Sunderland promoters' dreams come true as they land big Ibiza gig

“When we started this club night, our goal was to take it to Ibiza - and we’ve done it,” say two Sunderland promoters who are taking their event from Wearside to the White Isle.

Back To The Groove was started by friends Jude Rain and Bradley Chisholm who connected through their shared love of house music.

Wanting to bring something a bit different to the nightlife scene in Sunderland and beyond, they established the club night which hosts resident DJs as well as guest artists.

It’s gone on to host a number of sell-out nights in clubs such as Elysium in Sunderland and Digital in Newcastle.

Now, the promoters’ night has been picked up by a club in Ibiza and the pair will be taking the night international with a show in both Croatia and Ibiza this summer.

“Ibiza is such a big one for us,” said Jude who’s from Redhouse. “We had 600 people in our hometown of Sunderland for the Elysium night. Since then, every one of our nights in Newcastle has sold out and we’ve been getting great feedback.

“Then we got a message on Instagram from the owner of a nightclub in Ibiza called Sundara. He asked for our number and said he wanted to bring the night to Ibiza.

“He rang me about half ten at night and I don’t think I slept all night after that, but it was worth it. The club is in the heart of San Antonio in the party capital of the world - so to be taking our night there is huge.

“When we started this night, the place we really wanted to be was Ibiza.”

He added: “I think the owner of the club heard about us through other promoters and he said he loved how we market the events, which is one of the reasons he asked us.

“We’re actually one of the only English brands at that club this season as the rest are Spanish.”

As well as being founded and ran by two Sunderland promoters, Back to the Groove features a host of North East DJs.

For the Sundara night on September 28, the line up is:

Headline: Beyond limits

Co-headline: Owen Marshall b2b Theo jelly

Doddsy

Dan Hanley

Ellis Crawford

Zach Sharpe

Thomas Wilko

Charlie fisher

The lads are also running a competition on their Instagram page for an up and coming DJ to join the lineup in Ibiza.

Before they hit Ibiza, Back to the Groove will make its international debut in Croatia as part of Split presents on August 10.

Again, the pair were approached after their club night caught the attention of other promoters.

“Going international in Croatia in our first year was already a dream come true - then we got a call about Ibiza,” said the friends, who both work in sales.

Jude added: “The timing of the Ibiza night works out well because there’s another North East-founded club night happening the night before from Bass Jamz at 528. They’re a much bigger night than us, but it’s great to have so much North East talent in Ibiza and it means people can go to both.”

*Tickets for Back to the Groove at Sundara, Ibiza, on September 28 go live tonight at https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Ibiza/Sundara-Ibiza/Back-To-The-Groove-Ibiza/42503283/