THANK YOU FOR your RESPONSES TO THE SUPER FLY CALL out for stories about the US Air Force and American Black Music in Suffolk

Having featured on on BBC Radio 4 and BBC6Music, see below for more about this year’s festival with Geno Washington bringing Brit Soul home, punk and post punk pioneer Colin Newman of Wire’s Immersion project, Dance chart topping electro act Spektrum, godfather of UK funk Les Spaine and more.

Join Us for woodbridge festival’s first winter light events of 2025

First Winter Lights Dates at a Glance

Friday 24 Ocotober Hopsters Woodbridge

Firday 7 November Whisstiocks Place Fish Friendly Fireworks

Saturday 15 November New Street Market

Thursday 27 November Christmas Lights On Market Hill and Throughfare

Friday 28 November Christmas Lights On Whisstocks Place and Tide Mill

Thank you for 2025 so far

Thank you to everyone that supported our annual summer festival in 2025. We welcomed over 1300 people. Our annual flagship summer weekend in Elmhurst Park took place on Saturday 30 August, amidst the usual week of activites around town. One of this year’s themes is Super Fly, which has been in development since 2018 and is the first project to explore the role the USAF played in bringing American black music into the UK via Suffolk. This saw legendary soul singer Geno Washington (the star celebrated in Dexy’s Number 1 hit ‘Geno’) bring Brit Soul home to Woodbridge, where he started his musical career while serving in the US Air Force’s Woodbridge base in the 1960s. Super Fly also hosted Les Spaine, the pioneering UK funk DJ, who played the USAF bases in Suffolk in the 1970s. Les is a principle partner in Super Fly and was part of the project’s first public events at the Riverside Theatre in 2021. Stay tuned for more artist announcements.

We launched our local Super Fly call out at the start of the year and within 24 hours we were being interviewed on national BBC Radio 4 - massive thank you to the station’s flagship Today programme.

We launched our Spin programme in June and are grateful to the support of national organisations and East Suffolk’s all party eco Councillors. The project has already reached hundreds of school children.

This year’s projects are Suffolk wide and nationally/ globally impactful.

We brought our annual carnival celebrations back to the Woodbridge Regatta all day long on Sunday 29 June, with Nicky Don, of Rasta Yard and Ashanti sound systems, and Ben Osborne on decks and an opening address by Woodbridge Town Mayor.

And now we are preparing for our annual Winter Lights festivals.

Thank you to everyone that’s supported us so far as we celebrate our 14th year.

Woodbridge Festival started in 2012 and is a not-for-profit, collaborative, community run festival with charitable aims. It aims to present high quality, original artists to local audiences at accessible prices. It aims to promote creativity in the local community and encourage and support the creative economy.

It runs a year round arts education and outreach programme across Suffolk , has received glowing testimonials from participants and education bodies and its work with local schools had been recognised by Ofsted. It is a creative industry partner with Suffolk New College, it works with Farlingaye High School, all local primary schools and SEND and additional education providers across Suffolk, delivering educational opportunities free of charge. It has donated art and music equipment to all local primary schools.

It 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), 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.

Woodbridge Festival
of art & music

Woodbridge Festival of ART & MUSIC is a community-run festival that showcases ambitious, diverse and quality International line-ups, encouraging diversity and local talent and allowing emerging artists to share a platform with established national and international acts.

The festival is inclusive, accessible and sustainable, fun and alternative. It encourages creativity in the community and raises money for cultural education. We hold year round participatory cultural events and workshops and have supported equipment for six schools, music in health, music for the elderly and a choir for Alzheimer patients. We take environmental responsibilities seriously - avoiding using generators, operating a leave no trace policy, encouraging train travel for artists and audiences and having a dedicated EcoZone and educational activities at the festival.

:Events

Unmissable music & art in Woodbridge

As well as our annual flagship festival week in the last week of August to first weekend of September, we hold annual Fish Friendly Fireworks and Projections for Peace, mass participation art projects, regular monthly DJ and music events, creative and eco education outreach programmes working with the community, local schools and organisations and hold a series of audio-visual events, projecting over 1000 contributions from the local residents, professional artists and Woodbridge and Chelsea Arts Club onto the Tide Mill in Woodbridge.

:Eco Zone

Activities, fun and ideas

Running a sustainable event is central to what we're trying to achieve and eco activities have always been a huge part of the festival. We've co-created exciting live and online activities and events, including 2025’s Spin project, our Incredible Oceans Live, Forest School and Eco Toy Workshops in Summer Schools, online, in school classes and dedicated eco days.

 :News

We're delighted to announce

Check in here for news from the festival’s year round programme of events

Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music’s annual flagship event takes place in Elmhurst Park and venues across town on the last week of August/ first weekend of September.

We also do live music and DJ events, art exhibitions, work shops led by practicing artists/ creatives, literature events and other activities in the region throughout the year.

Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music is not-for-profit and supports local culture, venues, education and community projects.

We're extremely grateful to The Co-Op national Community Fund, East Suffolk District Council ECB Fund, MSC, Scops, Arts Council England and the National Lottery funded Let's Create initiative, Woodbridge Town Council, Dedham Vale AONB/Suffolk Coast and Heaths' AONB's Sustainable Development Fund, Ipswich Borough Council, HM Government DLUHC Windrush Day Grant Scheme and UK Shared Prosperity Fund in East Suffolk, Suffolk County Council and the people of Woodbridge for generously supporting our mission to promote culture, creative participation and creative education in our area and to promote inclusivity and encourage sustainability and eco practices.