August 7-9 2026
A celebration of space science, UFOs + music in the dark skies capital of the UK
Cosmic Frequenices is a new grassroots festival that explores astrophysics, UFOs, sci-fi and music, asking the question ‘Are we alone in the Universe?’ The festival emerged in Hexham in 2025 from the gravitational wave of local space-funk band SKX Funkanauts and their fellow voyagers. We are enthusiastic about space science, UFOs/ UAPs and art, and how the frontiers of knowledge expand when science meets fiction. Our DIY inaugural festival in August 2025 was a stellar success (you can see the highlights on our YouTube channel) and our 2026 Festival program is twice as big!
The Forum Cinema Hexham will once again be the Festival hub, with an expanded range of talks all day Saturday 8 August followed by screenings on Sunday 8th. The Festival kicks off with an opening night party - the Frontal Lobe sci-fi cos-play disco - once again held at our favorite pub The Tannery. The core program is below, but in addition there will be other mind-expanding events, talks and music around our charming little town where people can meet up, share experiences over a drink, and enjoy the good crack!
You can see and purchase all ticketed events here
Read short bios about speakers & artists on our Explorers page
Sign up to our mailing list (below) to keep up to date as we keep adding events, and please consider buying tickets early as we expect the core programme to sell out quickly!
Cosmic Frequencies Festival 2026 Core Programme
Friday 7th August - evening
The Tannery - Frontal Lobe Bar
Cosmic Frequencies welcome party (free entry)
7.00: Frontal Lobe Bar open.
8.00 – 9.00: DJ Expert Witness
9.00 – 10.10: SKX Funkanauts play live.
10.10: Cosmic grooves & socialising till closing.
Saturday 8th August - day
Community Centre (Gilesgate, Hexham)
Family Friendly Space-Pod (free entry)
11.00: Open
Family friendly activities and talks on astronomy and sci-fi themes.
Stage Fright Charity will provide fun activities for people with learning disabilities.
4.00 – 5.00: Students from the Queen Elizabeth Highschool Signal to the Stars project will send their messages into space!
Image Keith Dawson Hexham Courant
Saturday 8th August - day
Forum Cinema (Market Place, Hexham)
Cosmic Conversations
11.00 – 12.00: What is the Universe made of?
11.00 – 11.05: Welcome & introduction by host Dr Bill Garrett
11.05 – 11.20
The Search for Dark Matter
Professor Carlos Frenk (Durham University), is a particle physicist and cosmologist, world renowned for his research into the mysteries of dark matter. Carlos will provide an overview of current astronomical views about the origin and make-up of the Universe, and what we still don’t know, including the implications of dark matter for life elsewhere.
11.20 – 11.35
Is the Universe conscious?
Professor Philip Goff (Durham University) is a philosopher who researches how consciousness fits in with our overall view of reality. Philip will explain the difference between the scientific method and ‘scientism’, and provide an overview of theories (such as panpsychism and cosmopsychism) that postulate consciousness precedes matter.
11.35 – 11.55
Discussion between Carlos & Philip with Q&A from the audience.
12.00 – 1.00: Artists and Space
12:00 – 12.05: Welcome back & Introduction by host Daniela De Paulis
12:05 – 12.20
Public Space Agency
Professor Fiona Crisp (Northumbria University) is a visual artist (photography, video, sculpture) and founding member of The Cultural Negotiation of Science research group. She’ll discuss the difference between citizen-led space research and science/ corporate approaches, and why artists need to take a leading role.
12:20 – 12.35
Space-borne Art
Luis Bernardo Guzmán is a design & installation artist who works at the intersection of art and space exploration. He founded Radix-Lucis Studio, a space dedicated to integrating art, biotechnology, and space exploration, and he’ll talk about his work which has included a commission for the International Space Station.
12.35 – 12.55
Discussion between Fiona & Luis with Q&A from the audience.
1.00 – 2.00 LUNCH BREAK
Saturday 8th August - day
Forum Cinema
Cosmic Conversations
2.00 – 3.00: Cockpit Visions
2.00 – 2.05: Welcome & introduction by host Dr Nicole Skeltys
2.05 – 2.20:
How Do Pilots See?
Dr Bill Garrett is a former pilot with a Phd in cognitive neuroscience specialising in visual processing and cockpit design. He’ll explain the basics of how the brain interprets visual information, and the technologies contemporary pilots use to help them identify what is in the sky around them.
2.20 – 2.35:
“Strange lights in the skies”
Graeme Rendall is an aviation historian and author of 20 books. Graeme will be looking at UFO reports from WW11, even before the term was invented, demonstrating how aircrew reported such encounters and what analysis was carried out by air intelligence experts. These reports include one from Northumberland in 1944.
2.35 – 2.55
Discussion between Bill & Graeme with Q&A from audience.
