Kentronica - electronic music festival headlined by ANNA PHOEBE to take place in Canterbury, Kent on 16th May 2026

Kentronica is a one day festival taking place at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre in Canterbury, Kent on 16th May. It brings together a diverse line-up of locally based and international artists who are exploring the fringes of sound.

Presented by Coastal Electronauts, the event includes their fourth annual International Drone Day concert in the Gulbenkian Theatre headlined by multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and BBC Radio 4 presenter Anna Phoebe. Sophie Sirota, Shape Navigator and Mieko Shimizu will also play sets.

The day will see Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra take over the adjoining Colyer Fergusson Hall, while Laurie Black’s ‘Deadly Synths’ theatre show will take attendees on a journey of the synthesiser in popular music.

Attendees are invited to begin with an Electronic Sound Bath and emerge refreshed and ready for a day of performances, live hardware sets, collaborative drone pieces, film, live visuals, workshops and theatre. These include a ‘Build your own synth’ workshop hosted by Clacktronics, a Communal Drone and a Late Night EMOM (Electronic Music Open Mic). All have been curated to celebrate innovation, atmosphere and community in electronic music.

Superb live visuals by @diz_qo throughout the day promise to make this event a truly immersive experience.

From deep ambient drones and modular synthesis to glitchy beats and cinematic textures, this is a do not miss event for sonic adventurers and curious listeners alike.

The Gulbenkian Arts Centre is situated within the University Of Kent campus in Canterbury, Kent.

KENTRONICA 16.05.26 full press info

International Drone Day was originally conceived by Marie LeBlanc Flanagan of Weird Canada in 2014 with events happening worldwide.

Coastal Electronauts began with a 2020 podcast hosted by Peter Coyte and Clive Walpole, followed by a monthly experimental electronic meet-up session in Whitstable, Kent that has become a well-regarded event featuring a collective of local artists and invited guests. Coastal Electronauts is now curated by Coyte and Sophie Sirota and is also the name of a record label that has issued well received debut albums by John Gallen, Sirota and Coyte (as Shape Navigator), plus two compilation albums.