Kicking off a long weekend of events for Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music – and rounding off Windrush 75 celebrations – Leading UK reggae act, Aswad, play live at the Community Hall in Woodbridge.

Aswad, formed in Ladbroke Grove in 1974. Along with contemporaries Matumbi, The Cimmarons and Black Slate, the band was among the first home grown acts to show Caribbean music could successfully flourish in the UK.

The only early British group to record and/ or perform with top Jamaican artists such as Burning Spear, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, they gained national attention in 1976 when their debut release, “Back To Africa,” hit Number 1 in the UK Reggae Charts. “Love Fire,” their popular anthem released in 1981, became part of the reggae canon and has been covered by a host of Jamaican producers (an honour few British bands have been awarded). Their 1983 Island release, Live and Direct, is considered a definitive live reggae album. Catch them live and direct in Woodbridge.