Short answer: 18-20 September 2026, with over 90 sets across more than ten venues and pop-up stages around the town. Take the branch line from Liskeard rather than driving — Looe's parking is difficult normally and considerably worse during a festival weekend.
Looe Weekender is a free three-day music event that takes over the town, now in its fifth year. Over 90 sets across more than ten venues and pop-up stages, organised by Looe's own pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants and bars — who pay for the acts themselves.
18 to 20 September 2026, with some venues running bonus gigs on Thursday 17th. Full line-up and venue list on the official Looe Weekender page.
No participating venue charges entry, and there are no external food or drink vendors — deliberately, so that money spent stays with local businesses. You can support it by buying a T-shirt or the official festival cup (£1 with your first drink at participating venues).
Looe has over 1,000 parking spaces, so this is less of a problem than the town's narrow streets suggest — but the branch line from Liskeard is still the pleasanter option. It runs down the East Looe river valley and drops you in the middle of town, the journey is scenic enough to count as part of the day, and dogs travel free.
Check the last service back before settling in for the evening — branch line services are sparse after dark.
The quayside car parks fill fastest and West Looe is usually less pressured than East. Some lower car parks can be affected by very high tides — worth knowing before leaving a car for a full evening.
With ten venues around a small town, most of the walking is between sets rather than to and from a site. Looe is compact but split by a river and built on hills — the quay and Hannafore are flat, the lanes up to Plaidy are not. Comfortable shoes matter more than they would at a field festival.
Book. Looe's good restaurants are small — Sails and JuJu's both have very few covers and fill quickly on an ordinary weekend, let alone a festival one. The Lookout on the quay is a reliable daytime option with harbour views.
East Looe Beach is sheltered and right by the town. Looe Sea Safari runs RIB trips out towards Looe Island with regular seal sightings — a good use of a festival morning before things start.
Confirm the line-up and venue times on the official Looe Weekender page. Multi-venue festivals shift their programme close to the date.
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