising music festivals, working in stadiums to parish churches and everything in between, he loves every aspect of live music!

Matt heads up the production team for the festival making sure all the artists look and sound their very best.

Supported by a great team of technicians Matt is looking forward to another weekend of top tier entertainment in East Devon.

Jacqui Blackmore

Volunteer Coordinator & Event Event Manager

Jacqui first got the Jazz bug after spending time in New Orleans, the birth place of Jazz, witnessing the deep roots and history of jazz music in the community there.  

Living in Sidmouth Jacqui is keen gig boat rower, often seen out on the sea rowing with the club.

Her day job is working in mental health care, managing multiple teams who support people with complex needs.

Having volunteered for Sidmouth Jazz Festival in 2023, Jacqui loves the vision that Ian is bringing to Sidmouth and is delighted to be part of the festival in 2024. 

Lisa McFall

Volunteer Coordinator & Event Manager

Lisa has worked in arts and events management for almost 20 years.

First in the education department at London's South Bank Centre then as Head of Sales and Marketing at Cadogan Hall.

After spending many holidays in East Devon over the years, she has happily relocated to Devon from London.

She is passionate about live music with a particular love for jazz. 

Lisa has joined the festival team and is responsible for the festival’s volunteer coordination and various marketing and specific event management aspects.

Simon Strange

Creative Projects & Event Manager

Simon is an experienced music industry professional having been a professional trombone player, record producer and is currently a Doctor of Creative Arts.

His first book, Blank Canvas, has just been released, exploring innovative art school education and its impact on popular musicians.

Simon works for Bath Spa University and as an independent academic researcher, and one of Simon's passions is in collaborative creativity and scene development, and this year Simon will be managing community and educational music projects at the festival. 

Jane Mills

Hospitality Manager

Jane has a wealth of hospitality and customer service experience and uses both constantly when we present our live events.

Jane focuses on looking after our headline artiste’s hospitality requirements and teams up with both Kate and Roma to make sure that our artiste’s are well and truly pampered.

Jane is always cheery, and nothing is too much bother - we love her!

Roma Turner

Hospitality Manager

Roma has lots of experience in the teaching profession and the merchant Navy and she really keeps things ‘Ship Shape’ when we present our live events!

After years sailing around the world on the QE2 she settled in Sussex, and we are so pleased sure that she did!

Roma is cool under pressure and is a real team player and loves working with people, music, and laughter. 

Trevor Spink

Community Stage Manager

Trevor and his colleague Lindsay have previously managed our outdoor community stage which is very much a hands on role. 

Trevor has years of experience under his belt and a has a huge passion for live music. 

Trevor is also the brains behind our classy festival website and e- commerce, and also assists with elements of our digital marketing. 

Lindsay Jones

Assistant Event Manager

Lindsay has more than twenty-five years' experience in print and digital media and has previously assisted Trevor in the running of the community stage. 

In her spare time, Lindsay is a vocalist and can be found performing solo and with her band online and across the South East.