USA: Behind the scenes, the festival lighting designer is often placed in a difficult situation as they must mix and match the perfect rig full of lighting instruments that can provide the artists with the various looks needed for their individual performances. This was the task at hand at the M3 Rock Festival for lighting designer Mike Lurz, but this year his job was made a little easier with the use of VL4000 BeamWash and VL4000 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite. “I’ve been involved with the M3 Rock Festival since 2009 and putting the design together for this type of…
Author: Festival Insights
Alice Favre is one third of A Man About A Dog, which owns London Warehouse Events (promoters and producers of some of the biggest electronic music shows in London), Ticket Tannoy (a new ticketing company), Music Matters, and a new, and as of yet unnamed locker company. AMAAD also manages the fire-breathing festival stage, Arcadia. LWE started in 2010, and the aforementioned ancillary ventures were a byproduct of the company’s London events. LWE are the exclusive music promoters at the London’s newest and most exciting events space, Tobacco Dock. At LWE we like to think we do things slightly differently…
FINLAND: After 2014’s Flow festival, US-based financial magazine Forbes called the festival’s food ‘pioneering’. In 2015, Flow will further develop its culinary offerings, inviting ten new restaurants to join. In total, around thirty food vendors will be feeding festival guests around the site – manifested in both popular street food stalls and a variety of unique conceptual restaurants. Flow will also introduce a range of speciality bars, including an extensive selection of healthy and non-alcoholic options. Some of the confirmed food & drink vendors include Powau, who make fresh and healthy raw juices, PUR, who provides smoothies and raw cakes,…
LATVIA: Along with previously announced beat masters Araabmuzik, Egyptian Lover, DJ Sliink and the Dorian Concept Trio, Latvia’s Positivus Festival has announced that this year’s Red Bull Music Academy stage will feature fifteen additional artists from the UK, the Baltics and Poland. Just like every year, Red Bull Music Academy will showcase a diverse selection of rising artists, mostly electronic-centric. This year’s roster comprises Breach, DJ AI-VA, Mr Krime, Without Letters, Dave Storm (Live), Break Da Funk, Avoid Dave, Grind (Live), Münpauzn, Bandmaster, Smthing Smthing, DJ Quest & Paul Oja, Mr Nestor, and Niklāvz. The best Positivus Festival sets will…
HUNGARY: Sziget festival – winner of Best Major Festival at the 2014 European Festival Awards – has revealed that Kings of Leon will headline this year’s event. Their performance on August 15 is one of the few chances to see them live in Europe during the summer and it will be the band’s first appearance in Hungary. Sziget Festival is held in Budapest between 10 – 17 August. Kings of Leon join a host of artists already confirmed, including: Robbie Williams, Florence & The Machine, Martin Garrix, Alt-J, Foals, Marina and the Diamonds, Interpol, Gogol Bordelllo, Alesso, Knife Party, Paloma…
UK: OnBlackheath, in partnership with John Lewis, has announced an array of chefs for this year’s Food Stage. Taking place September 12 – 13, the festival will feature the crème de la crème of the chef world, including the duo Hemsley & Hemsley, Gennaro Contaldo, DJ BBQ, Dan Doherty, Martin Morales, Pascal Aussignac, Calagary Anvansion, Fabulous Baker Brothers, Natasha Corrett, Andy Mcleish – all headed up by YouTube sensation and ‘Food Busker’ John Quilter. The ‘Milkshake’ hit shaker Kelis will also be serving up a heat feast on the Food Stage before shimmying her way to the main stage on…
UK: WOMAD has added more artists to its 2015 event, which will return to Charlton Park from July 23 – 26. Joining the already announced De La Soul, Tinariwen, Ghostpoet, Bellowhead and Laura Mvula, to name a few, will be The Staves, The Cat Empire, Mbongwana Star, Kasse Mady Diabate, The Mahotella Queens, Toto La Momposina, Magnifico, Alhousseini Anivolla & Maarja Nuut and more. WOMAD will also host a performance from Atomic Bomb!, the fluid supergroup that revives and celebrates the music of the reclusive 1970s Nigerian synth pioneer William Onyeabor. Whilst the specific line-up is still to be announced,…
IRELAND: Absolut Vodka will partner with Body&Soul for the first time this year, manifested in ‘Midsummer Nights by Absolut’- a programme of artistic collaborations, international and Irish DJs, and theatrical spectacles. The Absolut Art Bar, in which the aforementioned entertainment will be located, features construction from Burning Man-affiliate Shrine, who built the Basura Sagrada Temple for the ‘temporary city’ in 2008. The 500 capacity bar will feature aerial acrobatic performances from Loosysmokes, along with three days and nights of music that have been carefully curated by Arveene. Some of the acts involved include Nightmares On Wax, Shamon Cassette, Misk, Get…
UK: After a successful international debut in 2014, Corona SunSets will be making its way back to the shores of Weston-Super-Mare on July 11. This next edition will see chart toppers Clean Bandit headlining the beach-fronted festival, with a whole host of additional acts to be announced soon. The Crown Stage will be hosted by a combination of Bristol party starters with Motion, Team Love and The Blast promising to bring some of their favourite acts to the stage to continue into the night. Corona kicked off this year’s series in the brand’s home of Mexico, to a sold-out crowd…
UK: Showsec, the crowd management and event security specialists, played a key role in the latest We Are FSTVL. The two-day dance music event, which won the Best New Festival accolade at the 2013 UK Festival Awards, attracted thousands of fans to Upminster from May 30 – 31. “Showsec provided our show with high level security throughout the planning and delivery stages,” commented Reece Miller, the co-director of We Are FSTVL. Their hard work and organisation is applauded by ourselves, the authorities and all of the responsible agencies from the show. Showsec are the ultimate solution for live event security…