UK: Just So, the multi award-winning family arts festival, will have new areas for families to explore in 2017. Now in its eighth year and recently awarded Best Festival by the National Outdoor Events Association, Just So is an annual, intimate, weekend-long festival, and the only combined arts camping festival in the UK dedicated solely to children and their families. With a love of stories and childhood escapades at its heart, Just So Festival enables families to step out of their day to day lives and into a wonderland of world class literature, arts, theatre, dance, music, comedy and creative…
Author: Michael Baker
UK: Now in its seventh year, Roundhouse Rising is the eponymous, London based venue’s festival for new music, taking place from February 11 – 19. Following the resounding success of its 2016 event, Roundhouse Rising will expand to nine days of live music from the industry’s most exciting emerging talent, plus a wide-ranging selection of industry panels, workshops, demos and talks for those seeking a route into the music industry. Rising Festival has paved the way for successful young artists like Prides, Eliza and the Bear, Jacob Banks, The Magic Gang, Hooton Tennis Club, Pretty Vicious and many more. For…
Forged in a partnership between veteran promoter Harvey Goldsmith and department store brand John Lewis, OnBlackheath Festival launched in 2014 to significant fanfare and made the shortlist for the UK Festival Awards’ Best New Festival accolade. Set in – or rather on – the titular London based park, its meticulously curated and deftly executed hybrid of music, food, and family entertainment proved to be a winner. Based on the same template and conceptual foundations, the event took its first foray north on September 17 in the form of OnRoundhay – set to roughly coincide with the launch of a new…
UK: Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting, rigging and Kinesys automation to two high profile arenas at this year’s Creamfields, staged in Daresbury, UK. The festival was a memorable one for many reasons, including the brand new Steel Yard venue – a 50 metre wide by 100 metres long space offering up to 26 metres of headroom with a capacity of around 9,000, designed and built especially for Creamfields by Acorn Structures. “We were very excited to be asked by the event’s technical producers LarMac LIVE to supply lighting and rigging for Steel Yard,” said Colour Sound’s Haydn Cruickshank. “It’s always…
USA: Revolution Rock Festival — in association with Monster Energy – concluded its first edition with 15,000 in attendance on September 17 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT. Produced by AEG Live, Revolution Rock Festival featured performances from 16 bands on two stages, including headliners Avenged Sevenfold, plus Slayer, Volbeat, Chevelle, Of Mice & Men, Anthrax, Ghost, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust and more. The venue was at capacity and hotel rooms at adjacent Foxwoods Resort Casino were sold out during the festival, which offered multiple onsite experiences and some of the area’s best food trucks and vendors in addition to…
UK: Arcadia Spectacular recently chose to invest in Robe moving lights to guarantee the highest production values for its colossal metallic arachnid – a masterpiece of imagination, engineering, resourcefulness, and fully immersive performance. The spider, which started its journey at the Glastonbury Festival circa 2010 when its first incarnation was crafted with love, enthusiasm and some glorious craziness by Pip Rush and Bert Cole, is now gaining widespread international acclaim. As the Arcadia performance concept leads to more and more high profile bookings around the globe, the time was right for it to be self-sufficient in terms of production hardware.…
UK: Brighton Festival has confirmed that the Guest Director for its 2017 edition is the acclaimed recording artist, poet, playwright and novelist, Kate Tempest. Described by the Guardian as ‘one of the brightest British talents around,’ Tempest’s prolific artistic output across multiple disciplines has attracted her considerable acclaim and a unique range of audiences. Having made her live debut as a spoken-word artist at just 16, Tempest initially conceived of herself as a rapper, however she is now equally at home as a poet, novelist, musician and playwright – garnering extraordinary success in each field. In 2012, her debut play…
UK: Crosstown Concerts hit the ground running on September 3 with a sell-out, 30,000 capacity Massive Attack homecoming show on the Bristol Downs. This new concert promotions company and record label is a joint venture LLP between long established promoters Paul Hutton, Conal Dodds, and Fraser Duffin, combining decades of music industry and business experience. Partner Paul Hutton said: “First and foremost we are music fans, we are in this to promote quality concerts and events, and at the core of our business is working with artists from the beginning of their careers. The most important people to us are…
AUSTRIA: Austria’s Elevate festival will host its 12th edition from October 20 – 23, and its forum component, entitled Elevate: Discourse & Activism, will focus exclusively on European issues. In association with C/O Pop (Germany), Nuits Sonores & European Lab Forum (France), and Resonate (Serbia), Elevate will present an eclectic array of musical styles. On October 20, the festival will open with a range of participants – activists, scientists and artists – led by personalities such as Sarah Harrison from WikiLeaks and philosopher Screćko Horvat, who will debate current European-centric political and social developments. Later in the night, a stage…
UK: The Great Escape – the acclaimed Brighton based emerging talent festival – has revealed First Fifty, a series of exclusive gigs taking place over days in East London featuring some of the first fifty acts confirmed for 2017’s edition of the festival. From November 22 – 24, venues such as the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, The Old Blue Last, Kamio, Zigfrid von Underbelly and The Courtyard Theatre will play host to the shows. The First Fifty line-up includes Ray BLK, L.A. Salami, The Age of L.U.N.A., Poté, Plaitum, MarthaGunn, IDER, Nilufer Yanya, and more. First Fifty will be…