UK: An abundance of top Scottish musical talent, including NME magazine’s artist to watch in 2015, is set to perform at the Inverness incarnation of North Hop this summer, as the craft beer festival returns to the city for a second year. Last year’s festival welcomed over 800 festivalgoers, with some travelling from as far as Canada and Norway to get a taste of the finest Scottish produce. The two-day festival, set to take place at Eden Court in Inverness from August 21 – 22, will see NME magazine’s artist to watch in 2015 – Neon Waltz – headline the…
Author: Festival Insights
POLAND: Open’er Festival has announced the nine designers that will form the roster for this year’s Fashion Stage. The bill – formed in association with Glamour magazine and Showroom – comprises students, fashion TV show finalists, and industry veterans such as P-iFashion and its creative director Arkadius. Also featured on the line-up are Project Runway finalist Patryk Wojciechowski, contemporary swimsuit designers Body Maps, Maciej Trzmiel, Szpila, Rekh & Datta, Kas Kryst, Annomalia, and Joanna Paradecka. For more information, check out Open’er Festival’s official website. Header photo credit: Tomek Kaminski
UK: On June 16, UK Music – the campaigning and lobbying group for the live and recorded music industries – published ‘Wish You Were Here’, a report elucidating the economic impact of ‘music tourism’ and festivals on the UK. A few days prior, representatives for the festival industry wrote to the Government’s Business Rates Review, expressing concern that the Valuations Office Agency – which advises on the taxable value of property – has been suggesting business rates be applied to festival sites for the first time. The submission, in part, stated: “The festival and events industry has significant concerns about…
Mark Laurie is the Director of NCASS and has been with the business for six years. On a day-to-day basis he advises caterers, event organisers and street food traders on all areas of running businesses and events legally and safely. He also sits on a number of government panels, including the Business Advisory Group for the Food Standards Agency. At present he is spearheading the development of the NCASS Connect programme – working with EHOs and event organisers to create a food hygiene passport for businesses across the UK. Mark is a massive foodie and has a personal interest in…
Ben Merrington and Jon Finch co-founded Grillstock in 2010, in the hopes of celebrating American BBQ and fostering a sense of togetherness further engendered by a backdrop of feel-good music. The initial iteration took place in the restaurateurs’ home city of Bristol, but has since then brought meat, music and mayhem to Manchester and now London. Giving equal emphasis to its food, music and inclusive ethos provided Grillstock with one of the most laid-back atmospheres I’ve ever experienced at a mass cultural gathering. Unlike certain other festivals I’ve attended, the only sore jaws at Grillstock came courtesy of the impossible…
UK: UK Music – a campaigning and lobbying group for the recorded and live music industries – had published Wish You Were Here 2015 – an economic study that reveals the vast contribution of music tourism to the UK economy. According to the report, which can be downloaded here, music tourism numbers in the UK increased by 34% between 2011 and 2014, with 9.5 million people travelling to music events in 2014. These music tourists, attending live concerts and festivals in the UK, helped generate £3.1 billion pounds in direct and indirect spend. These past four years have also seen…
UK: Although the weekend of June 6 – 7 wasn’t the first time Capital Sound has deployed almost 200 Martin Audio MLA elements simultaneously on major festival duty, it was unique in that one of those two events took place on a virgin festival site at a major inaugural event. Billed as Disclosure & Rudimental Present Wild Life, the four-stage, two-day event was staged at Brighton City Airport, a general aviation facility in Shoreham where, as the title suggests, Disclosure and Rudimental were the headline acts. Winds gusting up to 30mph on the opening day were an easy match for…
Dries De Kimpe is the Growth Manager at BeatSwitch. A passionate techno fan, he’s either in the office, clubbing, or supporting local promoters. Nowadays, promoters are investing heavily to create the best experience for artists with good Artist Handling. Following a great Dutch blog post by DJ Broadcast, we are digging into what might be 2015’s festival management buzzword. First up: what is artist handling and why is it useful? In this extremely saturated market, being able to offer consistent line-ups has become a make-or-break factor for any event. That means establishing a bond between your festival or club and…
UK: Simple Things Festival will return to Bristol on October 24 for its fourth instalment. The multi-venue, one-day festival has announced the first wave of acts for the event. This year’s standalone opening party will be headlined by legendary Montreal post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Initially formed in 1994, the band has become revered among the greatest purveyors of their saturnine, orchestral strain of rock music, with 2000’s Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven regarded as one of the genre’s definitive landmarks. Armed with this year’s superb Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, the nine-piece will fill the…
Long associated with music and entertainment, premium rum brand Bacardi took this to a new level recently with help from global event and brand experience pioneers Broadwick Live. The campaign – Barcardi’s most successful earned media campaign to date – featured at its core a bespoke music festival held on a desert island in the Caribbean, around which was spun TV, radio, digital and PR activity into a potent force that engaged billions of people worldwide. As far as Broadwick Live Director Bradley Thompson is concerned, Bacardi Triangle broke new ground from a marketing perspective. “We were briefed to come…