This legendary festival brought truly iconic acts from house and soul to the North of England for 28 years running.
One Nation Under A Groove: The Story of the Southport Weekender is a newly-released documentary chronicling the rise and fall of one of Britain’s most fabled events. This annual celebration of dance and soul music brought some of the world’s finest performers and DJs to a Pontins holiday camp in the north of England for almost three decades, building a reputation as one of the country’s most forward-thinking festivals. Legend has it that even Samuel L Jackson turned up as a guest of none other than DJ Jazzy Jeff.
The early days of the event were based around soul and jazz, bringing an air of authenticity and integrity lacking in many UK festivals at the time. As the years progressed and the global music scene developed, the Weekender played host to some incredible names from hip-hop and R&B while bringing in now-legendary DJs from the nascent US house music scene – including many former and current MN2S affiliates. DJs like Frankie Knuckles, Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, Roger Sanchez, DJ Spen and Ultra Naté all performed at the event, and are featured in the documentary.
All of the music styles that are presented at Southport, if you did a family tree of music, they’d all fit together. The house has come from disco which has come from soul.
Gary Dennis, speaking to The Guardian
The documentary, directed by Sarah Smith and Simon “Schooly” Phillips and produced by Timeworks films, was premiered in April. It’s now on tour, visiting seven UK cities over April and May: screenings include a Q&A with the directors, an exhibition from the festival’s resident photographer and an exclusive after-party with some of the event’s original resident DJs. You can find tickets for these events here.