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Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music Marks 10th Anniversary with Two Day Jubilee Festival

Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music starts its tenth anniversary year with genre defining international acts playing the town’s “alternative” Jubilee celebrations, highlighting trends in music and culture over the last seventy years.

Acts playing include legendary DJs Justin Robertson, who played the Hacienda during its acid house heyday, and Les Spaine, 1970s star funk DJ and head of Motown Records, where he worked with Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

Alongside music, the festival will be presenting projections onto the Tide Mill, African and Ukrainian dances, drum workshops, a street food festival and a “pooch parade” – with local people dressing their dogs in a youth culture style from the last seventy years – and events reflecting on the anniversaries of Indian and Jamaican independence and forty years of The Hacienda nightclub.

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Festival founder, Ben Osborne, who will also DJ the event, says: “Ten years ago the town mayor asked if we could organise an alternative Jubilee event, which kick started the annual Woodbridge festival. So it’s amazing to be asked to do this event again by the current Town mayor and council. Over the last ten years the festival has grown to be a significant event, attracting over a thousand ticket buying festival goers to our annual Elmhurst Park event and many more to our regular programme throughout the year. We were one of the few music organisations to keep live music going throughout the pandemic, so it’s especially gratifying to be able to celebrate the jubilee having survived the trials of the last two years.

“We have an amazing two day line-up in Kingston Fields, Community Hall and Whisstocks Square, with international and local acts covering everything from acid house to rock-a-billy and reggae – and we’re looking forward to projecting people’s jubilee messages onto the Tide  Mill.”

On Friday 3 June daytime events will open midday at Kingston Fields, with headline soul act Jupiter Ray followed by Phil Jackson’s excellently rawkus Rock n Roll Band. Peter Hepworth’s Band will play unheard songs from his forthcoming LP alongside surprises covering music styles from the ’60s to now.

Local folk act Fete Acomplis will close the day’s activities with a barn dance in a field. There will be food, craft, bar stalls, vintage fair attractions and a range of performances throughout the day.

Woodbridge Festival’s night time events on Friday take place at the Communtiy Hall, featuring music from the eras that shape today’s club sceen; including funk, acid house, disco, post punk, hip hop and break beats.

For more information on Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music and Jubilee events see www.woodbridgefestival.com

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