Supporting local businesses and bringing the party to all ages as Kingswinford DJ and events organiser plans for big year
It's set to be a busy year for a DJ who has built an events company and runs his own festival within the grounds of an historic hall.
Stuart Ojelay has been putting on shows and running nightlife events for 19 years under Word of Mouth events, putting together parties with bespoke House Music soundtracks and, over the years, expanding into other events.
The DJ, who comes from Kingswinford, said he had gone from working behind the bars of Wolverhampton to bringing the party to them and said his experiences working for Ministry of Sound had helped him to learn how to put an event together
Mr Ojelay said 2026 was looking to be one of his biggest years yet, including the Word of Mouth Prosecco and Club Classics Festival on August 1 at Himley Hall, and spoke about the ethos of Word of Mouth.
He said: "We've got events coming up in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury and Sutton Coldfield, all of which have already sold out, and we've got people coming from all over the country to be part of these events.
"The other bit as well is that we've really diversified, as well as sticking to our guns, is by believing in ourselves and our own vibe, such as putting in a few things like no phones on the dance floor, a smart dress code and also just using our resident DJs that have been with us for years and years.
"We've built a close knit team with people like Dan Roberts and James Garrett, who have been with us since day one, and rather that investing in big name DJs and people like that, we've kept to what I like to call a comfort blanket of music."
Mr Ojelay said the aim was to provide a full festival event for people, while also keeping the ticket prices affordable, and spoke about being able to put on events like the festival at Himley and other smaller events.
He said: "For Himley, we're proud to have signed a contract which means that we're the exclusive dance event there for the next two years, with one big dance event and a new idea of six small and family-friendly events across the school holidays this year.
"Where we've gone differently is that we've noticed that there are people aged 30 and older who don't want to stay out until late, but still want to party hard, so we hit on that trend with Over 30s Day clubs and put our own spin on it.
"The other fest at Himley is going to be one where we get people to come from all over the country to celebrate the Black Country."
Mr Ojelay said he was also passionate about everything involved with running the festivals coming from the local area, which included security, technicians, bar staff and bar stock and the DJs, as it helped to support the local economy.
He also praised the team around him, saying that while he had an immense feeling of pride in the success Word of Mouth had had, it would be nothing without the team around him.
He said: "It means the world to me and I know I couldn't do it without the team, as while it starts with me, that can be both a good and a bad thing, such as performing in front of zero people, so I have learned to appreciate it all.
"When you are selling out in a day and people are starting to believe in what we do and every ticket sold is to someone who buys our tracks or listens to the podcast, it's wonderful and I'll never take it for granted.
"We've all worked so hard to get here."
