Superfly City Festival: The Complete History (2009-2025)
The Vision: Bringing Festival Culture Indoors
When Superfly opened its doors at 2 King Street in Leicester in 2008, the vision was always bigger than just running another nightclub. While most venues were content with weekly residents and the occasional guest DJ, Superfly's team saw an opportunity to do something genuinely groundbreaking for the Midlands: create an indoor festival that could rival the outdoor events dominating the summer calendar, but compressed into the perfect storm of a bank holiday weekend.
The concept was simple but ambitious: take advantage of the Easter bank holiday's glorious four-day stretch, Thursday through Sunday and transform the venue into a multi-night celebration that captured the spirit of festival season before festival season even began. No muddy fields, no weather worries, just pure, unfiltered electronic music across multiple rooms and multiple nights, each curated with the same attention to detail you'd expect from a major outdoor event.
This was Leicester's own take on the fields and tents format, an indoor answer to Glastonbury and Creamfields, proof that you didn't need to leave the city to experience world-class lineups and that hedonistic, anything-goes festival atmosphere.
2009: The Birth of a Movement (April 9-12)
The Gamble That Paid Off
Easter 2009 marked the birth of Superfly City Festival, and nobody quite knew if it would work. Could Leicester support four consecutive nights of premium-priced electronic music? Would people show up on a Thursday? Could one venue sustain the energy across such a marathon stretch?
The answer was a resounding yes. From April 9th through 12th, 2009, Superfly proved that ambition, when backed by quality programming and genuine love for the music, could succeed anywhere. The ticket pricing was deliberately accessible - £18 for a four-day student early bird, scaling up to £28 for a standard four-day pass - because the goal wasn't just to make money, it was to build something special, to create memories that would sustain the city's electronic music culture for years to come.
Thursday, April 9th, 2009: Shivoo Presents - The Opening Salvo
The festival exploded into life on Thursday night with Shivoo at the helm, delivering an opening statement that was impossible to ignore. This wasn't a warm-up night or a soft launch—this was Superfly announcing their arrival with maximum impact.
C2C (Beat Torrent), four-time DMC World Team Champions, brought their specialist deck-wrecking skills to Leicester. For those unfamiliar with the turntablist scene, C2C represented the absolute pinnacle of what could be achieved with two turntables and a mixer. These weren't just DJs playing records—they were musicians, composers, creating entire sonic landscapes on the fly through cutting, scratching, juggling, and beat-matching that bordered on the supernatural. Their World Champion status wasn't honorary; they'd earned it by competing against the best scratch DJs on the planet and coming out on top. Four times.
Their superlative aural sound-scaping skills transformed the decks into instruments, proving that turntablism was an art form as valid and vital as any traditional musicianship. For opening night, their performance set a technical standard that would define the entire festival: this was going to be about skill, innovation, and pushing boundaries.
Joining them was Drop the Lime, and if you were plugged into the underground in 2009, you knew this was a massive booking. Drop the Lime (real name Luca Venezia) was the wunderkind of the moment, a producer whose raucous stipulations through bass-heavy crunk, skittering electro, and savage dubstep confirmed him as the king of the "next shiz." His tracks on labels like Trouble & Bass and Enriched Records were destroying dancefloors from Brooklyn to Berlin, blending the aggression of punk rock with the bass weight of dubstep and the energy of crunk into something genuinely new and exciting.
What made Drop the Lime special was his refusal to stay in one lane. He'd play Baltimore club next to French electro next to UK dubstep, all with the same punk rock attitude, all with the same disregard for genre boundaries. His sets were chaotic, euphoric, and utterly unpredictable—exactly the kind of artist who could kick off a festival with maximum energy.
But the real coup, the booking that had everyone talking, was securing Skream for an exclusive disco set in the second room. By 2009, Oliver Jones—Skream—was quite possibly one of the most in-demand DJs around. As one of dubstep's founding fathers alongside Benga and Artwork, Skream's productions on Tempa and his own Disfigured Dubs had defined what the genre could be. Tracks like "Midnight Request Line" and "Dutch Flowerz" were anthems, certified classics that had soundtracked a generation's introduction to bass music.
What made this booking so special was that Skream wasn't playing dubstep. Instead, he was doing an exclusive disco set, showcasing his love for funk, soul, and the disco records that had influenced his production style. This was Skream the selector, the record collector, the DJ who understood dance music's continuum from disco's four-on-the-floor to dubstep's half-time swing. Having an artist of his stature play disco rather than his signature sound showed the creative ambition and trust between artist and promoter—Superfly wasn't just booking names, they were curating experiences.
Supporting the headliners were Parker & Pasquale, Collo (a Leicester legend), Steve Gibson, and Half Cut Club, ensuring local talent had their moment alongside the international guests.
Friday, April 10th, 2009: Tayo's Tracksuit Party - The Fun Night
After Thursday's intense, bass-heavy opener, Friday brought a complete gear change. Tayo's Tracksuit Party took over, and the vibe shifted from underground intensity to pure, unadulterated fun. This was the night where you could let your hair down, where the dress code was literally tracksuits, where the music ranged from disco to funk to hip-hop to whatever felt good in the moment.
Hannah Holland headlined, bringing her experience from Batty Bass and her reputation as one of London's most versatile selectors. With MC Chickaboo providing the vocal energy, this was a night built for smiles, for singing along, for that perfect Friday night release after a week of work or study.
Marc Roberts, who would return in future years and become a Superfly favorite, kept the energy building. Beenie & Jadell provided additional firepower, and then came the masterstroke: Have-A-Go Hip Hop Karaoke. Because why should the DJs and MCs have all the fun? This interactive element epitomized what made Superfly special we understood that the best parties are the ones where the line between performer and audience blurs, where everyone's invested in the moment, where strangers become friends over a shared love of music and maybe a disastrous attempt at rapping "Juicy."
Saturday, April 11th, 2009: Shivoo & Friends - The Bass Music Masterclass
The penultimate night saw Shivoo return with heavyweight reinforcements, and Saturday delivered what many consider the strongest single night lineup of the entire 2009 festival.
DJ Marky flew in from Brazil to bring his liquid funk mastery to Leicester. Born Marco Antonio Silva, Marky wasn't just any drum and bass DJ—he was the drum and bass DJ for many heads, the artist who'd been instrumental in developing the Brazilian sound within jungle and drum and bass. His productions with DJ Patife, particularly the legendary "LK (Carolina Carol Bela)," had introduced an entire generation to the softer, more soulful side of drum and bass.
