Soul II Soul and Marvin Humes announced for Ipswich festival

Venue16, a venue on the outskirts of Ipswich, has announced Soul II Soul as its headliner for its Summer Soul Vibes Festival in July 2025.

Organiser, Jamie Smith, says he is ready to take the risk (Image: Colin Leonard Photography) The festival has been extended over two days this year, running from 5pm to 10.30pm on Friday, July 11 and 1pm to 11pm on Saturday, July 12.

The festival proved successful last year. Organiser Jamie Smith said: "It's our third year running and it's something I always dreamed of doing.

"It gets harder each year with less and less soul artists around but we try to give local artists the platform and the stage with some of the bigger headliners.

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"I got my teeth into it and now we have Soul II Soul and Marvin Humes, along with so many other amazing artists."

Soul II Soul made waves in the late 1980s with tracks such as Back to Life and Keep on Movin' and now will be performing at the venue.

Other acts announced include Humes from JLS, Noughties Baby, Kenny Thomas and Ellie Sax.

The festival has already had a tremendous ticket response (Image: Colin Leonard Photography) The festival has grown as more than 1,100 more people turned up last year.

Mr Smith added: "Everything is a risk when you're a business.

"I had to pinch myself last year as we had Incognito, one of my favourite bands.

"Pretty much everything is done in house, we try to use local businesses where we can."

The event is set to cost six figures to cover infrastructure, security, staffing and the local vendors.

Mr Smith recognised the need for "upping the ante" in quality after tremendous ticket response and how much the festival does for the community.

Recently, Venue16's restaurant, 16 Steakhouse, became the highest-rated restaurant on Tripadvisor in Ipswich.

Tickets start from £30 and camping is available.