The festival, in its eleventh year, will for the first time expand its annual Elmhurst Park event to two days. Friday in the park will celebrate top regional talent, while international acts will play Saturday. Further events will take place around the town for the festival weekend; which lasts from Wednesday 30 August until Sunday 3 September.

Jazzie B, founder and frontman of Soul II Soul, is one of the most influential and celebrated pioneers in British black music. His hit singles, such as Back To Life and Keep On Movin', have topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic - as did the iconic Club Classics Vol. 1 album.

He returns to the festival having played Woodbridge in 2021. “I was talking with Jazzie in London earlier this year,” says festival Creative Director and DJ Ben Osborne, “and he mentioned he’d enjoyed playing last time. So I immediately asked if he’d DJ again. We’re beyond hyped he said yes! His DJ set last time is still talked about and is a high point in the festival’s story.”

Woodbridge Festival has been able to expand to two days after being awarded new funding by East Suffolk Council, as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund initiative.

“We are hugely grateful to have been given funding to expand the festival,” says festival chair Naomi Drown. “We are a not-for-profit community festival, set-up to put on high quality acts and promote creativity in our local area. Over the last eleven years the festival has invited chart toppers, Glastonbury headliners, Grammy winners and internationally celebrated artists, from electronic music to soul, indie, hip hop, Brit Pop and classical music genres, to play. This funding makes it possible for us expand into our best year yet.”

Saturday in the park will also debut a new wellbeing area, as well as the traditional large Eco-Area, Kids Zone, Literary Zone, Art Area and local food and drink village - with craft beers and local wine tasting.

A summer programme of events will also be launched at the town’s Regatta on Sunday 18 June.

The festival’s annual audio-visual projections on Woodbridge Tide Mill will also return, with projections in June, September and November. A series of AV workshops are planned alongside the annual open call for themed artworks. This year’s subjects for projected art will be inspired by the Windrush 75 celebrations. The festival’s light art shows have been phenomenally successful, with call-outs attracting hundreds of submissions from local people and established artists.

The festival’s Fish Friendly Fireworks event, projecting onto the Tide Mill, was shortlisted for an East Suffolk Green Impact Award in 2022.

For more information and tickets see www.woodbridgefestival.com

Photo Credit: John Ferguson