By 2009, Marky's reputation was bulletproof. His sets were masterclasses in selection and mixing, moving seamlessly from liquid roller to dancefloor anthem, always musical, always soulful, always respectful of the genre's jungle roots while pushing toward the future. He represented the sophisticated end of drum and bass, proof that 170 BPM music could have soul, could have melody, could make you feel as much as it made you move.
Foreign Beggars delivered a live performance that showcased UK hip-hop at its most experimental. Orifice Vulgatron and Metropolis, backed by their DJ, brought their unique blend of experimental hip-hop, grime, and dubstep to the stage. By 2009, Foreign Beggars had evolved from underground battle rappers to genuine innovators, collaborating with dubstep producers like Noisia and developing a sound that was uniquely British, uniquely bass-heavy, uniquely them.
A Foreign Beggars live show wasn't just two guys rapping—it was an experience, a whirlwind of energy, technical lyricism, and bass weight that bridged the gap between hip-hop traditionalists and bass music heads. Their willingness to experiment, to push into drum and bass and dubstep territories, made them perfect festival headliners.
MC Wrec provided additional vocal firepower throughout the night, his presence ensuring that every drop, every build, every moment had that human element, that connection between DJ and crowd that separates good nights from legendary ones.
Sunday, April 12th, 2009: The Grand Finale - Going Out with Maximum Energy
The closing party needed to match the intensity of the previous three nights while providing a satisfying conclusion to the weekend. The lineup delivered on both counts.
The Plump DJs brought their breaks-heavy party sound, tracks like "Scram" and their remixes for the Prodigy having established them as masters of the breakbeat revival. Lee Rous and Andy Gardner understood that the best party music comes from a place of genuine love for the dancefloor—their sets were euphoric, energetic, and designed to make you lose your mind in the best possible way.
Richard Norris of Beyond The Wizards Sleeve offered something more psychedelic, more cosmic. Norris's career stretched back to The Grid and his work with Robert Fripp, and his Beyond The Wizards Sleeve project with Erol Alkan was redefining what psychedelic disco could be. His selections pulled from decades of underground music, creating journeys that took dancers from Balearic bliss to acid-fried disco and back again.
Damian Martez represented Get Disjointed, bringing more house-focused sounds to balance the breaks and electronica. And in a nice touch that connected the festival back to the local scene, a DJ Competition Winner got their moment in the spotlight, proof that Superfly was invested in developing local talent, not just flying in stars.
The 2009 festival was a resounding success. Despite the gamble, despite the economic climate (this was still deep recession territory in the UK), despite the challenge of filling a venue for four consecutive nights, Superfly City Festival had delivered. The template was established, the appetite was proven, and Leicester had something genuinely special on its hands.
2010: Refinement and Evolution (April 1-4)
Building on Solid Foundations
Buoyed by 2009's success, Superfly City Festival returned for Easter 2010 with increased confidence and refined vision. The four-night format remained, but this year each night was helmed by a different established club brand—SONiDO, Formation, Filthy Beats, We The People, Like Minded People, Really Feel, and resident superheroes Dogg and Dizzle—creating a more structured approach while maintaining the anything-goes festival atmosphere.
The promotional copy described it perfectly: "A City's own take on the fields and tents format of the events that dominate the summer, each helmed by a different club night." This wasn't just Superfly throwing four parties; this was a curated experience where each night had its own identity, its own aesthetic, its own musical mission.
Thursday, April 1st, 2010: SONiDO Presents - The House Music Don
The festival kicked off with SONiDO presenting one of UK house music's genuine heavyweights: Nic Fanciulli. This was a statement booking, an opening night designed to show that 2010 wasn't going to be 2009 part two—this was going to be bigger, more focused, more refined.
Nic Fanciulli's story was the stuff of legend. His rapid rise from wide-eyed club kid in Maidstone to internationally revered superstar felt almost cinematic. By 2010, Fanciulli was at his peak, regularly smashing festivals like Space Ibiza, Fabric, and Ministry of Sound, while his Saved Records label had become synonymous with quality house and techno.
What made Fanciulli special was his ability to read a room, to build a proper journey from opening track to closing anthem. His productions and remixes—for everyone from Underworld to Kylie Minogue—showed his versatility, but it was his DJing that had made him a star. Cosmopolitan house and techno, delivered with technical precision and genuine passion, building through subtle shifts in energy rather than obvious peaks and troughs. This was grown-up house music, sophisticated without being snobbish, accessible without being obvious.
His mix compilations for Ministry of Sound, Renaissance, and Global Underground had cemented his reputation as a tastemaker, someone who understood house music's past while pushing toward its future. Having him return to Superfly (he'd played before) reflected the huge mutual respect between artist and venue—Fanciulli could have played anywhere in the world, but he chose to come back to Leicester.
Support came from Ben Gomori, editor of Data Transmission and a DJ whose explosive blend of house and techno had won fans at Matter, We Love… Space, and parties across the UK. Gomori represented the new generation of DJ-journalists, people who wrote about the scene by day and rocked it by night, bringing an insider's knowledge and genuine passion to the booth.
Friday, April 2nd, 2010: Formation and Filthy Beats - The Breaks and Bass Takeover
Night two delivered a complete departure from four-to-the-floor house beats. Formation and Filthy Beats took control, bringing three absolute titans of breaks and drum and bass to Leicester for what became one of the most talked-about nights in the festival's history.
Krafty Kuts, the Brighton-based breaks bombardier, headlined with his legendary party-rocking skills. One of the seminal and epoch-breaking pioneers in the breakbeat scene, the Finger Lickin' producer had been at the forefront of the breaks revival since the mid-90s. Tracks like "Tricka Technology" had become anthems, while his mix compilations and DJ sets had helped define what British breaks could be.
What made Krafty special was his dedication to the craft. At a time when many DJs had moved to digital, Krafty remained committed to vinyl, to the physical connection between DJ and record. His sets were masterclasses in technical precision—double drops, quick cuts, juggling, all delivered with a smile and an infectious energy that proved dance music should be fun as well as innovative. He remained as fresh and exciting as DJs half his age, a true legend who'd never stopped pushing, never stopped learning, never stopped caring about the music.
