UK: The Great Escape has announced a new partnership with BBC Music. Now in its 12th year, the festival will take place from May 18 – 20 in Brighton. In addition to its already long-standing relationship with BBC Introducing, TGE 2017 will join forces with BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6 Music to further champion and promote upcoming artists across BBC channels. As part of the new partnership, BBC Music will take over the Paganini Ballroom for a three-night musical showcase. BBC Radio 6 Music will showcase its Recommends strand on the Thursday night, BBC Music…
Author: Festival Insights
Beat-Herder will return to Lancashire from July 14 – 16, once again aiming to unite the tribes of contemporary dance music via its presentation of innumerable sub-genres across 21 stages. With a personal touch evident across every aspect of its organisation, construction and activities, as well as an atmosphere characterised by exploration and intimacy, the festival has become one of the nation’s most beloved over the course of its 12-year history. Insights spoke with Jamie Foxon, Beat-Herder’s Event Manager, about the festival’s lovingly handcrafted set design, its DIY origins, and propensity for the theatrical. Festival Insights: Could you tell us…
UK: Returning after almost three years, the innovative and cosmopolitan Fat Out Fest will be hosted at Manchester’s Islington Mill from April 14 – 16. The experimental music and arts festival promises that this will be its most ambitious and challenging edition to date. Tickets are £25 for each day or £65 for the weekend, and are available here. The line-up includes The Bug vs. Dylan Carson of Earth, Islam Chipsy & EEK, Bad Body, Part Chimp, Charles Hayward, Sarathy Korwar, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Giant Swan, Moor Mother, and many more. Check out the full line-up…
UK: Julie’s Bicycle has announced the shortlists for its first Creative Green Awards, comprising creative organisations and events that undertake outstanding efforts to embed environmental action. Running since 2009, Creative Green is a certification enabling venues, museums & galleries, festivals and offices to assess their environmental commitment, understanding and improvement. The Awards, which celebrate over 50 arts organisations undertaking Creative Green certification in 2016 / 17, are testament to the commitment of creative and cultural organisations throughout the UK to sustainability. With over 250 Creative Green certificates awarded this is the only scheme designed specifically for the cultural sector. The…
UK: Jack Daniel’s has announced its line-up of 2017 festival partnerships, with the Jack Rocks programme set to appear at a mix of iconic and new UK festivals this summer. Collaborating for a third year running with the rock ‘n’ roll night, This Feeling, the Tennessee Whiskey brand will be bringing emerging talent to stages around the country. Kicking off at Brighton’s The Great Escape from May 18 – 20 will be Jack Rocks The Hope & Ruin, an independent venue that has been part of the brand’s ongoing support of venues nationwide. Jack Rocks will be present at the…
DENMARK: NorthSide Festival has released its latest sustainability report, which demonstrates marked improvement in the festival’s environmental policies and promises to deliver a 100% organic selection of food in 2017. The work to construct NorthSide 2016 started with a goal of putting together an exciting and varied music line-up, but it also centred on goals concerning organic products, waste management, and new projects, which were created to move NorthSide even closer to the ideal of becoming a totally sustainable festival. An evaluation of its work to this end has now been presented in a new report prepared in collaboration with…
PORTUGAL: After spearheading a decade of esteemed showcases in Mexico’s Playa Del Carmen, BPM Festival has revealed the date and location for its very first European edition in Portugal this September. Set to welcome a discerning selection of DJ’s from the house and techno spectrum, The BPM Festival Portugal will take place in the coastal resort of Praia da Rocha from September 14 – 17. The festival’s Portuguese edition is set to retain the same format as its antecedent with a series of day and night parties. The likes of elrow, Paradise, DYNAMIC, Music On, ENTER and Innervisions are among…
David Hillier is a freelance writer and journalist, and can be found in The Guardian, Vice, The New European and Wonderland. He specialises in music, festivals and night culture, and was named 2016 festival journalist of the year by the Association of Independent Festivals. Last month Secret Garden Party announced that this year’s event, its 15th, would be the last. It’s been pretty seismic news in the world of UK festivals, and reaction thus far has been a mix of sadness, celebration and presumably a bump in ticket sales. Amongst a long and passionately-written press release to deliver the news,…
UK: Download Festival has announced major improvement plans for the 2017 festival. New drainage systems, alternative traffic routes, improved disabled access, a 400 strong ‘Dog Squad’ to aid festival-goers, and a stage relocation are among the new developments put in place to better meet the needs of Download fans. Festival Republic’s Melvin Benn said: “As a festival we’re always looking to improve the experience for our customers – it’s always at the forefront of any planning we do, so the feedback we received on last year’s festival has been invaluable. We introduced the Dog Blog this year which has enabled…
SPAIN: Spanish show creators elrow have announced their debut festival edition named elrow Friends & Family, a one-day event set to take place on July 15 at the beachfront location of Salou in Spain. elrow Friends & Family promises to cater to thousands of fans for ‘an all-encompassing explosion of fun, colour, and confetti’. Welcoming party regulars as well as fresh faces for an ‘anything goes’ day of escapism, the 16-hour celebration will include three stages of music that will each have a signature elrow theme in tow. Having been running for six years now, elrow in its current form…