THE FERRET is 20!

2006-2026

"The Ferret is 20!" is a series of special events celebrating 20 years of The Ferret in Preston. Between May & August, we present a series of shows featuring some of our favourite artists from around the world - as well as grassroots artists from the across the North West & around the UK.

AND, thanks to public funding by Arts Council England, this series of shows will all be FREE ENTRY &/or very low-cost. Our aim is to encourage more people to experience world-class live music in the intimate setting of The Ferret.

We'll be asking you to tell a friend, invite someone who has never been to The Ferret, invite someone who loves live music but hasn't been to a gig in yonks, maybe invite someone who doesn't even realise what's right on their doorstep.

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The Ferret, Beats of Rage & elektronisch present:

TFI20! ELECTRONIC MUSIC ALL-DAYER

ft JAMES LAVELLE

(Legendary Producer // Unkle // Mo'Wax)

Sat 15th August

3pm - late

The Ferret, Preston

Another all-day affair. Live music & DJs all day and night.

DJ Line-Up:

JAMES LAVELLE (Unkle // Mo'Wax)

T.F.Wizard (Beats of Rage // The Ferret)

+ many more TBA

Live Music Line-Up:

Live Acts TBC - local grassroots artists are encouraged to apply for support slots.

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FIRST 50 TICKETS ARE COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE!

Then just £5 per ticket (while stocks last).

Claim your free tickets at theferret.live/tfi20

Capacity is limited, so grab a ticket now to guarantee entry. PLEASE only take as many tickets as you need - if you need to return any tickets, please let us know so other Ferret Friends can use them.

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

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>>> James Lavelle (Unkle // Mo'Wax):

Legendary producer, influential tastemaker and musical curator, best known for his work with UNKLE and his iconic label MoWax.

For the past 30 years, James Lavelle has been at the forefront of global club culture. His DJ history reads less like a tour schedule and more like a map of modern club culture itself - from the foundational Mo'Wax "Headz" parties and early residencies at Blue Note and Bar Rumba, through to repeated fixtures at Fabric London, Ministry of Sound and global institutions like Space Ibiza, to festival mainstays including Coachella, Glastonbury Festival and Sonar Festival.

Spanning decades and continents his sets have moved fluidly between underground basements, art spaces, after-hours rooms and large-scale festival stages. That breadth reflects Lavelle's role not just as a DJ but as a cultural conduit: a selector whose sets draw from hip hop, electronica, post-punk, psych and beyond, shaped by the same curatorial instinct that saw him invited to programme Meltdown Festival, and documented in the acclaimed film The Man from Mo'Wax. It's this rare combination - deep-rooted club credibility, global reach, and a lifelong commitment to musical discovery - that places Lavelle in a lineage of DJs whose influence extends far beyond the booth.

Lavelle's ability to craft genre-spanning mixes translated from to the club to the studio, where he created contributions to several iconic mix series. After releasing mixes for Tribal Gathering and Cream, he produced the inaugural FABRICLIVE CD, and has gone on to release four critically acclaimed mixes for Global Underground, the most recent of which went to the top of the Electronic charts on iTunes. Pete Tong lauded him as 'one of the most gifted minds in music' when introducing his 'mind blowing' Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1.

He also produces albums under his UNKLE moniker, working with a myriad cast of musical collaborators including Thom Yorke, Michael Kiwanuka, Mark Lanegan, Massive Attack, Brian Eno and Josh Homme.

Lavelle continues to tour as a DJ, playing a major role in Fabric's 20th anniversary celebrations, curating two nights at the club and playing alongside Laurent Garnier. He also reunited with Gilles Peterson for a 'That's How It Is' reunion show at We Out Here festival.

Musically, his sets move between the big club records people actually want to hear right now and a more personal selection of leftfield cuts, with UNKLE remixes and reworks threaded through. It's all done in a way that feels natural - reading the room, shifting gears, and letting things unfold.

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>>> T.F.Wizard (Beats of Rage // The Ferret):

Expect an eclectic/eccentric maelstrom of mangled guitars and odd-ball dance music from the linchpin of legendary Preston clubnight «Beats of Rage».

+ many more TBA:

Local grassroots artists are encouraged to apply for support slots. Please listen to the acts on the bill and put yourselves forward for relevant shows only. Applications can be made via our Apply To Play form which you can find on The Ferret website.

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The Ferret, Beats of Rage & elektronisch present:

TFI20! ELECTRONIC MUSIC ALL-DAYER

ft JAMES LAVELLE (Unkle // Mo'Wax)

Sat 15th August

3pm - late

The Ferret, Prest

Description supplied by the event organiser.