Then came Goldie. Even typing his name carries weight. Clifford Joseph Price MBE—Goldie—wasn't just a DJ or producer. He was a cultural icon, a genuine pioneer who'd helped birth jungle and drum and bass from the ashes of hardcore and rave, whose Metalheadz label had become the standard against which all other drum and bass imprints were measured.
By 2010, Goldie had released "Timeless" (widely considered one of the greatest electronic albums ever made), launched successful careers in acting and reality TV, collaborated with everyone from David Bowie to Björk, and remained the original rudeboy in drum and bass circles. His sets were fierce, uncompromising expositions of the amen break in its rowdiest settings, moving from jungle's roots through jump-up to the cutting edge of neurofunk and back again.
What made Goldie special was his authenticity. He'd lived the scene, experienced its birth, helped shape its evolution, and remained genuinely committed to pushing it forward. When Goldie played, you weren't just hearing a DJ set—you were experiencing drum and bass history from someone who'd helped write it.
Adding to the turntablist firepower was DJ Switch, a two-time World DMC Battle for Supremacy Champion. Switch's mesmerizing deck skills had entranced clubs worldwide, his technical precision and creative flair making him one of the most respected turntablists on the planet. His Superfly debut was an incredibly exciting proposition—this was someone who could cut, scratch, juggle, and beat-juggle with the best, bringing pure technical excellence to a night already stacked with talent.
The combination of Krafty's breaks mastery, Goldie's drum and bass royalty, and Switch's turntablist genius created a night that catered to every facet of bass music culture. You could start with breaks, move to jungle, experience drum and bass at its most cutting-edge, and witness turntablism as art form, all in one night.
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010: We The People and Like Minded People - The Eclectic Experience
The third night saw two respected promoters collaborate to present a diverse lineup that showcased electronic music's cutting edge and its historical depth in equal measure.
Jaymo & Andy George brought their infectious energy and genre-spanning approach to Leicester. As Radio 1's young stars, they represented a new generation of DJs who'd grown up with the internet, who had access to music from every corner of the globe, who didn't feel constrained by genre boundaries or scene politics. Super-producer Kissy Sell Out had nominated them as his favorite new DJs as part of the BBC Introducing Tour—high praise from someone known for his technical skills and eclectic taste.
At the time of the festival, Jaymo & Andy George were among the youngest entrants ever to record an Essential Mix for Radio 1, that holy grail of DJ mix shows that had launched careers and defined eras. Their mixes moved effortlessly from house to electro to breaks, always energetic, always fresh, always looking forward. Their spate of remixes for labels like Bugged Out! and their own Material imprint, combined with huge club dates across the UK, had built them a massive and devoted following.
James Lavelle brought decades of experience and one of the most fascinating career trajectories in dance music. The UNKLE lynchpin had seen it all, done it all, and influenced countless others along the way. Lavelle had started Mo Wax Records as a teenager, unearthing a young DJ Shadow and releasing music that redefined what instrumental hip-hop could be. His UNKLE project—originally a collaboration with Shadow—had evolved into a vehicle for genre-defying experimentation.
Lavelle had remixed rock staples like The Doves and Ian Brown, transforming them into polymorphous genius. He'd crafted widescreen hip-hop that sounded like film soundtracks, grunge-tinted techno for dancefloors and post-club comedowns, and collaborations with everyone from Thom Yorke to Mark Lanegan. His UNKLE albums were events, massive productions that felt as much like art installations as dance music.
When James Lavelle DJ'd, you weren't just hearing a house or techno set—you were experiencing a curator's vision of what electronic music could be. His selections pulled from trip-hop, downtempo, techno, house, rock, and everything in between, creating journeys that took dancers through decades of underground culture.
Support came from Leeds party-purveyors Sick Robot, known for their fun-first approach to club nights, and Nick Correlli, former member of the MYNC Project who'd established himself as a formidable DJ in his own right. Correlli's experience with MYNC—producing house hits and remixes for major labels—brought a commercial sensibility that balanced the more experimental leanings of Lavelle.
Sunday, April 4th, 2010: Really Feel meets Dogg and Dizzle - The House Music Celebration
The closing party was all about house music in its most classical, soulful, funky form—the perfect way to draw proceedings to a close after four days of genre-hopping madness. Really Feel partnered with Dogg and Dizzle to present a lineup that celebrated house music's roots while showcasing its contemporary vitality.
But the real story of Sunday night wasn't just who played—it was who stole the show. D.Ramirez was the undisputed star, absolutely smashing it with his arsenal of sick tunes. Back in 2010, Ramirez was at his absolute peak, dropping tech-house bombs that had been causing serious damage on dancefloors worldwide.
Ramirez's productions on labels like Toolroom, Defected, and Knee Deep In Sound had established him as one of tech-house's most reliable hitmakers. Tracks like "Downpipe," "La Discotek," and his remixes for everyone from Bob Sinclar to Laidback Luke were certified dancefloor destroyers. His sound was tough without being aggressive, funky without being cheesy, accessible without being obvious—perfect peak-time tech-house that worked in Ibiza superclubs and underground basements equally well.
What made his Superfly set special was the energy, the track selection, the way he built the room from opening track to closing anthem. This wasn't just a competent DJ playing good records—this was a master craftsman at the height of his powers, demonstrating why he'd become one of house music's most booked artists. The crowd response was phenomenal, the vibe was perfect, and his performance became one of the festival's most talked-about moments.
Serbian funk maestro Gramaphonedzie (often stylized as Gramaphone Djie) brought his swing-sampling, funk-obsessed sound to Leicester. Fresh from his breakthrough hit "Why Don't You"—which reimagined a vintage swing track for modern dancefloors and became a genuine crossover hit—Gramaphonedzie represented a new generation of producers with one foot in house history and one in contemporary club culture.
His pedigree was impressive: graduation from the Dublin wing of the Red Bull Music Academy (that incubator of talent that had launched countless careers), releases on Gotta Keep Faith, Guesthouse, and Takuza, and a sound that pulled from disco, funk, jazz, and swing to create house music that felt timeless. Gramaphonedzie understood that the best house music comes from a place of genuine love for musical history, that innovation happens when you respect the past while pushing toward the future.
