Margate Soul Festival will take over the town with a huge soul street party this August.
The event, which has been running for 22 years, has expanded to include 19 indoor and outdoor venues stretching from The Sun Deck to Margate Leisure Centre on Edgar Road with more outdoor stages than ever before.
There will also be a record fayre, jam rollerskating, secret sets and almost every music venue in Margate is getting in on the act.
This year there will be a huge new beachside main stage (under the Lido sign), new free music stages such as the Balearic Beach Boutique (Jo Mills, Nancy Noise, Dean Thatcher, Chris Coco) and Disco Heaven in Margate’s Old Town.
There are the most late night venues the festival has ever had showcasing the UK’s best soul DJs from MiSoul Radio (Brandon Block, Gordon Mac, Ricky Morrison) Soul Beat Radio and Zero Hour Radio plus local talent from Margate Radio, and other long-standing festival favourites. Secret after parties include an exclusive set from XPress2 and others.
Venues also include Turner Contemporary, Barnacles, WhereElse, the original festival venue of Olby’s Soul Cafe and many more. They will be linked by a free Margate Soul Train which will run between the train station and the key venues and main beachside stage.
Festival co-founder Eli Thompson said: “I’m so proud to see that Margate Soul Festival has grown to involve the entire town, and showcases how collaborative and wonderful Margate is, to bring guests something truly unique – the magic of the seaside, with the best soul soundtrack and an incredible town wide party.”
The live line up features soul icons from both sides of the Atlantic – Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes; Dexter Wansel; Heatwave; House Gospel Choir and Izo Fitzroy.
There will also be a live reggae show featuring Peter Hunnigale, Sandra Cross and Tipper Irie.
Other events include a soul lovers record fayre; soul jam rollerskating sessions (Sk8 Skillz); Sunset soul bike ride with mobile sound system (Cycle Del Mar) and a Sunday beach clean with Rise Up Clean Up Margate.
The festival will be using eco-generators and low power lighting, partnering with key environmental charities and partners and giving back £1 from every ticket sold to local community groups.
Margate Soul Festival runs from August 2-4.
Weekend tickets are £108.90 (£99 + 10% BF) / Day tickets are £60.50 (£55 + 10% BF) / Kids tickets (7-17) are £38.50 (£35 + 10% BF). Margatesoulfestival.co.uk
