Idris Elba heads back to city for festival DJ gig
IT’S LUTHER STAR’S SECOND BOOKING HERE THIS YEAR
ACTOR and DJ Idris Elba has been confirmed for a major Nottingham festival at Colwick Park in July.
Although Elba is best known for acting in The Wire, Luther and many hit movies, he is also a popular DJ.
He will be joined by performers such as Jax Jones, Adrianna and Ammara.
It won’t be the London actor’s first visit to Nottingham – he played a DJ set on Saturday night at the NG1 nightclub.
The festival, Groovebox at the Park, returns to Colwick Park on Saturday, July 9 after attracting more than 2,000 visitors for its first event last year.
Tickets are already on sale, priced at £35. This year will also see the addition of a VIP area and garden hosted by ACES.
Promoter Saul Morgan and organiser Nick Howdle are responsible for Groovebox, which started out in the Irish Centre car park about two years ago.
It has since grown to the residency at NG1 and also the festival.
Mr Morgan said: “This is going to be our biggest one to date. Last year we did about 2,000 people and this year we are going to be twice the size. “We have two tents instead of one, including a VIP area. It’s as exciting as it is daunting for us.
“We did it well last year but this will be on a much bigger scale. “For a small brand that started in a car park, this is the biggest thing we’ve ever done.”
He added: “Idris Elba has always been a DJ and I’ve seen him live in Ibiza.
“He is with Defected, which is a record label, but then his acting took over although Djing is his first love. “We get some really big names coming to us including Patrick Topping as we work with his agency.”
He added “Nick and I have known each other since we were 18. We have always had a love of house music and used to do coach trips with about 60 of us to the big clubs. Nick saw a gap in the market for a house music night so we started to do one at the Irish Centre. The VIP section was a sectioned-off space near the bins!”
As word grew, the crowd increased and the night moved to the bigger premises at NG1. It remains a popular night for music fans. This led to the development of the festival in 2021 which will return again this summer.
Idris Elba has always been a DJ and I’ve seen him live in Ibiza
Saul Morgan, promoter