Joining them was legendary house master CJ Mackintosh, making a very rare Midlands appearance. Mackintosh's history stretched back to acid house's first wave, his production work with Champion Records and remixes for countless artists having established him as one of house music's most respected figures. His presence crowned what was simply a mammoth four days of partying—having someone of his stature and experience close the festival felt appropriate, connecting 2010's house music back to its roots in the late 80s and early 90s.
The 2010 festival had been a triumph, building on 2009's foundation and proving that Superfly City Festival wasn't a one-off or a lucky accident—it was a genuine institution, something Leicester could be proud of, something that could stand alongside any festival in the country.
2011: The Peak (March 31 - April 2)
Consolidation and Focus
By 2011, Superfly City Festival had evolved. Rather than four nights, the festival consolidated into a more focused three-night format running March 31st to April 2nd. This wasn't a step backward—it was refinement, recognizing that quality mattered more than quantity, that three absolutely killer nights could have more impact than four solid ones.
The booking budgets had clearly increased, allowing for genuine heavyweight talent across all three nights. This edition represented the festival at its commercial and creative peak, a moment when everything aligned—the venue was established, the audience was committed, the bookings were world-class, and Leicester's electronic music scene was thriving.
Thursday, March 31st, 2011: Mistajam and the Bass Revolution
The festival opened with a statement, bringing Nottingham's finest to Leicester for a night of bass-heavy, genre-defying electronic music. Mistajam (now MistaJam, though he was still using the original spelling in 2011) headlined, and by this point in his career, he'd already progressed from 1Xtra to BBC Radio One, his Mixtape show having become essential listening for anyone plugged into UK bass music.
What made Mistajam special was his refusal to be pigeonholed. His genre-defying style prized fat basslines and melodies above genre restrictions, moving effortlessly from dubstep to house to grime to UK funky and back again, often within the same mix. He embodied the block party ideals that pioneered hip-hop—the idea that a good DJ plays good music, regardless of tempo or genre, that the only rule is to keep the crowd moving and smiling.
By 2011, Mistajam had become synonymous with the UK's bass music explosion. He'd championed dubstep before it went mainstream, supported UK funky when it was still underground, played house and techno alongside grime and hip-hop, always with impeccable taste and genuine enthusiasm. His presence at Superfly felt right—this was a DJ who got it, who understood that electronic music was about community and connection, not exclusivity and snobbery.
Lollipop hosted the night, bringing their party-first aesthetic to proceedings. Support came from Snowbombing's Marc Roberts (Marc had become a regular fixture by this point, his ability to read a room and deliver exactly what was needed making him invaluable), Jon 1st (a fixture in Leicester's underground scene and later a key player in the city's house music resurgence), Nathan Griffin, and OPD, ensuring local talent had their moment alongside the national names.
Friday, April 1st, 2011: The Heavyweight Collision
The second night saw three respected brands unite for what many consider the strongest single night in Superfly City Festival history. SONiDO, Formation, and Filthy Beats collaborated for a rip-roaring ensemble that showcased electronic music's incredible diversity—from liquid drum and bass to underground house to experimental electronica.
London Elektricity brought his drum and bass live show, and if you'd never experienced it, you had no idea what you were in for. Tony Colman's Hospital Records had become one of drum and bass's most consistent and respected labels, releasing everything from dancefloor destroyers to introspective liquid to experimental electronica. His London Elektricity project took all that musical knowledge and channeled it into a live band format.
This wasn't a DJ set—this was musicianship. Live bass, live guitar, live vocals from MC Wrec and others, all synchronized with electronic production and 170 BPM beats to create something that felt simultaneously organic and synthetic, human and machine. Tracks like "Just One Second (Apex Remix)" and "Different Drum" became anthems, their jazz-infused liquid funk proving that drum and bass could have soul, melody, and sophistication without losing its dancefloor impact.
The live show elevated everything. Watching musicians recreate these complex productions in real-time, seeing the interplay between band and electronic elements, feeling the energy of a proper performance rather than just a DJ set—it was transcendent. London Elektricity represented drum and bass at its most ambitious and musical, and his Superfly performance became one of those "you had to be there" moments.
Maya Jane Coles represented underground house music's rising stars, though "rising" didn't do her justice by 2011. Her deep, bass-driven productions and impeccable track selection were earning her respect from the world's most discerning DJs and dancers. Coles had emerged from the UK underground with a sound that felt both classic and contemporary—deep house that respected the genre's Detroit and Chicago roots while incorporating contemporary production techniques and a distinctly British sensibility.
Her productions on labels like Real Tone, Mobilee, and her own I/AM/ME showcased her skills as both producer and selector. Tracks like "What They Say" would soon become anthems, but in early 2011, she was still building, still developing, still proving herself. Having her at Superfly showed the festival's continued commitment to spotting talent on the rise—within 18 months, Maya Jane would be headlining major festivals worldwide and topping DJ polls. Catching her at Superfly in 2011 was like seeing Nic Fanciulli in 2004 or Maya Rudolph before she became a household name—you were witnessing someone on the cusp of genuine stardom.
SBTRKT, dance music's masked genius, brought his genre-blurring fusion of UK garage, dubstep, and soulful electronica—a sound that was capturing imaginations far beyond the underground. Aaron Jerome's decision to perform anonymously, hidden behind an African mask, focused attention entirely on the music, creating an air of mystery that made his performances feel special, important, like you were witnessing something genuinely new.
His self-titled debut album, released just weeks before the festival, had established him as one of electronic music's most exciting new voices. Collaborations with Sampha and Jessie Ware had brought real songcraft to club music, while tracks like "Wildfire" managed to be both avant-garde and accessible, experimental and euphoric. His Superfly set showcased this range, moving from beatless ambience to bass-heavy bangers, always maintaining that distinctive SBTRKT aesthetic—organic sounds meeting electronic production, soul meeting bass weight, past meeting future.
The combination of London Elektricity's musical sophistication, Maya Jane Coles' deep house mastery, and SBTRKT's genre-defying innovation created a night that represented everything electronic music could be in 2011—diverse, exciting, sophisticated, and utterly committed to the dancefloor.
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011: The Technical Spectacular
The festival closed with a night designed to showcase the absolute pinnacle of DJing technique and skill. This was about celebrating DJing as craft, as art form, as something that required dedication, practice, and genuine talent to master.
