Mike Chapman is a top meteorologist for the National Center for Atmospheric Research. With several degrees in the Atmospheric Sciences, it’s safe to say weather is a passion for Mike. Recently, he has co-founded Perfect Storm, a weather app designed specifically to help people in live event production. Together with Rich Barr, experience production manager for touring concerts, Perfect Storm hopes to make entertainment weather safety an accessible priority. Using first-hand experience from both production and weather forecasting, the team is devoted to customising individual programs for each client’s needs. And now, they have a cool new phone app. When…
Author: Festival Insights
Founded in 1990 by current Chairman Steve Tuck, Blackout has developed into the event industry’s largest and most renowned supplier of drapes, rigging and other related products. Its services range from straight forward dry-hire to full installations and bespoke pieces, and last year the company worked with festivals such as We are FSTVL, Radio 1’s Big Weekend, The National Student Drama Festival, and more. Insights recently spoke with Blackout Director Kevin Monks about supporting the next generation of riggers, Blackout’s work with various festivals across the UK, the details of its much-celebrated Kabuki drop, and more. Festival Insights: Last year,…
UK: EventsTag, a social marketing business used by brands such as O2 and Southern Comfort, has launched Social Gaming from EventsTag, an extension to its existing live display technology for major events. The new service offers marketers the opportunity to ‘gamify’ engagement with customers at live events to guarantee greater brand exposure and a richer customer relationship. The EventsTag platform works on behalf of big brands to collect content from live posts on social media, including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. It utilises user-generated content to execute fun, visual games displayed on screens at events. Games can range from those at…
UK: The Great Escape has announced that is has teamed up with Music Export Latvia and The Lithuanian Music Business Association as its lead international partners for 2016, bringing a plethora of Baltic talent to Brighton this May. The festival has also announced its newfound partnership with Raindance Film Festival, with the two set to unite in a celebration new music and new film. Highlights from the Baltic music partnerships include Lithuania’s Without Letters and Alina Orlova, plus Latvia’s Carnival Youth and Howling Owl. Vaidas Stackevičius, director of Lithuanian Music Business Associatio, said: “The Great Escape caught us by surprise…
UK: The University of Cambridge Science Festival has teamed up with a number of performers to present a selection of creative events as part of this year’s festival, which ends on March 20. The first event at Cambridge Junction is A Piece of Time: Moving Pendulums & Synchronizing Metronomes, which will see Dutch performance maker Nick Steur use 32 metronomes and a pendulum set within a giant steel pyramid to create a unique theatrical installation on March 15 & 16. March 19 sees the return of the hugely popular Tangram Theatre to Cambridge with the third and final show in…
UK: Taking place from July 22 – 24 at Cheshire’s Jodrell Bank Observatory, bluedot is a new, space themed, three-day festival of artists, speakers, scientists and performers. Heading the music bill will be a UK festival exclusive performance from Jean-Michel Jarre, alongside fellow headlines Caribou and Underworld. Live artists featured in the undercard are Everything Everything, Public Service Broadcasting, Mercury Rev, Steve Mason, 65daysofstatic, British Sea Power, and Moon Duo. Announced for the late-night electronic offerings are Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve, Ben UFO and DJ Yoda, with many more still to be announced. Recording an episode at the festival is…
NETHERLANDS: North Sea Jazz – the largest indoor festival in the world – has confirmed more artists for its 2016 edition, set to take place in Rotterdam from July 8 – 10. First up is LA beat scene progenitor and Brainfeeder Records founder Flying Lotus, who is performing as a European festival exclusive alongside label-mates Kamasi Washington and 2016 Grammy-winner Thundercat. Dr. Dre’s latest apprentice Anderson .Paak has also been confirmed, as well as the legendary hip-hop group The Roots. These latest additions join Level 42, Simply Red, Gregory Porter, Jill Scott, Buddy Guy, Diana Krall, Snarky Puppy, Steps Ahead…
Callum Hogg is Safeguarding and Accessibility Manager at Wild Rumpus, which produces the multi-award winning Just So Festival and leads the Northern Festivals Network. He also works with festivals, events and venues as All In Access, removing barriers to access. Wild Rumpus is proud to take a pioneering and exemplary approach to accessibility. We collaborate closely with leading music charity Attitude Is Everything to make our events more accessible for deaf and disabled audiences and are thrilled to have been awarded Silver on their Charter of Best Practice as well as being the first festival to sign up to their…
UK: The London-based charity Friends of Finsbury Park has issued a formal objection to Wireless Festival’s 2016 application. The letter presented by FOFP alleges that last year’s Wireless – which attracted 50,000 attendees from July 3 – 5 – was responsible for serious safety issues, excessive noise, severe damage to the park, antisocial behaviour and criminality. In addition to the formal objection, FOFP has also forwarded Haringey Council a letter from London solicitor Susan Ring, who specialises in environmental and public law. On behalf of the Friends of Finsbury Park, Ring asserts that Wireless is acting unlawfully as the size…
USA: On March 11, President of the United States Barack Obama delivered a keynote speech at South By South West Interactive, the festival’s emerging technology programme. In conversation with Editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, Evan Smith, Obama discussed 21st century civic engagement and encouraged attendees to collectively harness new technologies to help solve the nation’s most imposing threats. Entering to a standing ovation, this marks the first time a sitting POTUS has participated in SxSW. Michelle Obama is also set to deliver a conference session on March 16 for the festival’s music component. It has been revealed that the panel…