3.00 – 4.00: Close Encounters
3.00 – 3.05: Welcome & introduction by host Dr Nicole Skeltys
3.05 – 3.20
Making meaning from the impossible
Ryan Sprague is an American author, media presenter and podcaster who researches the human impact of UFO encounters. Ryan will discuss the different ways ordinary people interpret contact with ‘non-human intelligence’.
3.20 – 3.35
UK Experiencer Perspectives
Holly Wood is a leading voice for UK people who have had UFO encounters, and she is one of the driving forces behind the Nanu app and platform (Network Advancing New Understandings), a global digital space dedicated to documenting anomolous experiences. She’ll provide an overview of the diversity of the UK experience.
3.35 – 3.55
Discussion between Ryan & Holly with Q&A from audience.
4.00 – 7.00: SOCIALISING & DINNER BREAK
Saturday 8th August - evening
Forum Cinema - Main Event
7.00 – 10.00: Are we alone in the Universe?
6.55 PM: Play in of intro video as audience is getting settled
7:00 PM: Welcome & introduction from host Dr Bill Garrett
7:10 PM:The Science of Exoplanets
Dan Pye (Director of Science & Astronomy Communication Kielder Observatory) will explain exoplanets and how astronomers study them for signs of life. How many are there? What are the ‘life signatures’ astronomers are looking for?
7.30 PM: SETI and Mysterious Near Earth Objects
Dr Beatriz Villarroel (award winning Swedish astronomer and astrophysicist) will provide an update about how her ‘UFO papers’ presented at the last Cosmic Frequencies festival (now peer reviewed and published in high impact journals), have been received by the astrophysics world. She’ll also explain how the search for extraterrestrial probes undertaken by astronomers like herself and Professor Avi Loeb fit into the wider SETI research agenda.
7.50 PM: A Sign In Space
Daniela De Paulis is a media artist whose project A Sign In Space involves working with the SETI Institute, the European Space Agency, the Green Bank Observatory and INAF (the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics) to transmit a simulated extraterrestrial message as part of a live performance, using an ESA spacecraft as celestial source. Daniela will talk about how her project involves the public & inter-disciplinary research.
8.10 PM : Contact Stories
Ryan Sprague (Somewhere in the Skies Podcast), is an author, media presenter and podcaster who researches the impact that UFO encounters have on ordinary people. Following on from his 2025 presentation last year, Ryan will share more stories and reflect on whether the experiencer stigma has changed over the last year.
8:30 PM: 50 Years of Reporting on the Search for ETs
Steve Crabtree (former Executive Producer BBC Sky at Night, Horizon) will present fascinating archival footage which shows how media reporting on the search for extraterrestrial life has changed and evolved over 50 years. How does the science media reflect and shape our expectations of ‘what’s out there’?"
8:50 PM – SKX Funkanauts perform live
9:00 PM – Break
9:15 PM – Panel Q & A
9:45 PM - Closing Remarks and music
VIP Meet & Greet in the Forum bar (25 VIP tix available)
10.00 – 10.30PM:
A chance to meet and chat with the evening’s speakers in an intimate setting.
Late night post-event options for attendees (free):
Head to The Tannery for drinks and socialising!
Gather on the town’s beautiful commons The Sele for star-gazing, as Hexham celebrates our Dark Skies ‘lights out’
Sunday 9th August day
Forum Cinema
Cosmic Cinema (tickets required)
11.00 – 12.10: Rendez Vous With The Future (50 mins)
Steve Crabtree will present the first episode of Rendez Vous With The Future, a three part documentary series he produced which explores the science behind the science fiction of writer Liu Cixin (author of the acclaimed book and Netflix series 3 Body Problem). While Steve’s series has won awards in China, this will be the first time UK audiences will see this fascinating insight into how science fact influences fiction.
Followed by Q&A.
12.10 – 1.40: The UFOs of Soesterberg (80 mins)
In another UK premiere, Bram Roza will present his documentary The UFOs of Soesterberg. Roza is the founder of the Dutch UFO reporting center but also has an interest in historic cases. His film examines a remarkable case from 1979, when twelve soldiers encountered a mysterious object hover over Soesterberg Airforce Base – far from the only unusual sighting in this region of the Netherlands. Join us for the first ever Dutch documentary ever made about the UFO/UAP topic. English subtitled.
Followed by Q&A.
1.40 – 2.00: The Golden Record (15 mins)
Cosmic Frequencies co-founder & musician Nicole Skeltys will present her short documentary about pioneering electronic musician and American Women’s Hall of Fame inductee Laurie Spiegel.Made especially for the festival, the film focuses on the story of how Laurie’s realization of Kepler’s Harmony of the World was sent into space in 1977 as part of the Voyager space probe’s golden record.
Followed by Q&A.
The Forum will screen a classic sci-fi film in the afternoon, we’ll update this programme when the film is selected!
Contact the Mothership
If you want more info, participate in the festival, want to support us or have any queries, drop us a line!