James Zabiela made his Leicester debut, and by 2011, simply saying his name was enough to sell tickets. A one-man juggernaut of ferocious technical acumen, Zabiela had set the watermark for what was possible with CD DJing, using Pioneer's CDJ technology to create performances that felt more like live remixing than traditional DJing.
His intense trickery combined multiple decks, live looping, effects processing, harmonic mixing, and split-second timing to create performances that were simply breathtaking. Watching Zabiela work was like watching a master painter or virtuoso musician—every movement deliberate, every decision adding to the overall composition, every technical flourish serving the music rather than just showing off.
As Pioneer's poster boy and a genuine innovator who'd pushed their equipment to its boundaries, Zabiela represented the future of DJing. His acid house histrionics and progressive house sensibilities meant his sets moved from deep and introspective to peak-time euphoria, always building, always progressing, always surprising. His Leicester debut was one of those booking coups that elevated the entire festival—this was a DJ who could headline any club or festival in the world, and he chose to spend his Saturday night in Leicester.
In a separate room, technical superstar DJ Angelo delivered his turntablist skills, providing a completely different vibe for those seeking breaks and hip-hop energy. Angelo represented old-school hip-hop DJing at its finest—layering hip-hop acapellas over funk breaks and instrumentals, cutting classic soul songs with current house smashes, scratching and juggling with the kind of precision that takes years to develop.
Where Zabiela represented the future of DJing technology, Angelo represented its roots, the connection back to hip-hop's pioneers and the Bronx block parties where this whole culture began. His ability to rock a room with just records, turntables, and skill was a reminder that all the technology in the world means nothing without musical knowledge, taste, and the ability to read a crowd.
Meanwhile, in the main room alongside Zabiela, Leicester legend Collo held down the fort, representing the local scene with pride. Collo had been a fixture in Leicester's electronic music scene for years, his residencies and guest spots having earned him respect from both locals and visitors. Having him play alongside someone of Zabiela's stature showed Superfly's commitment to the local scene—this wasn't just about flying in stars, it was about celebrating Leicester's own talent.
Additional support came from Nick Correlli (returning from 2010) and Rebel Parker, rounding off three nights of high-octane partying that had showcased electronic music at its absolute best.
The 2011 festival had been the peak, the moment when everything aligned perfectly. The bookings were world-class, the crowds were massive, the atmosphere was electric, and Leicester felt like the center of the electronic music universe for one perfect weekend.
The Long Sleep: 2012-2022
When the Music Stopped
Following 2011's spectacular edition, Superfly City Festival went on hiatus, and it would be more than a decade before it returned. The reasons were complex and reflect broader challenges facing UK nightlife during this period.
The venue at 2 King Street underwent several transformations—from Superfly to XY to Buddha Bay to That's Amore—as owners and management changed, as Leicester's nightlife landscape shifted, as the economics of running nightclubs became increasingly challenging. The 2010s were brutal years for UK club culture. Rising rents, increasing licensing restrictions, noise complaints from new residential developments, changing drinking habits, and the shift of music discovery from clubs to streaming services all conspired to make the traditional nightclub model increasingly difficult.
Many of Leicester's legendary venues closed during this period. The club scene that had sustained Superfly City Festival was fragmenting, changing, struggling to adapt to new realities. It would have been easy for Superfly to disappear entirely, to become just another name in Leicester's rich musical history, another "remember when..." story told by aging ravers.
But the Superfly collective never gave up. Throughout the hiatus years, the core team kept the faith, kept throwing parties, kept building their reputation and their community. They found a new home at Après Lounge, establishing a Saturday night residency in The Garden of Dreams—Leicester's hidden clubbing gem that sits behind Bruxelles. They adapted to the new realities of club promotion, building their presence on social media, creating the Superfly Radio Show to stay connected with their audience, nurturing the next generation of DJs and dancers.
The hiatus wasn't silence—it was patience. It was the Superfly team understanding that you can't force culture, that sometimes you need to rebuild foundations before you can create monuments. They were playing the long game, and it would pay off.
2023: The Phoenix Rises - Part One (May 28th)
A Different Kind of Festival
After more than a decade, Superfly City Festival made its triumphant return on May 28th, 2023, at Après Lounge. But this wasn't a nostalgic recreation of 2009 or 2011—this was something new, something that reflected how both Leicester and dance music culture had evolved.
The reborn festival took a radically different approach from its previous incarnations. Rather than multiple nights with massive headliners, this was a single-day marathon running from 3:00pm to 3:00am—twelve hours of continuous house music in its many forms. Rather than chasing the biggest names in the scene, Superfly focused on showcasing the depth of talent in the UK house underground and celebrating the labels and collectives doing the real work of developing the culture.
This wasn't about booking power—it was about curation, about community, about proving that Leicester still had an appetite for proper house music delivered with love and attention to detail. The ticket prices were reasonable, the atmosphere was intimate, and the music policy was clear: if it's house and it's quality, it's welcome.
The lineup reflected this ethos perfectly:
MAKE A DANCE brought their distinctive brand of house music—sets that moved from deep and introspective to hands-in-the-air euphoria, always grounded in proper house music duff duffs and good stuff - house history in the making, but this event was never stuck in the past. Their approach epitomized the modern house scene: respect the roots, embrace the present, push toward the future.
RIO TASHAN represented the new wave of house talent emerging from the UK underground. Tashan's sound pulled from US house, chi-town bumpty-bump, UK garage, deep house, and disco, creating sets that felt simultaneously nostalgic and contemporary. This was a DJ comfortable moving between 115 BPM deep house and 128 BPM peak-time house, understanding that tempo changes and energy shifts are what make great DJ sets memorable.
But the real statement was the WE HAVE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS label showcase featuring DARK ARTS CLUB. This wasn't just booking DJs—this was celebrating a label, a collective, a community of artists united by shared aesthetic and mutual support. We Have Strength In Numbers had been quietly building a reputation as one of the UK's most interesting house labels, releasing music that respected the genre's history while pushing its boundaries.
Dark Arts Club's involvement brought an edge, a darkness, a willingness to go deeper and stranger than standard house fare. Their sets explored the shadows of house music—the late-night sounds, the introspective moments, the tracks that work at 4am when the lights are low and the crowd is locked in. This was house music for heads, for people who'd been to enough parties to know that the best moments often come from DJs willing to take risks, to trust their audience, to go places other DJs wouldn't dare.
