CLASSIC Ibiza made a sparkling 10th return to a sunny Ragley Hall on Saturday (July 5) delighting a sold-out Warwickshire crowd with more than five hours of Balearic-infused house music.
The al-fresco celebration of White Isle-inspired music had multiple generations bopping along enthusiastically to a ‘best of’ set that featured 50 house classics from the show’s decade-long repertoire. Sequinned attire glittering in the late evening sunshine.
Under the expert musical direction of Stephen Hussey, the 32-piece Urban Soul Orchestra (USO) delighted its audience of 9,000 concertgoers who had polished off their picnics to a DJ set by DJ Jose Luis, a former Pacha Ibiza resident and were keen to get moving.
Beginning appropriately with Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now, USO were joined by London Community Gospel Choir (in a debut appearance) for a spine-tingling rendition of eight classic tracks, including You Got The Love by The Source & Candi Staton and Lola’s Theme by The Shapeshifters.
Their soulful and uplifting vocals to a number of tracks during the evening added to the feast of stand-out vocal performances.
As night fell, and the grounds of Ragley Hall transformed into a magical, alfresco nightclub. Accompanied by an spectacular laser and light show, the capacity crowd partied to USO’s orchestral energetic performance, featuring Galvanise by The Chemical Brothers, Café Del Mar by Energy 52 and Adagio For Strings by Tiësto.
Concertgoer Milly Roe from Salford Priors has been coming for several years with a group friends. She told the Standard: “What a fantastic event. We’re always guaranteed a good time and is the best atmosphere for all ages. I didn’t want to leave at the end of the night.”
Before the concert drew to close at 11pm, the audience was treated to a fitting encore of two of Classic Ibiza’s most popular tracks. Saving the best for last, USO went out on high to Insomnia by Faithless and Sandstorm by Darude.
Classic Ibiza’s Lisa Ward added: “Ragley Hall, that was pure magic. We brought the back-to-back anthems, you matched the energy, and together we kicked off our 10th anniversary celebrations in true Classic Ibiza style.
“A huge thank you to Stephen Hussey’s incredible Urban Soul Orchestra and our DJs, Goldierocks and Jose Luis – you never fail to raise the bar every year with your spellbinding performances. London Community Gospel Choir, what can I say, other than glorious.”
The event looks set to return in 2026.
