Jona Koekelcoren is Community & Customer Success Manager at BeatSwitch. Aside from this role he also dedicates his time to coaching artists, co-organising festivals and club shows, and was also assistant label manager at Waste My Records during past years. His passion lies where music, marketing, technology and project management intersect. We’ve already covered the other extreme: what to do when your festival is facing a heat wave. Now, at the peak of summer, storms are showing up and wreaking havoc for quite a few festivals. Some of them made it through (more or less), but some weren’t up to…
Author: Festival Insights
SPAIN: Jewish groups have criticised Rototom Sunsplash for cancelling the appearance of Jewish-American singer Matisyahu because he refused to disclose his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Matisyahu, a reggae singer, rapper, and frontman of the eponymous alternative rock band, had been due to appear at the Rototom Sunsplash in Benicàssim, Spain, on 22 August. Born in Pennsylvania, Matisyahu said he did not insert politics into his music, and that he wanted it to be accessible to all, writing on his Facebook page “The festival kept insisting that I clarify my personal views; which felt like clear pressure to agree with…
BELGIUM: Parcify and Pukkelpop launched a collaborative initiative onsite at the festival this year, in which the former’s team were able to trace festivalgoers and return lost valuables. Pukkelpop’s website provided the following rundown of how the initiative worked: STEP 1 Contact @Parcify through Facebook or Twitter by using the hashtag #PKP15LOST. The Parcify team will contact you via a private message or tweet. STEP 2 Download de Parcify app and log in with your Facebook-account. Once the lost object has been recovered, you’ll be notified via the app. The Parcify Team will hand you the object personally on the…
USA: Originally known as Fan Fair, a meet-and-greet event for local music fans in Nashville, the CMA Music Festival has evolved into major annual party with attendees from all 50 states and upwards of 20 foreign countries. Every night, the big stars shine in major concerts at the newly renamed Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL Tennessee Titans. During daylight hours, free music abounds, with a combination of public stages spreading from the grassy shore of the Cumberland River and across downtown Nashville’s parks, plazas, and streets. The Nashville office of Sound Image is one of the primary audio suppliers…
UK: Bloodstock Open Air is one big family reunion in many respects, and Showsec help to ‘paint the picture’ of such a vibrant community spirit. The roaring success of this year’s event in the picturesque Derbyshire setting of Catton Park portrayed once again why Bloodstock continues to enhance its reputation for being the United Kingdom’s largest dedicated heavy metal festival. Founded and organised by the Gregory family, it features a metal family of 15,000 fans who flock to Catton Park each year and a Showsec family of staff who have become familiar faces at the festival due to their enjoyment…
USA: The popular Beachbody health and fitness brand held its most important coach event of the year from July 16 – 19 in Nashville, and Elation gear was there in force on what is, perhaps surprisingly, production company Visions Lighting’s biggest job of the year. “For us it’s bigger than EDC, Coachella, or any of the other festivals we do throughout the year,” said Todd Roberts, President of Southern California-based Visions Lighting, who has been involved with Team Beachbody Coach Summit since its inception. “It started in a small ballroom and has grown every year. Last year there were 8,000…
USA: The largest festival in North America, EDC brings 140,000+ attendees for each of its three nights at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The electronic dance music has no shortage of exciting visuals, but none more spectacular than the 75 High End Systems Shapeshifter automated luminaires that framed the main stage entryway arches. Lighting designer Andrew Gumper and production company AG Production Services were in charge of creating and illuminating the structure. Andrew commented: “The production runs from 7 pm to 6 am, so darkness is key and lighting is everything. We were in charge of a few different areas,…
USA: Dating back to 1980, when legendary names like BB King, Muddy Waters, Fats Domino, and John Lee Hooker were among headliners at the inaugural Pistoia Blues festival in Tuscany, this remains one of the most durable annual events in Europe. Supported by a Martin Audio PA, the 2015 edition again took place in the beautiful city’s Piazza Duomo over the course of nine evenings (between July 1-24) — organised by the Associazione Blues in conjunction with the Comune di Pistoia, (City of Pistoia). Today, the event has diversified far from its authentic blues roots, and headliners this year…
GERMANY: GLP’s latest X4 generation of premium LED fixtures made its festival debut at the pre-eminent Coachella Festival in Indio, California, recently — where over two weekends the Sahara Tent hosted an all-star line-up of DJs. Provided by Volt Lites, X4 Bar 20 battens, the large format X4 XL and original X4 moving head danced in perfect sync for the main EDM acts, headed by David Guetta — thanks to an inspired design by Volt Lites’ Matt Shimamoto. Drawing inventory from PRG (as well as his own hire fleet) Shimamoto made an inspired Coachella ‘debut’ — to the delight of…
SOUTH KOREA: Sound City has announced that it has won a grant to expand on its overseas business and live music activity under the International Showcasing Scheme funded by Arts Council England and The British Council. Sound City will be working with Zandari Festival in Seoul to develop the international business content for their conference as well as offering funding for artists and bands from England to take part in the showcase festival. Zandari takes place every October and forms the gateway to the exciting and rapidly developing Korean music market. It is the biggest and most important city centre…