The presence of the extended Superfly resident family throughout the day ensured continuity and connection. These were DJs who'd been holding it down week after week at the Saturday night residency, who knew the Après Lounge room intimately, who understood the Leicester crowd. Their sets provided the foundation, the context, the connective tissue that made the day flow seamlessly from afternoon warmup to late-night crescendo.
The ethos was stated clearly in all the promotional material: "We're starting things off on an intimate tip, and the aim is to grow the festival organically over time—good times, good people and of course, good music." This was patience, humility, and wisdom earned from experience. The team behind Superfly City Festival 2023 weren't trying to recreate 2011's glory—they were building something new, something sustainable, something that could last.
The programming offered everything house music heads could want: deep house for the heads, disco edits for the smilers, hands-in-the-air anthems for the peak-time moments, and hip-wiggling underground gems for those who knew. It was twelve hours of pure, uncut house music culture, and Leicester showed up ready to dance.
2023: Part Two (August 27th) - IT WAS BIG!
The Gloves Come Off
The success of the May edition created momentum, proving that Leicester's appetite for Superfly City Festival remained strong. But rather than rest on their laurels or stick with the intimate approach, the team made a bold decision: run a second festival in August, and this time, step it up significantly.
The August 27th edition, running from 4:00pm onwards at Après Lounge, wasn't about staying small or playing it safe. This was about showing what Superfly could do when the bookings budget opened up, when the confidence was high, when the demand was proven. IT WAS BIG!
The lineup demonstrated serious ambition:
KELLIE ALLEN brought her refined house sound and impeccable taste to Leicester. By 2023, Allen had established herself as one of the UK's most respected house DJs and producers, her releases on labels like Lost Records and her own Colour Series showcasing a deep understanding of house music's many forms. Allen represented the sophisticated end of the UK house scene—DJs who'd put in years of work, built genuine followings, and earned their stripes through consistent quality.
Her sets moved effortlessly from deep, bass-heavy house to more melodic peak-time sounds, always musical, always grounded in proper selection and mixing technique. Having her headline showed that Superfly was serious about bringing credible, respected talent to Leicester—Allen wasn't a commercial booking or a trendy name, she was the real deal, a DJ's DJ who commanded respect throughout the house music community.
PAIGE TOMLINSON delivered her powerful, energetic sets that had been tearing up dancefloors nationwide. Tomlinson's rise through the UK house scene had been meteoric—from local favorite to national booking within a few years, her combination of technical skill and intuitive crowd-reading making her a promoter's dream. Her sound was tougher, more driving than Allen's, sitting in that tech-house space where groove meets energy, where sophistication meets accessibility.
Tomlinson represented a new generation of female DJs reshaping house music culture. Her success wasn't about tokenism or gender quotas—it was about being undeniably good, about delivering sets that made promoters want to book her again, about building a reputation through quality rather than hype. Her presence on the lineup alongside Allen sent a clear message: the modern house scene is diverse, and talent knows no gender.
SELECTOR ARROOP ROY completed the headline trio, showcasing his eclectic selection skills and deep knowledge of house music's many flavors. Roy's approach was about digging, about finding the tracks others missed, about building sets from unexpected combinations and forgotten classics. The "Selector" tag wasn't just branding—it was an accurate description of his skill set.
Roy represented the crate-digger mentality applied to house music, the idea that the best DJs aren't just playing the latest Beatport top 10 but are constantly searching for hidden gems, re-edits, classics that still work, and tracks that surprise even seasoned dancers. His sets moved between tempos and styles with confidence, trusting that if the records are good and the mixing is tight, the crowd will follow wherever you lead them.
The Superfly resident family once again provided crucial support throughout the day, ensuring the festival maintained its distinctive character even as it scaled up. This balance—between bigger bookings and community roots, between ambition and authenticity—defined the August edition.
This wasn't just a repeat of May with bigger names—it was a statement. The intimate May edition had proved the concept and rebuilt trust with Leicester's house music community. The August edition showed what Superfly could do with that trust, how they could scale without losing soul, how they could bring bigger talent while maintaining the atmosphere that made the May edition special.
Running two festivals in one year was bold, perhaps even risky. It could have diluted the brand, exhausted the audience, or felt like cash-grabbing. Instead, it proved that Leicester's appetite for quality house music was deep and enduring, that Superfly City Festival could happen more than once a year if the quality remained high, that the decade-long hiatus hadn't been time lost but time invested in building something better.
IT WAS BIG! became the rallying cry, the slogan that captured how the August edition felt—bigger bookings, bigger crowd, bigger energy, bigger statement. Superfly was back, and they weren't just trying to survive—they were thriving.
2024: Consolidation and Growth (May 26th)
Finding the Rhythm
By 2024, Superfly City Festival had established its new rhythm—an annual event happening each May bank holiday, combining accessible intimacy with credible bookings, supporting the local scene while bringing international talent, maintaining its roots while embracing evolution.
The May 26th edition showed a festival confident in its identity, understanding its audience, and committed to delivering exactly what Leicester's house music heads needed: a full day of quality music from respected artists supported by the Superfly family.
The 2024 lineup represented careful curation across different flavors of house music:
MELON BOMB, Ibiza's most loved DJ collective, brought their explosive mix of underground house, disco, and the odd classic thrown in for good measure. Melon Bomb represented the fun, sun-soaked side of house music—the tracks that work in outdoor day parties, the disco edits that make people smile, the classics that everyone knows but still slap when played by DJs who understand context and timing.
Their collective approach meant the set could move in unexpected directions, different members bringing different flavors, creating a journey that felt spontaneous and alive. Melon Bomb understood that Ibiza's magic comes from combining musical sophistication with unpretentious fun, from respecting the music while never taking yourself too seriously. Their presence at Superfly brought that White Isle energy to Leicester, proof that you don't need to fly to the Mediterranean to experience world-class house music.
PATCHOULI BROTHERS, the Canadian duo jokingly billed as "the best Canadian export since peanut butter," delivered a musical masterclass of disco, house, and all kinds of soulful sounds. These were DJs who "remembered house before it was called house"—veterans who'd been there when disco edits and Balearic beats were shaping what would become house music, who understood the lineage from Studio 54 through Paradise Garage to modern house floors.
Their sets were history lessons delivered through impeccable selection—vintage disco rubbing against contemporary house, forgotten classics sitting next to fresh productions, all unified by groove, soul, and musical knowledge that comes from decades of dedication. Patchouli Brothers represented house music's lineage, the connection between generations, the idea that the best contemporary house music respects and builds upon everything that came before.
