Coinciding with the Brighton Fringe, Funk The Format is an adult-only offshoot of the Funk The Family festival which started out in 2014 with just 1,000 attendees at Hove Lagoon. Not only has it spawned an extra day, the festival has significantly grown in size and relocated to Hove Park for the bank holiday weekend.
Like its sibling Funk The Family, this brand new festival showcases purveyors of soul, latin, funk, reggae, disco, hip hop, house, jungle and jazz, not to mention funk. Following the kid-friendly event on Saturday, the grown-ups’ turn in the sun takes place on Sunday, with a focus on good vibes, good music and good fun, while allowing plenty of time to recover on bank holiday Monday.
Former freelance music journalist and current Radio Reverb DJ, Lucy ‘Elle J’ Small founded the festival to bridge the gap between events catering for either a very young demographic or indie/electro fans, saying “We want to bring that Notting Hill Carnival vibe to Brighton & Hove.” Hence, Carnival stalwart Norman Jay MBE will be bringing Good Times to the Outdoor Music Stage, along with Grammy Award winners Soul II Soul, plus local bands making waves on the festival circuit; Normanton Street and Lebeaux.
For those craving more of a club atmosphere, UK hip hop pioneers Rodney P & Skitz and Jamie Rodigan, son of legendary roots DJ Sir David Rodigan, will be bringing the funk to the Club Tropicana Tent, as well as local veteran DJs Robert Luis of Tru Thoughts and Russ Dewbury of Jazz Rooms.
If all this isn’t enough for one bank holiday Sunday, lucky ticketholders can check out Cirque Du Funk Big Top of Oddities, delicious local food and drink stalls, craft stalls, two fully licensed bars and much more. Let’s just hope the heatwave continues, as Funk The Format is set to be a scorcher.
OUTDOOR MUSIC STAGE LINE-UP: Soul II Soul * Norman Jay MBE * Nubiyan Twist * Normanton Street * J-Felix * Lebeaux
CLUB TROPICANA TENT LINE-UP: Rodney P & Skitz * Jamie Rodigan * Robert Luis (Tru Thoughts) * Mr Bongo Soundsystem * Stick It On * Russ Dewbury * Soul Casserole * Odyssey * Steve Seck
Hove Park, Sunday 29th May 2016
www.funktheformat.co.uk
