Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan set for UK fests
Breakthrough US superstars Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan will both play headline slots at major UK festivals next year.
CAA-booked Carpenter will top the bill at AEG Presents’ BST Hyde Park in London on 5 July, supported by Clairo and Beabadoobee, while Wasserman Music client Roan is one of the headliners for Festival Republic’s Reading & Leeds, alongside Travis Scott, Bring Me The Horizon and Hozier.
Carpenter joins fellow Americans Olivia Rodrigo (27 June), Zach Bryan (28-29 June) and Noah Kahan (4 July) on the BST lineup, which also features Hugh Jackman (6 July) and the farewell performance of Jeff Lynne’s ELO (13 July).
Running from 21-24 August, Reading & Leeds will also feature the likes of AJ Tracey, Becky Hill, Sammy Viriji, Trippie Redd, Amyl and The Sniffers, Conan Gray, The Kooks, The Dare, Bloc Party, Enter Shikari, Wallows, Sea Girls, Mannequin Pussy, Soft Play, Lambrini Girls and DJ EZ, who are among the first 40 acts to be announced for the twin festivals.
“We’re witnessing an exciting wave of inspiring voices breaking through in pop culture, and this lineup captures that energy perfectly”
“Right now, we’re witnessing an exciting wave of inspiring voices breaking through in pop culture, and this lineup captures that energy perfectly,” says Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn. “This is one of the youngest average ages for headliners in years, and that’s very exciting in itself. We are delighted to welcome Chappell Roan’s debut, an inspiring new pop star poised to define a generation, sitting alongside one of our favourite modern songwriters, Hozier.
“We are also proud to welcome back Bring Me The Horizon, a band who have grown with us over the years to become the UK’s biggest alternative act. Add to that the massive European exclusive appearance of Travis Scott and an unrivalled selection of dance music’s biggest names, and you’ve got something truly special. It will be a genuine privilege to witness these moments, from iconic headliners to extraordinary emerging artists.”
In addition, Carpenter, 25, and Roan, 26, will both headline Primavera Sound Barcelona, with Roan also performing at other European events including Sziget in Hungary and Oya in Norway.
Glastonbury’s payments to charitable causes and campaigns in 2024 will have exceeded £5.9m by the end of the year
Meanwhile, Glastonbury Festival has revealed its payments to charitable causes and campaigns in 2024 will have exceeded £5.9 million (€7.1m) by the end of the year.
Donations included £2 million to the NHS Somerset Charity and further donations totalling £126,000 to support NHS hospitals in Bristol and nursing staff across the UK. Another £1.6m was given as payments for services such as stewarding.
The festival has also continued to support its joint charity partners – Oxfam, WaterAid and Greenpeace – and made donations to Oxfam, War Child, UNHCR and other charities.
Its Emergency Fundraiser Crowdfunder appeal, which supported people in conflict, – raised £639,000, which was matched by the festival, bringing the total to more than £1.27m to fund the work of the British Red Cross, Oxfam and War Child.
Last month, Rod Stewart became the first artist confirmed for the 2025 festival, which takes place at Worthy Farm, Somerset, from 25-29 June.
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Germany’s Maifeld Derby fest to bow out in 2025
German boutique festival Maifeld Derby will come to an end following its 2025 edition, organiser Timo Kumpf tells IQ.
The musician-turned-promoter launched the 5,000-cap independent in Mannheim – a UNESCO City of Music – in 2011.
Kumpf headlined the first year himself with his band Get Well Soon and went on to welcome the likes of James Blake, Bonobo, Hozier, Phoenix, The Streets and The National. But despite Maifeld being named Best Small Festival at the 2023 European Festival Awards, Kumpf says that next year’s event will be its last.
“The festival was always on my shoulders and it has now got too heavy to carry,” he says, citing issues with rising costs, bad weather, increased competition and a lack of funding from the city.
“The festival grew fast and in 2014 we had a breakthrough with The National headlining and Hozier making his Germany debut,” explains Kumpf. “Since then we were considered a tastemaker/boutique/gatekeeper festival. We never made any money, but we also never lost too much.”
Maifeld Derby received state funding for the first time during the pandemic, enabling Kumpf to reboot the festival in 2021 following a sabbatical.
“Sales got weaker, production costs increased and competition became tougher than ever”
“The years 2021-2023 happened very fast and the festival weekends were very successful with a great vibe, so I decided to keep going and turning the hamster wheel, and 2025 was announced before 2024 ended,” he adds.