OLIVE F completed the headline trio as rising star and future hero. Her recent releases on Moxy Music and Seven Dials had been slaying dancefloors from Didsbury to Denmark, her tracks combining contemporary production techniques with classic house music soul. She'd been rocking everyone's favorite confetti fest Elrow as well as playing regular Defected shows—credentials that marked her as someone moving from underground favorite to mainstream recognition.
Olive F's inclusion alongside established names like Melon Bomb and veterans like Patchouli Brothers showed Superfly's continued commitment to spotting and supporting emerging talent. Her sets represented contemporary house music at its best—informed by history but not constrained by it, respectful of the past but not stuck there, accessible but never obvious. Jackin’ jumpin, can't stop, won't stop, indeed.
The Superfly resident family once again provided crucial support throughout the day, their presence ensuring that no matter how big the headliners got, the festival remained rooted in Leicester's community and culture. These residents—many of whom had been there since the 2009 beginnings or had joined during the Après Lounge years—were the festival's soul, the connecting thread between past and present.
"Together We Fly" had evolved from slogan to genuine ethos. This wasn't just about booking DJs and selling tickets—it was about building something sustainable, something community-focused, something that could continue for another decade and beyond. The 2024 festival consolidated the gains of 2023, proving that the return wasn't a one-off burst of nostalgia but the beginning of a new chapter.
2025: The Latest Chapter (May 2025)
Evolution Continues
The most recent edition of Superfly City Festival demonstrated how far the festival had come since its 2023 return while maintaining the core values that made it special. The 2025 lineup balanced established names with rising talent, different house music styles with a unified commitment to quality, and international bookings with local support.
MELVO BAPTISTE brought his sophisticated house sound, representing the deeper, more melodic end of contemporary house music. Baptiste's productions and DJ sets showcased the influence of jazz, soul, and funk on modern house, his tracks moving between downtempo grooves and peak-time moments with effortless musicality. His inclusion showed Superfly's commitment to presenting house music's full spectrum—not just the bangers, but also the introspective moments, the tracks that work at 6pm or 6am, the music that rewards close listening as much as enthusiastic dancing. He was gushing - “the nights evolved hugely since 2018”
ELLA KNIGHT showcased the new wave of female talent dominating house music. Knight's genre-spanning sets moved effortlessly between deep house, tech-house, and disco, her selections demonstrating musical knowledge and intuitive crowd-reading. Her rise through the UK scene had been built on consistent quality—regular residencies, strong productions, and an ability to deliver whether playing warm-up or peak-time slots. Knight represented the depth of talent in the modern UK house scene, proof that breakthrough moments come from years of dedicated work rather than overnight hype.
MONKI brought her BBC Radio 1 pedigree and impeccable taste, representing the lineage of great British selectors who understand how to build a proper dancefloor journey. Monki's Radio 1 residency had given her platform and reach, but it was her DJing skill and musical knowledge that kept her relevant and respected. Her sets pulled from house's many sub-genres—garage influences sitting next to techier sounds, disco edits mixing with contemporary productions—all delivered with technical precision and genuine enthusiasm.
Having someone with Monki's profile showed that Superfly City Festival had re-established itself as a destination worth playing, a festival that could attract DJs with national profiles to Leicester. Her presence connected the 2025 festival back to house music's broadcast history, to the tradition of Radio 1 DJs like Pete Tong and Annie Mac shaping UK club culture through their platform and selections.
JORDAN PEAK completed the lineup, adding his perspective on contemporary house music to a day that celebrated the genre in all its forms. Peak's sound represented the next generation's take on house—informed by everything from UK garage to tech-house, from minimal to disco, creating sets that felt both fresh and rooted in tradition. His inclusion ensured the festival maintained its commitment to spotting emerging talent, to giving opportunities to DJs on the rise, to being more than just a nostalgia trip or a greatest-hits package.
Once again, the Superfly resident family ensured continuity and connection throughout the day. Their sets provided the foundation, the warmups that set the tone, the between-headliner slots that maintained energy, and the afters that kept people dancing when the "main" acts had finished. These residents—dedicated, skilled, committed to the scene—were the unsung heroes who made Superfly City Festival more than just a concert, more than just a showcase. They made it a community event, a family gathering, a celebration of Leicester's house music culture.
The 2025 edition proved that Superfly City Festival had fully completed its journey from hiatus back to relevance. The crowds were strong, the atmosphere was electric, the music was on point, and Leicester once again had a festival it could be proud of. The ghost of 2011's peak had been exorcised—this wasn't about recreating the past or chasing former glories. This was about building a future, about proving that quality house music culture can thrive in provincial cities, about demonstrating that patience, community, and genuine love for the music matter more than hype or budget.
The Legacy: What It All Means
More Than Just Parties
Looking back across seventeen years (with a decade-long gap in the middle), Superfly City Festival's story tells us something important about electronic music culture, about Leicester, about persistence and community and the long game of building something that matters.
The festival's evolution mirrors broader changes in UK dance music culture. The ambitious, genre-spanning multi-night extravaganzas of 2009-2011 reflected a particular moment when dubstep was exploding, when drum and bass was entering its golden age, when breaks still had commercial viability, when house music competed with rather than dominated electronic music culture. You needed diverse lineups because dancers' tastes were diverse, because no single genre could sustain four nights of partying.
The focused, house-centric single-day marathons of 2023-2025 reflect today's reality: house music has won. Not commercially (though its commercial success is undeniable), but culturally. House has become the default electronic music language, the genre that can sustain an entire day because it contains multitudes—deep house, tech-house, disco house, minimal house, garage house, progressive house, and everything in between. The modern festival doesn't need multiple genres because house music itself is multiple genres.
But more interesting than genre evolution is what remained constant: quality bookings, respect for musical heritage, commitment to community, and genuine love for dance floor culture. Whether booking C2C and Skream in 2009, Nic Fanciulli and Goldie in 2010, James Zabiela and Maya Jane Coles in 2011, or Kellie Allen and Monki in 2023-2025, Superfly has always prioritized credibility over hype, substance over flash, long-term reputation over short-term profit.
