UK: The world’s largest philosophy and music festival, HowTheLightGetsIn, will return to Hay-on-Wye from May 26 – June 5. Headliners this year include Nobel Prize-winner Frank Wilczek, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, and YBA artist Gavin Turk, while the music side comprises BBC Radio 6 DJ Gilles Peterson and Mercury Prize nominees Ghostpoet, ESKA and C Duncan. There are hundreds of debates and a packed schedule that includes solo talks, IAI Academy courses and Open Platforms – where attendees will get the opportunity to have a philosophical chat with the speakers. This year’s theme is…
Author: Festival Insights
ICELAND: Secret Solstice festival has just been certified a CarbonNeutral event, meaning all CO2 emissions from supplier and organiser travel, as well as event waste, has been balanced out with the purchase of high quality, verified carbon offsets, which Secret Solstice has purchased from the rainforest conservation project Makira REDD+ in Madagascar. But the Icelandic music festival goes many steps further than simply offsetting its carbon emissions, with many more initiatives in place to reduce its impact on the planet. Iceland is one of the most volcanically active places on Earth, and produces an abundance of renewable geothermal energy created…
AUSTRIA: Broadwick Live partnered with Intellitix for the second consecutive year to deploy its Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to enable cashless payments and smoother access control at Snowbombing 2016, which took place from April 4 – 9. Dubbed ‘the greatest show on snow’, Snowbombing takes place in the Austrian town of Mayrhofen and welcomes over 6,000 festivalgoers for a week of world-class music and snow sports. Following on from last year’s success of taking Snowbombing fully Cashless for the first time, Intellitix once again deployed a bespoke system across the entire festival site, which included installing the system’s antenna…
UK: OnBlackheath Festival will stage a festival first this year with a bespoke family offering in partnership with John Lewis. Puffin World of Stories will bring a unique experience to entertain children of all ages with some of Puffin’s most adored and iconic book characters. The world Puffin has created will include a Magical Storytelling Stage, a Talking Maze, a Village Green Sports Day, and a plethora of workshops, activities and kids’ crafting. Puffin World of Stories will be home to some of Puffin’s best-loved brands and characters brought to life on the Magical Storytelling Stage. Children will see live…
USA: Major Lazer unleashed their new live show across the two weekends of this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California, featuring lighting and visuals designed by Kyle Kegan of Voyage Productions. Amongst other lights, Kegan utilised Robe BMFL Spots, BMFL WashBeams and ColorStrobes – all recently purchased by Rainbow Production Services. “Those strobes are simply mind-blowing,” said Kegan, who used them for the first time after receiving a demo and swapping the originally specified product for the new ColorStrobes. “At times you could hardly look at the stage they are so bright. That’s what a strobe…
UK: Crowd management and event security specialist Showsec has appointed Lee Hazeldine as its Area Manager for the North West. Hazeldine has operated in the area for 13 years, gaining a reputation that has secured him the position on the company’s management team. In seeking to build upon the work of outgoing Area Manager Tim Chambers, Showsec have acquired a replacement with considerable experience of working in different security roles across many parts of the North West throughout his career. “Lee is a great addition to our team. He comes to us with a pedigree second-to-none,” said Alan Wallace, Showsec’s…
UK: On May 1, Vanguardia, the UK’s leading independent audio engineering, sound management and design consultancy, will be working with industry-acclaimed sound engineer Roly Oliver to promote the latest innovation in sound management in the live events industry. In his new position as Head of Live Business Oliver will establish and oversee the company’s distribution of pioneering sound management tool MeTrao in the UK, for which Vanguardia has secured sole rights. Also in May, Vanguardia will celebrate 10 successful years as the leading sound and acoustic consultants in the entertainment sector. The appointment of Oliver further expands the company’s team…
David Pichilingi has over 25 years experience in the international music business. Over his career he has worked both as an artist, and in A&R, marketing, and management. Throughout his career he has worked closely with many artists including New Order, Happy Mondays, The Farm, Sub Sub and with legendary record labels such as RCA, Factory and Produce. In 2008 he set up Sound City, which is now the largest and most important metropolitan music festival & business conference in the UK. Sound City annually attracts a business audience of 3,500 delegates from all areas of the international music business and…
UK: Liverpool International Music Festival has announced that its 2016 edition will comprise three different programmes: LIMF Presents, the award-winning LIMF Academy and Europe’s largest free music event, LIMF Summer Jam. Last year LIMF attracted over 160,000 music lovers, helping to cement Liverpool’s reputation as a must-visit destination. Across these interconnected programmes, LIMF has added another 60 acts to its line-up. Joining the LIMF Summer Jam line-up will be Wretch 32, WSTRN, Clean Cut Kid, Craig Charles, Stealing Sheep, The Vyrll Society, Adele Roberts (BBC Radio 1), Greg Wilson, Ady Suleiman, the 20 acts that make up the LIMF Academy…
UK: Field Day and The Five Points Brewing Co have announced the collaborative Ten Points beer, a festival exclusive to be launched just before Field Day’s 10th Birthday. The ‘extra pale ale’ uses British malts and American & Australian hops, creating a juicy, tropical and full bodied alcohol beverage. Field Day’s Ten Points will be available around East London in the likes of the MOTH Club, Shacklewell Arms, Adam & Eve, Three Crowns andChesham Arms, Dundee arms, Sebright arms, Crate, Clapton Craft and many others in the run up to the event and at Field Day. Ed Mason, Founder of…