“Somehow during that time, without really noticing the funding had run out, sales got weaker, production costs increased and competition from promoters became tougher than ever.
“The only way to keep going after 2025 would have been with funding by the city of Mannheim. I asked for €200,000 in 2025 and €300,000 in 2026. But as soon as that was called impossible, I had to pull out and announce the end of the festival. Even though we are a non-profit organisation, the risk is all on my shoulders.”
Maifeld Derby’s “last ride” will be held from 30 May to 1 June, with Franz Ferdinand, Zaho De Sagazan, Antony Szmierek, Pearl & The Oysters and Nilüfer Yanya among the 60-plus acts appearing across its four stages.
For Kumpf, the end of the festival brings both disappointment and relief.
“The workload has been at a very unhealthy point for years now and I really want to prioritise my private life after this,” he reflects. “But of course, it was my baby and it’s hard. I’m very proud of my team and myself. Maifeld Derby is a great place for enjoying great music and I can’t wait to celebrate this one last time.”
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Ed Sheeran to headline new Abu Dhabi festival
Ed Sheeran is to headline a new one-day gathering in Abu Dhabi, promoted by Theory Eleven Entertainment.
The multi-genre Off-Limits Festival, which will debut at Etihad Park (cap. 40,000), Yas Island, on 26 April, is being organised in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi and immersive destination specialist Miral.
It will feature more than 20 acts across two stages devised by renowned stage designer Florian Wieder, creator of the bespoke outdoor venue utilised for Adele’s Munich residency this August.
“He handled the entire design for Adele’s shows, from the stage to the food and beverage areas,” Theory Eleven founder Sia Farr tells The National. “For Off Limits, he will create something unique to the festival that is ultra-modern, futuristic, and cohesive.”
The UAE capital will be the site of the world’s second Sphere venue and hosted Wireless Middle East at Yas Island last month, which featured acts such as 21 Savage, Yeat and A Boogie wit da Hoodie. Live Nation also launched the Amplified Music Festival in the city in 2022, topped by OneRepublic, Ministry of Sound Disco and Cigarettes After Sex.
“I think destinations now don’t look at festivals or concerts through an entertainment lens, but an economic one as well”
This weekend sees the return of the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix and Yasalam After-Race Concerts, which will see performances from Teddy Swims and Peggy Gou (5 December), Maroon 5 (6 December), Eminem (7 December) and Muse (8 December).
Coldplay also bring their Music of the Spheres trek to Zayed Sports City for four sold out nights in January, and Farr speaks warmly of the tourism benefits of such productions.
“The economic footprint these shows leave is undeniable, and this is why we are seeing more festivals becoming greater tourism-driving factors than before,” he says. “In a lot of ways, I think post-pandemic, many dynamics have changed. Well-established countries are leaning heavily into destination tourism, and Abu Dhabi has been leading in that. I think destinations now don’t look at festivals or concerts through an entertainment lens, but an economic one as well.”
One Fiinix Live-represented Sheeran added a raft of new 2025 shows to his – +–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour last week for Bhutan, Qatar and his biggest-ever run in India.
The Middle East will be a key focus at next year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC), with two dedicated sessions on the rapidly expanding region.
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Bloodstock Open Air director toasts record sellout
Bloodstock Open Air director Adam Gregory has saluted the record sellout of weekend tickets for next year’s event.
The UK’s largest independent heavy metal festival, which first took place in 2001, returns to Catton Park in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, from 7-10 August, with a bill topped by Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira.
Other acts at the 20,000-cap event will include Emperor, Mastodon, Orange Goblin, Lacuna Coil, Fear Factory, Lord of the Lost, The Black Dahlia Murder and Creeper. Standard tickets cost £199 (€241), and early bird tickets sold out in just 36 hours.
“We’ve sold out in just nine weeks, which is record time,” Gregory tells IQ. “It took us all by surprise. It’s a lovely surprise – it was by no means expected and we’re grateful that we’re in a strong position moving into ’25.
“The fans tend to be very much about supporting the festival rather than just particular bands, but we have a particularly strong lineup for 2025.”
Bloodstock’s 2024 edition featured bands including Opeth, Architects and Amon Amarth.
“Bloodstock has always been a special place for Motörhead and for Lemmy”
“As ever, it came with its challenges but nothing that was unexpected,” says Gregory. “We sold out the festival again, albeit on the Saturday this year rather than in advance. But ultimately, it was a good year for us.”
