Love Supreme Jazz Festival
Glynde Place, Glynde, Friday, July 4, to Sunday, July 6

The UK’s only greenfield jazz festival returns for its second year in 2014.

Love Supreme launched in 2013 with a mix of big name acts, such as Jools Holland, Bryan Ferry’s Jazz Orchestra and Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, backed by three stages of jazz, folk and world music, featuring the Neil Cowley Trio, Robert Glasper, Courtney Pine, Portico Quartet and Melody Gardot.

The line-up for 2014 is yet to be revealed, but keep an eye on The Guide for future announcements.

The Great Escape
Various venues, Thursday, May 8, to Saturday, May 10

The UK’s biggest showcase of new acts returns to Brighton’s venues in the second weekend of May.

As yet no artists have been announced, but this year the festival is teaming up with Music Finland as its lead international partner so expect an increase in the smattering of Scandinavian acts this year.

Sick! Festival
Various venues, from Monday, March 3

Having launched a pilot event at The Basement last year, Sick! Festival is being revived in a bigger format for 2014, exploring the often-ignored world of illness in society.

Launching this year’s event will be comedian Ruby Wax, with her new show Sane New World at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange.

The Old Market is hosting a trio of Sick! shows, including Gob Squad and CAMPO’s Before Your Very Eyes, which sees a cast of eight to 14-year-olds look back at their past and peer into their future.

Journey is a collaboration between 32-year-old dancer Koen De Preter and 88-year-old Alphea in a piece about the strength of the human body.

And The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon has provided the music for Frank Alva Buecheler’s In May, an audio-visual show based around a series of letters from a son to a father in his final months.

Brighton Music Conference
Various venues, Friday, April 11, and Saturday, April 12

Another newcomer in 2014 will be the Brighton Music Conference – a celebration of the city’s electronic music industry.

Among the events already announced are an art exhibition celebrating Brighton’s dance music legacy, a DJ competition and showcases from Ableton, Native Instruments, Sennheiser and the Hypercolour label.

Brighton Festival
Brighton Dome complex and beyond, Saturday, May 3, to Sunday, May 25

Brighton Festival announces its full programme on Tuesday, February 25.

But choreographer Hofesh Shechter, whose company is resident at Brighton Dome and Festival, has already been named as this year’s guest artistic director, with his company’s latest work Sun concluding its first world tour as part of the 2014 event.

Shechter’s previous Festival productions have included Bangers And Mash on Brighton seafront in 2009, which involved more than 100 young dancers and musicians, the world premieres of The Art Of Not Looking Back in 2009, and Political Mother in 2010, and the collaborative dance and film project Nomad Land at last year’s event.

Brighton Fringe
Various venues, Saturday, May 3, to Sunday, June 1

Brighton Fringe is returning in its extended four-week form for the second year running.

A £15,000 Arts Council grant has meant the Fringe is set to invest heavily in arts industry development through a pilot showcase called Window, which runs from Friday, May 2, to Wednesday, May 7. It centres around supporting high quality ready-to-tour productions created, developed or premiered since May 1, 2013.

Registration for the 2014 Fringe ends on Friday, January 31. Look out for the new Fringe brochure at the start of March.