Hot Rocks Hosts the Bournemouth Soul and House Weekender

Bank Holiday weekends in Bournemouth always feel special, but this one marked a milestone for the town’s music scene.

From Friday 1st to Monday 4th May, Hot Rocks opened its doors as the central hub for the inaugural Bournemouth Soul and House Weekender (BSHW). Over four days, we welcomed more than 700 attendees, drawn together by world-class DJs, great food, and the kind of atmosphere that's hard to put into words but impossible to miss.

The Vision Behind the Weekender

The BSHW is the brainchild of Keith McNicol of Richmond Classics: a man who's been chasing the music since Caister in the early eighties and never quite stopped. Eventually, he decided Bournemouth deserved a weekender of its own.

In his own words...

The synergy of fashion and music has always been there. I've been going to various weekenders for decades, going back to the Caister days in the early 80s, through to various Butlins and Pontins venues across the country. I saw how those venues were run, having a central hub and running events in separate 'arenas' within the location. I knew we could easily do this in Bournemouth.

The next stage was to bring in the music impresario brothers of quality, Messrs Povey and Coomer, aka Bump N Hustle. My enthusiasm and passion were clear to see, and I was able to convince them to join me. The Bournemouth Soul and House Weekender was reborn.

Keith McNicol

Hot Rocks: The Natural Home

Hot Rocks has been on this seafront since 1997, and there are few better places in Bournemouth to bring people together. As the central hub for BSHW 2026, it was the go-to for tickets and information across the weekend. And between sets, guests could settle in for globally inspired food and cocktails on the terrace, with the beach doing its thing just beyond the railings.

The Weekend in Numbers

700 people. Four days. One very good idea.

The DJ line-up featured Andy Ward, Jon Coomer and Bob Povey (Bump N Hustle), Trevor Fung, Seamus Haji, Brandon Block and many more, with full support from the Vocal Booth Radio squad. The BSHW Instagram captured the mood perfectly afterwards when they posted, "We always knew it was gonna be special. We never expected THAT."

Neither did we. And we loved every second of it.