The festival's willingness to go on hiatus rather than compromise quality speaks volumes. They could have continued through the 2010s, booking cheaper DJs, accepting lower standards, grinding out annual editions that gradually became less special, less important, less loved. Instead, they chose to stop, to wait, to rebuild foundations before attempting to recreate the magic. That patience, that long-term thinking, that willingness to admit "we can't do this properly right now" is rare in an industry often driven by short-term thinking and immediate returns.
The presence of local talent across all editions—Collo in 2009 and 2011, Jon 1st throughout, the Superfly resident family in every modern edition—shows commitment to community that goes beyond marketing speak. These weren't token local spots or begrudging opening slots; these were genuine attempts to celebrate Leicester's scene, to give opportunities to local DJs, to ensure the festival felt like it belonged to the city rather than just happening in the city.
The Name Game: From C2C to Monki
The progression of headliners tells the story of Superfly's evolution and the broader changes in electronic music culture:
2009 brought turntablists (C2C), dubstep innovators (Skream, Drop the Lime), drum and bass legends (DJ Marky), and breaks pioneers (Plump DJs)—a lineup that represented electronic music's diversity at the end of the 2000s.
2010 refined the approach with house music dons (Nic Fanciulli, D.Ramirez, Gramaphonedzie), breaks and bass legends (Krafty Kuts, Goldie), and eclectic visionaries (James Lavelle)—showing increased focus while maintaining diversity.
2011 reached for the stars with technical wizards (James Zabiela), rising talents who'd become superstars (Maya Jane Coles, SBTRKT), and genre-defining live performances (London Elektricity)—the festival at its commercial and creative peak.
2023-2025 prioritized community, credibility, and contemporary house music excellence (Kellie Allen, Paige Tomlinson, Olive F, Monki, Melvo Baptiste, Ella Knight)—a more focused approach that reflected both economic realities and cultural evolution.
Each era brought different strengths. The 2009-2011 festivals had bigger budgets, more ambition, and captured electronic music at a particular peak moment. The 2023-2025 festivals had deeper community connections, more sustainable models, and benefited from house music's cultural dominance. Neither approach was better or worse: they were appropriate for their times.
What Leicester Gained
Beyond the parties themselves, Superfly City Festival's legacy includes:
Proof of Concept: Provincial cities can sustain world-class electronic music culture. You don't need to be in London, Manchester, or Leeds to experience cutting-edge dance music. Local scenes matter, local promoters can succeed, and local audiences are sophisticated enough to appreciate quality when it's delivered with love.
Cultural Continuity: The festival connected generations of Leicester ravers. People who danced to Skream in 2009 brought their younger siblings or children to see Monki in 2025. The Superfly resident family provided continuity across the gap, ensuring knowledge and culture transferred between eras.
Economic Impact: Thousands of people spending money in Leicester bars, restaurants, hotels, and shops across festival weekends. Artists seeing Leicester as a destination worth playing, telling other artists, creating virtuous cycles of attention and opportunity.
Community Building: The festival created spaces where strangers became friends, where shared love of house music broke down social barriers, where Leicester felt connected and vital and culturally rich.
Inspiration: Countless local DJs, producers, and promoters were inspired by seeing world-class talent play their city, by witnessing what was possible, by understanding that Leicester could compete with anywhere when the programming was right and the community supported it.
The Human Element
Behind every festival edition were people making difficult decisions, taking financial risks, working ridiculous hours, and stressing over details most attendees never noticed. The Superfly team—whose names rarely appeared in promotional materials but whose work made everything possible—deserves recognition for their persistence and vision.
They navigated the challenges of 2009-2011 when budgets were tight and venues were struggling. They made the difficult decision to pause rather than compromise. They kept the flame alive through the 2010s when Leicester's club scene was fragmented and challenging. They built the Saturday residency that provided foundation for the festival's return. They took the risk of bringing it back in 2023 not knowing if anyone would care or show up. They doubled down with a second 2023 edition when the first succeeded. They've continued refining and improving with each subsequent year.
Their story—unglamorous, behind-the-scenes, full of small decisions and persistent effort—is as important as any headline DJ's. Festival culture depends on these unsung heroes, the promoters and venue owners and sound engineers and door staff and bar workers who make magic possible.
The Future
As this history is written in 2025, Superfly City Festival's future remains unwritten. The festival has survived one hiatus and returned stronger. The 2023-2025 editions proved the concept remains viable, the audience still exists, and Leicester's house music scene is thriving.
But challenges remain. The economic pressures that closed venues in the 2010s haven't disappeared. Streaming and social media continue changing how people discover and consume music. Younger generations have different expectations and behaviors around nightlife. Competition for entertainment spending is fiercer than ever.
Yet if the past sixteen years teach us anything, it's that persistence, quality, and genuine love for the culture matter more than temporary challenges. Superfly City Festival has proven it can adapt, evolve, and thrive across different eras and contexts. As long as there are people who care about house music and understand the magic of great parties, as long as Leicester supports its local scene, and as long as the Superfly team maintains their commitment to quality and community, the festival's future looks bright.
Conclusion: Together We Fly
From C2C's turntablist wizardry in 2009 to Monki's contemporary house mastery in 2025, from four-night marathons at 2 King Street to focused single-day events at Après Lounge, from the peak of 2011 to the patient rebuilding of 2023, Superfly City Festival has been a constant in Leicester's electronic music culture—even when it wasn't happening.
The festival's story is Leicester's story: resilient, working-class, unpretentious, proud. It's a story about what's possible when people care enough to persist, when communities support their local culture, when quality matters more than quick profits.
For everyone who danced to Skream's disco set in 2009, who witnessed D.Ramirez smashing it in 2010, who experienced James Zabiela's technical brilliance in 2011, who showed up for the nervous revival in May 2023, who celebrated IT WAS BIG! in August 2023, who's been there for every edition since—you are part of this story. You made it possible, you kept the faith, you proved that Leicester deserves world-class house music culture.
The motto "Together We Fly" isn't marketing speak. It's a promise and a philosophy. Alone, none of it happens—no DJs fly in, no venues open their doors, no festivals materialize from thin air. Together, everything's possible.
Here's to the next sixteen years. Here's to the DJs we haven't heard of yet who'll headline future editions. Here's to the local residents who'll become resident legends. Here's to Leicester's house music scene continuing to thrive.
Here's to patience, persistence, and the long game of building a house music culture that matters.
Together We Fly.
Always have. Always will.
