Woodbridge 10th Year Festival Weekend
Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music’s 10th anniversary sees it return to its weekend long format for the first time since the pandemic. The three days starts in the town’s Elmhurst Park and the Community Hall on Saturday 3 September (£10 Tickets on sale here), The Boathouse and Whisstocks Square by the iconic Tide Mill Sunday 4 September and ends at The Riverside Theatre and Cinema on Monday 5 September (£10 Tickets on Sale Here).
Tickets for Saturday and Monday are available from only £10. Sunday is a free event, but tables can be booked at The Boathouse Kitchen and Bar.
With the full line-up still to be announced, the weekend’s music features the festival’s trademark mix of international stars, musical pioneers and regional acts. Amongst the headliners are Martyn Ware (founder of chart topping acts The Human League, Heaven 17 and producer of Tina Turner, Chaka Kahnand many more), Justin Robertson ( legendary Hacienda/ Bugged Out/ Lion Rock DJ), Chis Coco (of The Chill Out Tent and renowned Balearic artist and Ibiza star), Les Spaine (the UK Funk legend and Motown label boss), Ben Osborne (festival programmer and founder of Noise of Art), Auntie L, (London based Ghanian funk DJ), plus leading Suffolk bands JS & The Lockerbillies, Jupiter Ray, Latin Heat, Peter Hepworth and many more.
The music acts join the park’s bumper line-up of spoken word acts, arts activities, workshops, the festival kids zone and the festival’s active environmental area – plus more to be announced.
Elmhurst Park will also include a food and drinks street, featuring local, artisan producers and brewers. For the first time, a new section of the festival, The Village, will host the word area, alongside workshops, stalls and a section devoted to local acts.
The legendary musician, producer and electronic artist Martyn Ware (founder of Human League and Heaven 17, and producer of Tina Turner and Chaka Kahn), will launch his autobiography with a special Music Monday Q&A and book signing at The Riverside on Monday 5 September.
Playing in the Park on Saturday 3 September, Ibiza veteran DJ Chris Coco (one of the few UK DJs to have played every super club in Ibiza), joins Hacienda icon Justin Robertson, who famously converted the Chemical Brothers to dance music. Les Spaine, original funk DJ and one time UK label boss to Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gay and Diana Ross, pairs-up with the festival’s resident DJ Ben Osborne, reliving their recent sets at Liverpool International Music Festival, where they appeared alongside headliners such as UB40 and De La Soul. Top regional acts appearing include Suffolk based soul band Jupiter Ray, jazz funk dance act Latin Heat and singer songwriter Peter Hepworth. East London funk and soul stalwart Auntie L comes fresh from her turn at Manchester’s Escape From Freight Island.
Festival programmer and Noise of Art founder Ben Osborne says: “We’re massively looking forward to being back in the Park for the festival’s tenth year. Everyone’s still talking about last year, when we came out of the pandemic with Jazzie B of Soul II Soul doing a Back To Life DJ set. This year we’re back to our weekend long format, ending on Monday with the Martyn Ware launching ‘Electronically Yours’, his new autobiography, at The Riverside.
“As usual we’ve kept ticket prices for all the events low and under 15s are free in the park. We’re once again hugely grateful to Woodbridge Town Council and the people of Woodbridge for their support. This summer has been amazing and it’s been great DJing back in Europe and playing places like Glastonbury and Liverpool International Music Festival again. But all the acts are really looking forward to being in Woodbridge for this weekend.”
Dates, times and venues at a glance: Saturday 3 September 1-7pm, Elmhurst Park, Woodbridge, Saturday 3 September 7pm-11:30PM, Woodbridge Community Hall, Sunday 4 September, The Boathouse, Whisstocks Square, Monday 5 September, 7:45pm Martyn Ware at The Riverside Cinema – tickets for all shows are available for £10 or under – with early bird tickets for the park going on sale soon.
About The Festival
Launched in 2012 as an alternative Jubilee event, Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music is community run and not for profit. It has invited international stars, such as Orbital, Jazzy B, Martyn Ware, Leee John of Imagination, Justin Robertson, Chris Coco, and many more to play alongside aspiring local acts. Any proceeds from the festival are used for further events and to promote music and arts practices in the local community – to date this has included music and art equipment for six schools and supporting an Alzheimer’s choir. It is programmed by Noise of Art founder DJ Ben Osborne. Faced by the pandemic the festival held successful monthly lockdown shows throughout 2020-2021 in venues around Suffolk, including a huge event with Jazzie B/ Soul II Soul in Elmhurst Park in 2021, regular events at The Riverside and Boathouse in 2020 and a series of events projecting onto the Tide Mill (covered by BBC TV) in 2021. In 2022 its held jam-packed Jubilation weekend events around parks and venues in Woodbridge, light art and music events in Saxmundham and Felixstowe, and a sold-out evening with Jazzie B and Ben Osborne in Arlington’s, Ipswich.