This year’s metal gathering was also notable for its memorial to Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister by arrangement with the band’s management.
Some of Lemmy’s ashes were housed at Bloodstock – one of only a few places globally – in a unique urn, with the festival commissioning a bust of Lemmy to incorporate the ashes. The bust was delivered to Nottingham’s Rock City by convoy of 55 Harley Davidson bikers at the end of the 2024 festival, but it will return to Bloodstock each August.
“Bloodstock has always been a special place for Motörhead and for Lemmy,” said Motörhead’s manager, Todd Singerman at the time. “The people and the energy matched Lemmy’s values perfectly.”
Meanwhile, Bloodstock has launched its annual Metal 2 The Masses (M2TM) scheme, which offers spots on its lineup for self-released and unsigned bands. Thirty regions will take place across the UK, with Cyprus and potentially Poland also signing up for the initiative.
After a series of heats, one winner from each region will guarantee themselves a slot on the New Blood stage for 2025.
“Some bands will come back in subsequent years and be elevated through higher stages”
“We run a competition from around January through to early June. About 750 bands tend to partake each year,” explains Gregory. “The whole point behind it is to promote new artists and support small, local venues as well. They’ll run heats for three or four months, culminating in a final taking place at each venue around May and June, at which point we go along and judge.
“The winners of those finals then go and perform at the festival on a dedicated indoor stage called the New Blood Stage, and we award a few of those bands guitars and other bits and bobs to help them progress to the next level.
“Some of those bands will come back in subsequent years and be elevated through higher stages and be given that foot up that isn’t normally afforded to them.”
Gregory was also interviewed for IQ‘s investigation into the widespread cancellations of UK festivals in 2024, which asked whether the sector can rebound in 2025.
“I would hope that we don’t see another catastrophic year like we’ve had this year,” he said. “It’s been painful. For the industry itself, it’s terrible, it’s the last thing anybody wants. So I would hope that we don’t see those sort of constraints and issues that we’ve had in 2024, reappear in ’25.
“I’d like to see a lot more events go ahead, but I think the government needs to support that as well, and start talking with the likes of the AIF and LIVE.”
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Netherlands’ Indian Summer Festival paused
Netherlands’ Indian Summer Festival will not take place in 2025, as organisers say cost increases have rendered it “unfeasible” for the event to carry on in its current form.
First held in 2001, the Friendly Fire-promoted gathering has welcomed international artists such as The Prodigy, Milky Chance, Lily Allen, Underworld, Keane, Scooter and Faithless to Langedijk.
Previously a multi-day festival, the 15,000-cap event has been a one-day affair since 2019. Its most recent edition in June was headed by domestic acts Acda en De Munnik, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, The Dirty Daddies and Son Mieux.
But promoters say that with “a heavy heart”, Indian Summer is being “discontinued for the time being”.
“We do not want to ask for even higher ticket and catering prices, and that is why we have decided to take a break”
“Due to the ongoing cost increases of the past few years, we can unfortunately no longer continue Indian Summer in its current form,” says a statement. “We do not want to ask for even higher ticket and catering prices, and that is why we have decided to take a break.”
Thanking fans for their support in a post on its social media channels, organisers say they are hopeful they will be able to revive Indian Summer in the future.
Amsterdam-based Friendly Fire launched its flagship event, Best Kept Secret, in 2013. Its other festivals include Hit the City, Ginger Festival, Loose Ends and Live at Amsterdam Forest.
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Can UK fests turn the tide after 2024 ‘bloodbath’?
On the heels of a “catastrophic” 12 months for UK festivals, promoters have debated whether the business can reverse the trend in 2025.
Last week’s cancellations of Kent’s Black Deer and Norwich’s Sundown has brought the number of
UK festivals to have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 to 75 – over double the amount that fell in 2023.
On the plus side, new events are cropping up such as AEG Presents’ one-day festival Forever Now, which will debut at Milton Keynes Bowl on 22 June next year, headlined by Kraftwerk, The The and Billy Idol. The promoting giant is also launching Lido Festival in London’s Victoria Park that same month.
Elsewhere, the team behind the UK’s longest-running independent festival Towersey Festival, which held its final edition this summer, are launching a new boutique event, Found Festival, at Claydon Estate in Buckingham from 22-24 August. Plus, the founders of another indie, Shindig, will debut the 1,500-cap Homestead – a festival open only for over 25s – in Somerset from 18-20 July.
Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) CEO John Rostron tells IQ that although the picture is “mixed”, there is reason for cautious optimism heading into ’25.
“There is more positive news going into next year, because we’ve got some new events starting up”
“There is more positive news going into next year, because we’ve got some new events starting up – probably over a dozen that I can think of, and that’s really positive and encouraging,” he says. “Nothing of scale, but that doesn’t matter; we haven’t had that number since 2019.
“There are at least six other new independent festivals or spin-offs starting, or extra days being added. People are going, ‘This is the climate, but we think we can make it work,’ and it’s quite interesting.
“The focus is on very small events and it’s not based around headliners; it’s based around a community and that feels like where festivals in the independent sector are going. They’re forgetting about headliners and they’re moving into focusing on their core audience.”
Nevertheless, Rostron stresses the situation remains precarious.
“The flip side is we’re also aware of lots of events still rolling the dice, managing to hang on and give it one last go,” he says. “We’re nervous about that because, if they were on fumes before, I don’t know what they’re flying on now. So I am more optimistic that things will stabilise a bit next year, but obviously remain hugely nervous – because there is no margin of error.”
One Fiinix Live boss Jon Ollier referred to the predicament of this summer’s festival circuit as a “bloodbath” in a recent interview with IQ. And with more than 200 festivals in the UK having fallen by the wayside since the pandemic, Jon Drape of Manchester-based production company Engine No.4 describes the climate as “super-tough”.
“One of the biggest challenges… is that festival tickets are too cheap given what we delive
“It’s been the perfect storm, trying to get back to business after Covid but not being able to keep ticket price rises in line with the cost increases, so the margins are tighter and tighter,” explains Drape, who works with events such as Parklife and Kendal Calling.
“Clearly, a whole number of factors are driving the cost rises: whether it be energy, insurance, staff, minimum wage,” he continues. “Looking ahead, I’m hopeful that, with the exception of the labour piece, we’ll be over the worst of the year-on-year rises.”
Part of the problem, suggests Drape, comes down to ticket prices.
“One of the biggest challenges, but we’ve always had this, is that festival tickets are too cheap given what we deliver, when you compare how much you pay for stadium tickets,” he argues. “There needs to be some correction with ticket prices, but it’s very tough to do that in the current cost of living crisis, so it’s a careful balancing act.”
Notably, DMF Music’s Dave Farrow, organiser of Beautiful Days, opted to freeze ticket prices for the Devon festival for 2025, with weekend camping tickets priced £190 (€229). The event sold out in 2024 with a bill featuring the likes of Richard Ashcroft, The Saw Doctors, Levellers and Richard Hawley.
“We did okay this year and I felt that with a little bit of tinkering around the edges, I could probably make some more money out of concessions and the bar, and that would be enough for me to not have to increase the ticket price,” reflects Farrow. “It was my gut feeling that it was the right thing to do for next year, with the cost of living crisis, and it seems to have been very well received. I’m not going to be able to do it forever, but it’s nice to have a good news story when you go back on sale.
“I was hoping that my suppliers would do that as well and, on the whole, most appear to be holding their prices. Or, if they are putting it up, it’s negligible. But I have had a couple that have put another 30% on, and that is unsustainable for the festival business. I think everybody’s experienced 40% increase since the pandemic and that has probably put more pressure on the industry than anything else.”
“We went on sale for 2025 about two weeks ago and have done big business”
Beautiful Days’ sales for 2025 are off to a roaring start without a single act being announced.
“We went on sale for 2025 about two weeks ago and have done big business,” reveals Farrow. “We’ve decided to stick with our usual plan, which is not to announce any acts until the beginning of February. We normally sell just over half of our tickets without the lineup being announced, and we’re on course to do that again easily.”
Derbyshire’s Bloodstock Open-Air is also riding high, having already sold out next year’s edition. The 20,000-cap heavy metal gathering will be headlined by Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira from 8-10 August.
Director Adam Gregory notes the festival also sold out in 2024, albeit not until the weekend of the event.
“As ever, it came with its challenges, but nothing that was unexpected,” he says. “Ultimately, it was a good year for us. We’ve come across a lot of the same battles and constraints as other people and have been very conscious and careful with budgets, so we’ve saved the pennies each year.
“We’ve had to cut back on ‘like to haves’, rather than ