Woodbridge festival WEEKEND 2024
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT MADE WOODBRIDGE FESTIVAL WEEKEND 2024 A RIP ROARING SUCCESS
OUR WFAM FAMILY KEEPS GROWING AND WOODBRIDGE WELCOMED FRIENDS OLD AND NEW - WE LOVE THE LOVE YOU BRING. THANK YOU!
Woodbridge Festival's flagship weekend returns IN 2024 with a pre-party followed by three days of events in Elmhurst Park, Whisstock’s Place, The Riverside, Bell and Steelyard, Red Lion and various venues around town 30 August - 1 September..
Woodbridge Festival celebrates its twelfth year with a bumper line-up of acts and a new festival theme that sees famous artists showcase talents they’re less known for. Expect TV presenters to launch albums, best selling authors to perform live music, TV stars to DJ and DJs to reveal artworks. The Festival will return to Elmhurst Park for a tenth year, and also returns to The Riverside, its long term venue for ‘club night’ events, for the first time since the pandemic.
The the festival weekend opens at The Riverside on Friday 30 August with Les Spaine, a pioneer of club DJing, former head of Motown Recordss in the UK and considered the godfather of UK funk DJs. Les has worked with everyone from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to David Bowie. TICKETS ON SALE AT THE VENUE AND HERE
The main event takes place on Saturday 31 August at Elmhurst Park TICKETS ON SALE HERE.
Best selling author Louis de Bernieres, whose book Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was made into a hit film, makes a rare appearance wearing his singer-songwriter hat, performing songs from his new LP.
Live electronic duo Sons of Slough are one of the pioneering fully live electronic acts that, along with acts such as Orbital, helped shape the sound of dance music in the Nineties, this will be one of only two UK festival appearances by the duo.
TV and Radio presenter Katie Puckrik (The Word, BBC6Music) launches her new compilation album ‘Yacht Rock Odyssey’ (released over the festival weekend) with a DJ set overlooking the masts on the River Deben.
TV and film actor Ben Miles (Huge Disco) plays a DJ set returning to his pre-acting youth as a DJ. Best known for starring role as Patrick Maitland in the television comedy Coupling, as Montague Dartie in The Forsyte Saga, Roger Dascombe in 2005 film V for Vendetta and Peter Townsend in The Crown. Ben makes pop-up appearances in London with a troop of fellow DJing thespians under the name Plasticons and his Huge Disco soundcloud mixes can be found hgere https://soundcloud.com/hugedisco.
Dave Jarvis, of London’s notorious Faith parties and fanzien, has just celebrated 25 years of the Faith organisation he started with Terry Farley and Stuart Patterson, with a massive event at Koko in London - as well as the subject of a six page feature in the current DJ Mag. Jarvis is also celebrating the 50th release of the Moton records, the label he started with Diesel and DJ Harvey.
Rob Mello another pioneer of dance music under his aliases as House of Whacks and Black Science Orchestra and Simon Lee, of Faze Action, will play sets reflecting their genre defining contributions to House music in the UK.
DJ Justin Robertson, a founding father of modern clubbing as a regular Haceinda resident and the DJ who inspired the Chemical Brothers to make dance music, will exhibit his abstract paintings. As will DJ and Mi Soul presenter Abi Clark, aka Super Natural Thing, who also brings her soulful dance grooves to Saturday’s party.
The Heavenly Social’s Carl Gosling, aka Heavenly Jukebox, & Sophie DJ alongside Woodbridge Festival founder Ben Osborne (White Trash/ Noise of Art). ICR favourite Daddy Turbo will unleash his trademark b-lines, while Ibiza chill out pioneer Chris Coco will get his solar vibes on. Transient radio head boy, Bobby Bucys, is joined by North London’s Itchy Soul crew and everybody’s favourite purveyor of seven inch DJ sets, Sid Le Sarge.
Local live rocking act JS & The Lockerbillies bring their popular re-workings of classic rock-a-billy, r ’n’ b and rock ’n’ roll and more regional acts are to be announced
The wider events scheduled over the festival weekend include Arts Area with workshops, weaving, art trails, make and do, the Kids Zone, Eco Zone, Wellness Area, with massage, herbal medicines and treatments, Literary Area, Drum Workshops and the Food Village featuring Delroy’s Caribbean Grill, Korean Kitchen, Saltpeter, Pizza, high quality, local sourced street food and bars with ales, lagers, craft beers, wines, spirits, cocktails and ice creams.
The popular all ages Make & Do sessions return with activities print a one-of-a-kind festival souvenir, badge making, clay monsters (and fairies), recycled crafts and more, led by cross platform artist Alice Stallard and textiles artist Claire Hardaker. Enjoy Family Yoga with Emmakyoga, Glitter Tattoos with Abbie, GIANT games with 5th Woodbridge Sea Scouts and take time to chill in the Family Read and Chill zone with story time sponsored by Suffolk Building Society. Look out for the Choose Love heart trail around the festival site and take your insta selfies surrounded by love…. Discover more about local community initiatives and doodle your eco message to the world.
This year’s Wellness area includes plants from Katie’s garden, free massages, practical exhibitions on subjects such as how to make Kombucha, Yoga and Qi gong classes, meet the practitioner - your questions answered sessions, Complimentary Chinese herbal tea to sample and herbal tincture medicines for sale - Arnica, Calendula, Echinacea, etc.
The festival has been supported by public bodies and private enterprises, these include Mediterranean Shipping Company, Suffolk Building Society, East Suffolk Council, Woodbridge Town Council, Suffolk Digital, Grove Court and The Natural Health Centre. Tickets on sale now - see www.woodbridgefestival.com
Festival dates at a glance.
Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music 2024 Main Event Dates:
Saturday 17 August Festival Pre-Party Ye Olde Bell And Steelyard with UK Disco don Simon Lee (Faze Action) and Ben Osborne from 5pm
Friday 30 August Festival Weekend Opening Night at The Riverside with UK Funk legend Les Spaine from 9pm
Saturday 31 August Main Event in Elmhurst Park from Midday plus night time venues from 8pm
Sunday 1 September All Day After Party Whisstocks Place From 1pm
Tickets Tickets to venues available separately. Bell and Steelyard - From £10. The Riverside - From £10 Elmhurst Park - From £10
Over the last 10 years Woodbridge Festival has hosted acts from Canada, Czechia, France, Ghana, Italy, Norway, USA and more. Highlights have included headliners such as Jazzie B/ Soul II Soul, Orbital, Leee John (of Imagination/ Gorillaz and Small Axe), Mercury Prize jazz act Polar Bear, Coldcut, Mark Moore/ S Express, Horse Meat Disco DJs, Red Snapper, electronic pioneer David Vorhaus (White Noise) and UK hip hop pioneer Ty - to name a few. We’ve had themes, such as a focus on Scotland, Czech republic and France, Windrush Day 75 (2023), Woodbridge Ambient Music Event in 2016, Winter Light Art Festivals (2021, 2022, 2023), summer schools on the environment (2020), Beatles book launches (2015), Fish Friendly Fireworks, Rendlesham Incident UFO sculptures in the Library (2014) and turning the 700 year old Tide Mill into a techno instrument (2021).
Picture: Above - Jazzie B, Soul II Soul, back stage Elmhurst Park, WFAM 2021, by John Ferguson.
