CANADA: The Festival d’été de Québec is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017 with an array of unique activities and entertainment, from a monumental retrospective exhibition to three original street performance shows. “We want to welcome fans to the Festival and at the same time, we hope to send them off with lasting new memories of the FEQ,” said the chair of the board, Alain-Jacques Simard. “Made possible with support from the governments of Canada, of Québec and from the City of Québec, these shows will greatly enhance the Festival experience and are clearly in line with Vision 2025, announced…
Author: Festival Insights
UK: The multi award-winning Secret Garden Party has announced that this year’s event, set to take place from July 20 – 23, will be the final instalment in its illustrious 15-year tenure as one of the UK’s most beloved boutique festivals. Renowned for its eccentricity; meticulous attention to detail; and aesthetically focused, exploratory vibe; the festival has provided a platform for countless artists whilst promoting its core values of friendship, participation and ownership with its audience. Founder and ‘Head Gardener’ Freddie Fellowes said: “15 years ago I started out with a set of ideas as to what makes a good…
CROATIA: The Garden and The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Club have revealed plans to launch a new Croatian festival 2017, entitled Beats, Beer and Boogaloo. Taking place from July 13 – 17, the festival promises to be a unique fusion of craft beers from around the world and a line-up of ‘funked up’ live music and DJs curated by Mr. Charles himself. Additionally, the event will feature boat parties, club nights at the renowned Barbarella’s, street food, tutored drinks tasting, a carnival procession through the streets of Tisno and more. The first round of artists will be revealed during…
Ross Gardiner is a Scottish journalist and editor based in Los Angeles. He is the founder of Black Circle Media — a content agency specialising in festival culture, as well as the acting global editor of Pulse Radio, and the former US Editor of Mixmag. Ross is also the chair of the AFEM’s Media division, and has been working heavily in promoting drug safety and protecting music venues and festivals for the last few years. You can reach him here. Early in festival season last year, I published a hastily written, tongue-in-cheek story for Pulse Radio imploring kids to slow…
Sziget Festival will return to Budapest’s Island of Freedom from August 9 – 16, celebrating its 25th anniversary with its customarily expansive music line-up, film screenings, eSports, chess, dance, theatre, sports, chill out areas, yoga, circus acts, fashion, a beach, and more. Insights spoke with Sziget CEO, Tamás Kádár, about what challenges he foresees for the festival market in the coming years, new additions to the Sziget site in 2017, and to what he attributes the success of the event. Festival Insights: Sziget has won several European Festival Awards in the past, including being deemed Artists’ Favourite Festival this year.…
UK: Arundel Castle in West Sussex will welcome back its unique Annual Tulip Festival from mid-April to early May. More than 36,000 tulips will adorn the Castle, which is celebrating the 950th anniversary of its initial construction this year. As visitors approach the Castle they will be met with classic red tulips which complement the backdrop of the medieval building. Purple, pink and white are also prominent colours in this year’s display which will have 70 different types of tulips – some of which visitors may never have seen before. Although an annual event, different varieties of tulips are introduced…
UK: With just two weeks to go until A Greener Festival and the ILMC’s Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI9) at London’s Royal Garden Hotel, the full line-up of speakers and sessions has been released. On March 7, the Conference will invite live events professionals to discuss issues of sustainability and the role that the international industry must take in the face of perceived political and social divisions, and artistic censorship. GEI9 will debate issues from site design and infrastructure, sustainable set and stage design, the impact of fireworks and special effects on the environment, what Brexit and the current…
UK: Curated in collaboration between The Columbo Group and NVS Group, Sunfall is a celebration of underground music set to take place in London on August 12. Live music will remain central to the program, with the festival featuring a UK exclusive performance from legendary Chicago producer Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers), in his first London show in 20 years. “Larry’s performance at Dimensions last year is still being talked about, so we’re over the moon to have him locked for his first UK live performance in over 20 years,” said festival programmer Noah Ball. “His live show is something…
SPAIN: Neo Sala, CEO and founder of concert music promoter, Doctor Music, has announced the return of its eponymous music festival. The reincarnated event will take place from July 12 – 14 at the same location as its first three editions: Escalarre, in the Vall d’Àneu. The announcement occurred during a presentation at the Groucho Club in London, with BBC radio host, Matt Everitt, acting as master of ceremonies. Attending were some of the most important figures in the live music industry, including managers and agents of Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, Blur, Bob Dylan, The Cranberries, Florence + The…
UK: Threshold, the Liverpool festival of grassroots music and arts, has been given a huge boost in its crowdfunding campaign from a brand new patron and a pledge from Arts Council England. Threshold Festival launched the campaign last week following a shortfall in funding ahead of the 7th annual event in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. The response so far has included a £1000 pledge from Pacificstream, a Liverpool support service for creative industries, making them an official Threshold 2017 Patron. Pacificstream commented: “After being involved in the festival last year with the EU Creative Europe project, Viset and appreciating what a…