In April 2026, This is Haslemere met Paul Ashton to discuss his involvement in The Haslemere Fringe. Paul has been volunteering locally since 2008, well before the first Fringe which took place in 2011. 

Let’s take you back to the early days when Paul saw an advertisement asking for help with Haslemere Events. He felt that the Haslemere Festival didn’t offer enough for a younger audience. His response to the ad was picked up by the town council who suggested he contact the Chair of Haslemere Events, Hamish Donaldson. Paul thought he was just going along for a social chat with Mr. Donaldson but it turned out he walked into a full committee meeting with (in his words) “the great and good of Haslemere.”  He was introduced by Hamish to the committee as “he is here to run an event for a younger audience”.  Paul was asked to join the first Haslemere Fringe team meeting in 2010, He doesn’t always remember that meeting for the right reason. He thought the “chat about a possible festival” would be no longer than an hour but it lasted much longer and led to his receiving a parking ticket that day. Thanks to Paul and a team of volunteers, the first Haslemere Fringe was May 2011, followed by 2012 for the next one.

The first major acts for the Haslemere Fringe were booked by local resident David O’Brien with Paul suggesting Doll and The Kicks as the Friday headline act. This band is a favourite of his and he nostalgically shared that he still has their set lists from that night.

Paul revealed that producing Haslemere Fringe in successive years was too much for their team of volunteers so now it is held in July in even-dated years, with Haslemere Festival held in May in odd-dated years. Haslemere is now producing its eighth Fringe event which will take place 3rd to 5th July 2026.

Paul told us he loves going to gigs but felt there was nothing in Haslemere catering to his taste. He told us, “I love listening to live music with smaller bands in smaller venues and finding what will work for a Haslemere audience. It’s great hearing the up-and-coming bands on the smaller stages.” In his younger days, Paul was a regular gig goer at Guildford Civic Hall, even seeing one of this year's Headliners The Selecter there. As is often the way and for many years, his family and work commitments were a priority and meant that he could not go gigging as much. However, he is back on the festival trail and he enthused, “I just enjoy it. I will listen to anything.” He laughed, “You know, I spent more on tickets to see Maisie Peters recently than I paid her to perform at The Fringe in 2016!” Clearly Paul has a knack and loves finding acts that will go down well in Haslemere. He takes great pride in finding little known acts and signing them up before they became famous. We remember hearing Ward Thomas in St. Christopher’s Church in 2014. Now, thanks to Paul, “Britain’s first country stars” are headlining The Fringe on the Sunday this year.

Paul is not in any way starstruck. He loves his music and he is selflessly generous in making connections. He mentioned session drummer Ollie Thacker whose band, Sour Kix, has performed a few times at The Fringe. Paul introduced Ollie to Scouting For Girls when they performed in Haslemere in 2018. A few days later, frontman Roy Stride got in touch with Ollie and got him to perform at a gig at St. Catherine’s School in Bramley. And, Ollie has also drummed at some Roy Stride solo SFG gigs.

Paul took over the music bookings entirely in the middle of the 2012 Haslemere Fringe and this remains his main volunteering role. He began making the bookings himself and managing the budget. He learnt very quickly how to move on and find other acts if he could not meet budgets. He books the main acts for the main stages. He deals with everything to do with the bands. One thing on his mind right now is one of the headliners wanting their double decker tour bus parked backstage on Lion Green! This year, he will delegate artist liaison roles to three or four volunteers. They ensure the acts are fed and watered, have their wifi codes etc.  He praised our local Tesco’s branch for their support with food riders in this. As Paul told us, “You don’t just book a band and wait for them to turn up. You manage their meal planning, accommodation, stage plans, lighting, power, technical riders, sound checks, timings. It can be a logistics headache but, it is fun!”

Paul proudly shared that there will be plenty going on for a young audience with, for example, Clamber, Chanel Yates, Eloise Carter and Anna Muir (winner of The Battle Of The Bands). There is also a new Under The Trees Stage. This is where under-16s acts who audition through Debut will be selected to perform live. Read more about Debut here. This stage will be managed by Matthew “Mash” Cracknell, a local film and TV composer. The idea is to give as many youngsters as possible the chance to perform live on a stage in between the main acts. This will be on the Saturday and Sunday. Paul proudly said his daughter may play her song Made For Me. 

Paul is one of many volunteers who bring Haslemere Fringe to town. Ken is in charge with Karen and Jan supporting. Tanya manages their social media and website accounts and Nick runs the bars. Simon Smith manages all the stall holders. Russ helps back stage. On the day, the ticket sellers at the gates are all volunteers. Rob is The Fringe link to their box office, Mike coordinates all the volunteers, supported by Ginny and Karen. There is also a group of local sponsors. 

This is a festival powered by volunteers and shows Haslemere at its very best.

Haslemere Fringe Website

Haslemere Fringe Instagram

Haslemere Fringe Facebook

Haslemere Fringe TikTok

Pictured: Ward Thomas who will headline the main stage on Sunday 5th July 2026.