ENTERTAINMENT at this year’s White Horse Soapbox Derby, taking place on Saturday 20th May opposite Long River Farm, is set to be bigger and better than before, as the Westbury Festival stage will host some of the most accomplished musical acts on the UK circuit.
The Westbury Festival stage, open from 11.30am on the day, will provide entertainment between the races to the thousands of people expected to descend, on the town, and will feature performances from the Madness tribute band Complete Madness, the festival favourite Ushti Baba!, the 2021 DMC World DJ champion scratch DJ and turntablist JFB, and local DJ, Biggie Tallz.
People from across the country are expected to come to the hugely popular free event, organised by Westbury Town Council, that will pit teams against each other as they race down the steepest and most challenging course in the UK. There are 20 teams ready for this year’s event and each team will get three runs – the best time will be taken for final scores. The Soapbox Derby opens at 10am, and the first race is scheduled to take place at 11am, with the Westbury Festival stage opening at 11.30am.
The Westbury Festival stage will open with DJs Hit Or Miss. Fresh from performing at Dorset’s famed Teddy Rocks Festival and regular special guest DJs for Martin Kemp’s live 80s shows, the Frome-based DJs will be kicking off the event with a mash-up of pop, rock and indie anthems.
Biggie Tallz will return to his hometown of Westbury for 12.45pm on the day, having held residency for the past few years as a club DJ in Bath. A favourite from the 2022 Soapbox, the special guest and local resident, Biggie Tallz, will be serving up some summer anthems. From R&B through to hip hop, funk and soul, maybe with one or two other unexpected hits in the mix!
The four times champion DJ title holder and 2021 world DMC champion, JFB, will be performing at 2.15pm on the Westbury Festival stage as part of the special guest spots. JFB is considered the UK’s leading scratch DJ and turntablist- he was a resident DJ on Rob Da Bank’s Radio 1 show and his videos have amassed over nine million views on YouTube alone! Norman Cook (Fat Boy Slim) said, “JFB Is the thinking man’s Grand Master Flash”. JFB will be helping to create the sounds of the soapbox soundtrack during the afternoon.
Leading up to the soapbox winner announcements, you can see a live performance from special guests and festival favourites, Ushti Baba!, at 4.45pm. Having performed at just about every major festival in the UK, including Glastonbury, the much- loved unique folk-rave fused band features a violin, guitars, trumpet, cello, accordion, and beat-box, to create hypnotic pan-European melodies with modern dance rhythms!
Headlining this year’s Westbury Town Council event, and courtesy of Westbury’s Gooding Accounts, Complete Madness, the UK’s number one tribute to the Nutty Boys, will be going ‘one step beyond’, performing Madness classics and taking to the Westbury Festival stage at 6pm, right after the Soapbox winner announcements at 5.35pm.
Westbury Festival chairman, Ian Cunningham said, “Westbury Festival is keen to help promote different styles and genres of music throughout the year. Our festival motto is building the community through the arts, and that has always been our aim. We are proud supporters of the White Horse Soapbox Derby, and we hope our stage will remind Westbury residents of the full Westbury Festival this coming July!” The Westbury Festival will take place between Wednesday 19th July and Sunday 30th July.
This year there will also be a Soapbox Junior Derby where primary schoolchildren have been challenged to drag race their self-propelled cars over 30 metres, and there will also be RC car racing. For those waiting to watch the spills and thrills of the race, there will be a large screen set up so you won’t miss any of the action, and there will also be an engineering fair, a kids’ area, a bar, and plenty of hot food to choose from.
The event finishes at 7pm. Attendees have been invited to continue celebrations at Westbury United Football Club. Whilst there will be a limited capacity, there will also be an opportunity to venture to other night spots in the town.
Event organiser Ryan Child said, “One of our aims is to show our support for local businesses, and with added footfall to the town, our larger-scale events have been a benefit to some of the local establishments. With an early finish, we hope other venues, pubs, restaurants, and bars benefit from the event later in the evening.
“I’d like to take another opportunity to thank all of our sponsors for helping make this another memorable event for the community.”
For more details on the Soapbox Derby visit www.whitehorsesoapbox.co.uk or search whitehorsesoapbox on Facebook or Instagram.
