The Soul Express

The Soul Express is more of an event than a venue. The brainchild of local lad Joe Kirby, the Soul Express aims to provide soul fans with the very best in rare and underplayed, crossover, modern and northern soul. Joe himself spins the tunes, assisted by long-time friend Pete Ankers and many guest DJs.

The event was first held at the Rendezvous Lounge, a small venue tucked away on Factory Road in Hinckley. Very well appointed, the room has a capacity of 120 people.

Initially, the event featured local DJs such as Paul Shaw, Les Norman, Col Chamberlain and Ady Cope, but soon attacted high-calibre DJs such as Martin Dixon, Simon Hunt, Catriona Jakeman, Panch, Malcolm Greenslade, Kim Freeman Smith, John Parker, Tom Page, Nat Nichols and Lee Fletcher. The Soul Express event was held at the Rendezvous Lounge roughly every three months until the end of 2022.

In 2023, the Soul Express relocated it's regular three-monthly event to the Wykin Social Club, already a well-known northern soul venue in Hinckley. More guest DJs were added to the roster, including Hammie, Sam Evans, Luci Jones, Neil Rushton, Gaye Kidson and Andy Martin.

In addition to the regular three-monthly events, an annual all-dayer is held in the summer at The Green Rooms.

For more info on Soul Express events, Joe posts regular event details in Soul Source.