Since opening as a Victorian fairground in 1880, Dreamland has attracted millions of thrillseekers to the seaside town of Margate.

However, in more recent years, the park, also briefly known as the Bembom Brothers White Knuckle Theme Park in the 1980s, has reinvented itself as Kent’s most exciting live music venue.

This year’s Margate Summer Series will see the 6,000-capacity venue host a number of large-scale, open-air concerts.

Artists such as Tom Jones, McFly, Primal Scream, Queens of the Stone Age and Two Door Cinema Club are all set to perform in the coming months on the outdoor Scenic Stage - named after the Grade II-listed Scenic Railway rollercoaster.

There are also a number of festivals and family events, such as Margate Pride, Back 2 Soul, Raver Tots and the Soundcrash Funk and Soul Weekender, that now call Dreamland home.

The theme park’s CEO, Eddie Kemsley, is delighted at its expansion in the face of a number of adverse conditions crippling other attractions across the industry.

“With the live music scene experiencing an existential threat after Covid and from years of neglect, it is simply wonderful to announce that we are heading in the opposite direction and going from strength to strength, she said.

“The line up of acts is bigger and better and everyone at Dreamland can't wait to play host to artists and audiences alike through this amazing 2023 season.”

However, could the rise of this Instagrammable venue, with its colourful ferris wheel and beachfront location, signal the end for some of Kent’s other live music hotspots?

With the cost-of-living crisis and dips in attendance since the pandemic, not to mention the difficulty in recovering from financial losses during Covid, it appears some venues are not managing to match the success of Dreamland.

The Hop Farm near Paddock Wood, which has previously welcomed artists such as Keane, Simply Red, Paul Weller and Westlife, has not announced any outdoor concerts for this summer.

The farm’s annual War and Peace show, which draws in thousands of visitors each year to see military vehicles and battle reenactments, has also been cancelled.

However, with limited public transport - it takes more than 30 minutes to walk to the farm from the nearest train station - and complaints of traffic, it’s possible that some people are opting to see similar artists at a more convenient location.

In 2021, fans waiting to see Tom Jones at the Hop Farm reported two-hour queues to get into the car park, while there was standstill traffic on the way out.

This summer, the Welsh superstar will be performing twice at Dreamland, which is a two-minute walk from the town’s railway station and within easy reach of a number of car parks and available street parking.

The Spitfire Ground St Lawrence in Canterbury, which often has big names such as last year’s Michael Bublé concert, also has gaps in its summer calendar, with only two tribute concerts announced so far.

Perhaps the team behind the Margate venue were able to sniff out this recent gap in the market early, as many of their summer concerts have been on the cards for months now.

Plans were already in place at the start of the season to double Dreamland’s summer concert programme this year compared to 2022, when names such as Noel Gallagher and Craig David performed.

“Last year we held 14 shows on our Scenic Stage and we are on course to doubling it in 2023,” says James Penfold, the head of live entertainment at Dreamland.

“I think this really shows the progression, and that some of the biggest artists in the world are now looking at Dreamland as a ‘stop’ on the summer open-air show circuit.”

Margate is often hailed as a hub for creatives, with many musicians now associating themselves with this quirky coastal town.

Libertines frontman Carl Barât is set to open a new music venue in the town, after previously running the Love Cafe in Marine Gardens, and Lily Allen recently spent time filming her new Sky Arts show, aptly named Dreamland, on the seafront.

The town was also the filming location for recent blockbuster Empire of Light starring Olivia Coleman and directed by Sam Mendes.

With these tantalising Hollywood connections, not to mention the Turner Contemporary gallery and unique dining options, such as vegan battered sausage and chips from Beach Buoys and the rooftop bar at No.42 Margate, the town itself is a selling point.

Of course, let’s not forget the vast beach, which beats many of Kent’s pebbly coastal destinations with its golden sandy shores.

Outdoor venues such as the Hop Farm and the Kent Showground, on the other hand, don’t often have much to offer other than the event itself. There’s no chance of picking up an ice cream by the sea or browsing Tracey Emin’s art before the show starts.

However, as James adds, the calibre of artists performing surely plays a big part, and people have proved they are willing to travel to almost any venue if the star attraction is worth seeing.

With chart-topping, award-winning, multi-million record selling artists set to descend on Margate this summer, ranging from rock and metal bands to hip-hop legends and pop royalty, there’s something for everyone.

That has been proved by the fact that a number of the events, including Tom Jones, Queens of the Stone Age and Chase and Status, have already sold out.

There’s also Dreamland’s two smaller indoor venues, the Hall by the Sea and The Ballroom, which have managed to pull in some decent names for this year, including Annie Mac, John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd, Slade and Ocean Colour Scene – another sold out show.

It’s not exactly news that local venues are closing down all over the country - it’s been happening for years now. But it looks as though Dreamland could well be bucking that trend and, while other venues seem to be sinking without a liferaft, this venue is making tidal waves in the live music scene.