THAILAND: Wonderfruit Festival, Thailand’s pioneering sustainable, eco-friendly, cross-cultural live celebration of art, music and life, has announced an array of acts for its upcoming edition, now set to take place from February 16 – 19. BRIT Award winners Rudimental and the Grammy nominated Lianne La Havas will headline the 2017 festival, following a postponement of the event this year. Other artists that are confirmed to perform include Young Fathers, Junjun featuring Shye Ben Tzur & The Rajasthan Exoress, Mad Professor, Kate Simko & The London Electronic Orchestra, Shura, DJ Sabo, and Buke and Gase. Speaking of Wonderfruit, Rudimental said: “We’ve…
Author: Festival Insights
NETHERLANDS: Eurosonic Noorderslag has finalised its upcoming edition’s genre-spanning line-up with the addition of Era Istefi (AL), Hans Hanneman (NL), Kraantje Pappie (NL), Luwten (NL), Orange Skyline (NL), Parels van de Jordaan (NL), and Stuart Mavis (NL). Over 350 artists from over 31 European countries will perform at the showcase festival which takes place from January 11 – 14 in Groningen. From pop, rock, indie, folk and everything in between, Eurosonic Noorderslag touts itself as the place to discover the best new and breakthrough talent of 2017. Each year Eurosonic Noorderslag highlights a different country, showcasing the diverse musical talent…
CROATIA: After nearly 20 years of running one of the most successful festivals in South East Europe, the EXIT team has announced the launch of a new festival in Croatia, dubbed Sea Star. The event is set to make its debut in Umag’s Stella Maris resort from May 26 – 27. The first names revealed for the debut edition are headliners The Prodigy, plus local favourites Dubioza Kolektiv and Croatian hosts Urban&4. The seaside site will present national and international artists across six different stages. Along with the two official festival days, festivalgoers can also expect a huge warm-up party…
Marcel Mingers started promoting both indoor and outdoor house events around The Netherlands in 1992, shortly after being ‘infected’ by the genre’s ascendancy in Belgium. In 1996 he took the leap into festival promotion with the launch of one of the country’s first dance festivals, Extrema Outdoor. Over the last two decades his portfolio of festivals has expanded to include a Belgian iteration of Extrema, as well as Solar Weekend, DIT Festival, and Mandala – whose concept was based on a drawing made by his young daughter. Insights spoke to Mingers about the varying distinguishing features of and concepts behind…
CROATIA: Brand new for 2017, Labyrinth Open will launch on the sun-drenched shores of the Adriatic Sea in Omiš, Croatia next July. Offering four days of music as well as a conference set-up that will feature seminars, speakers and workshops, Labyrinth Open is curated by esteemed promoters Labyrinth Productions – who are behind Extrema Outdoor and Belgian venue Labyrinth Club, amongst others – and promises to transform the Croatian beachfront into a boutique yet affordable creative hub. With the varied schedule designed to offer a unique insight into the electronic industry, its location within the white sandy beachfront of Omiš…
NETHERLANDS: The European Festival Awards has announced that the Lifetime Achievement accolade for its upcoming edition will be posthumously awarded to Daniel Panaitescu of Sziget Festival. Working on Sziget since its inception, Panaitescu was responsible for curating’s the event’s award-winning line-up, playing no small part in the ascent of the festival into an organisation of international renown. The Island of Freedom now attracts almost 500,000 attendees from over 100 countries per year, and this cosmopolitan convergence of like-minded individuals is owed in no small part to Dan’s eminent work as an international booking manager. With the festival’s annual line-ups spanning…
UK: Threshold Festival has announced the first wave of acts that will be performing at its seventh annual festival of emerging music in 2017. Continuing its story of grassroots success, the festival will return to Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle from March 31 – April 2. Joining the already announced Hannah Peel on the line-up are 16 more exciting acts. Following an acclaimed set at the Africa Oye festival last summer, XamVolo will showcase his unique blend of neo-soul which takes elements of jazz, grime and hip-hop and marries them with rich vocals and meaningful lyrics. Joining him on the line-up will…
Lisa Boden is a partner at Edition Capital. The Edition Capital team has invested over £120m of funds into live entertainment and media businesses over the past 15 years, including the Impresario Festivals portfolio recently sold to the media and entertainment group Global. The live entertainment sector has continued to outperform other entertainment industries in the UK in recent years, however many investors remain wary due to several high-profile failures, the level of risk involved, and the sheer unpredictability from one year to the next. Whilst a degree of investor risk is often unavoidable, it’s a sector of great reward…
POLAND: Unsound Festival has revealed that its 15th edition will take place from October 8 – 15 in Krakow, Poland. In tandem with this, the event has launched a ‘Friends of Unsound’ initiative to help fund the organisation, whose fiercely DIY ethos has resulted in a resistance to commercialism and wanton expansion. A statement released by the organisers said: “Over the years, we’ve resisted developing the festival into a commercial juggernaut, instead focusing on quality programming, a human scale, producing new projects and fostering a community of artists, audience and organisers to create a unique atmosphere. Despite the fact that…
USA: U.S. Cellular and Milwaukee World Festival officials have announced a new 10-year agreement that will demolish Summerfest’s existing U.S. Cellular Connection Stage and replace it with a new, larger stage and an enhanced guest experience for the 2018 edition of the festival. The renovation project will include: A completely rebuilt stage, completed in time for the 51st Summerfest in 2018 after the current U.S. Cellular Connection Stage is torn down following the 2017 festival. Increased capacity and improved access for attendees, while featuring a backdrop of the Milwaukee skyline and the lakefront. A larger performance area, enhanced production capabilities…