Author: Jack Needham

The Scottish four-day weekender HebCelt, held on the Isle of Lewis, generated £4.4million for the local economy in 2025, says the festival. The celebration of Gaelic and traditional music welcomed 72 performances and 255 artists in 2025. Over 7000 hours of volunteer work was also donated to the festival, it says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HebCelt Festival (@hebcelt) HebCelt, which has welcomed over 50,000 to the Scottish island over the past three years, says it owes its success to greater infrastructure inclusions such as new look bars and tap and go technology, alongside improved family…

Ticket Fairy is expanding its global financing initiative, which the company says will “unlock funding of up to £5M in the UK, €3M across Europe and $3M in the US, for venues, festivals and events promoters.”Ticket Fairy will now be able to provide funding to festivals, events and venues of up to £5 million per client in the UK, up to €3 million per client in Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland, and up to $3 million per client in the United States, says the company. Alongside this new round of funding, Ticket Fairy has also announced its Revolving Line of…

Discovering the next big thing is a multi-billion pound industry. The CMATs of this world don’t come overnight. They are born through countless meetings, focus groups and dozens of executives all bringing their two cents to the table. It’s largely remained that way since The Beatles proved there’s big money to be made in boy bands. But Michael Adex and the global dance brand Cream may have found an alternative way to do it. And it’s through music festivals (sort of). Michael Adex is the founder and CEO of NQ, the Manchester-based talent management company that’s home to artists such…

The iconic DnB label Hospitality has announced the first line-up of acts for its Hospitality on the Beach festival, held in Tisno, Croatia from 1-6 July 2026. The headline acts for next year’s edition are Sub Focus, Andy C, Metrik, Kings of the Rollers and A.M.C. They are joined by global acts such as Dillinja, Calibre, Flava D, Lens, Hazard, Simula, Ed Rush & Optical, and more. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HospitalityDNB (@hospitalitydnb) The five-day 2026 festival dedicated to bass music will also welcome HOSPITAL30, which will act as a celebration for the label’s 30 year anniversary. Hospitality On The Beach takes…

The Hertfordshire-based weekender Campo Sancho has announced the first wave of acts for its ninth edition. Created by London promoters Sancho Panza, next year’s celebration of disco, balearic, reggae, house and all things groovy will welcome debut performances from Haçienda DJ Greg Wilson, house DJ Ruby Savage, Delusions of Grandeur label founder Jimpster and Italian selector Tonno Disko. Manchester’s Luke Una, disco DJ Heidi Lawden and Balearic act Dicky Trisco also join the line-up. Campo Sancho takes place 23-26 July 2026 at Walkern Hall, Hertfordshire. Tickets are on sale now.

The Bristol and Nottingham city festival Dot To Dot has announced the first acts for its 2026 edition. The multi-city and multi-venue event, which takes place between 23-24 June 2026, will welcome Lambrini Girls, Fcukers and NewDad as its headline acts. The first announcement also includes indie-pop act Silver Gore, Vancouver-based act Meltt, La Sécurité and songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Clothesline From Hell. More acts are yet to be announced. In previous years, Dot to Dot has welcomed acts such as The 1975, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Caribou, Sports Team and many more.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dot To Dot Festival (@d2dfest)…

The UK Government has changed the criteria for artists applying for its Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS). The grant scheme offers between £5,000 – £50,000 to UK-registered independent music companies to “assist them with marketing campaigns when looking to introduce successful UK music projects overseas,” says MEGS As reported by Arts Professional, the new measures will ask artists to make “self-declarations regarding any activities that could be considered to bring the scheme into disrepute in the three years before and after an award is made.” As part of the new measures, entrants will be subject to verification checks administered by the…

On 2 December, the UK Festival Awards, powered by Festival Insights, celebrated the best that this industry has to offer. In 2025, over 450 festivals entered, something that truly showcases how festivals continue to innovate and thrive. Northampton’s Shambala Festival were one of the winners on the night, taking home awards for Independent Festival, Medium Festival and The Sarah Nulty Community Impact. Elsewhere, Sheffield’s Tramlines Festival walked away with the Inner-City Festival Award, while Between The Trees took the Micro Festival of the Year Award. We also honoured those who work to make our festival spaces more sustainable, with the…

After recently being announced for both Sheffield’s Tramlines and Newquay’s Boardmasters, Fatboy Slim is set to headline Dorset’s Camp Bestival with an all-day takeover. In what will be a Fatboy Slim & Friends presentation from 30 July to 2 August at Lulworth Castle, the ‘Praise You’ producer will preside over the family festival on 2 August 2026. Other acts across the weekend will be announced soon. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Camp Bestival Dorset (@campbestival) In a social media post, Norman Cook (AKA Fatboy Slim) said: “Given that there’s a seaside theme at Camp Bestival this…

The international showcase festival FOCUS Wales has unveiled its conference theme and first speakers for 2026. The 16th edition of the Wrexham-based festival will highlight ‘A Fairer Future for Music’, which the festival says will question “how can fairness become a genuine guiding principle rather than a buzzword or a gesture of good intent?” The theme is designed to explore how “artists, organisations, and communities can work together to create a more accessible, culturally diverse, and socially just musical ecosystem,” the festival goes on to say. View this post on Instagram A post shared by FOCUS Wales (@focuswales) Speakers at…