The actor and DJ Idris Elba has been confirmed for a major Nottingham festival at Colwick Park in July. Although Idris may be best known for acting roles in The Take and Luther, he is also a popular DJ.
He will be joined by performers such as Jax Jones, Adrianna and Ammara. It is not the London actor's first visit to Nottingham as he is set to play a DJ set tonight, Saturday, April 30, at NG1.
The festival, 'Groovebox at the Park' will return to Colwick Park on Saturday, July 9. The popular festival saw more than 2,000 visitors for its first event last year. Tickets are already on sale for the event priced at £35. This year will also see the addition of a VIP area and garden hosted by ACES.
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Promoter Saul Morgan and organiser Nick Howdle are responsible for Groovebox which started out as an event held in a car park. It has since grown to the residency at NG1 and also the festival.
Promoter Saul 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."
Groovebox has been running for around two years with a residency at NG1 although it started out as a night run in the car park of the Irish centre.
Saul said: "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.
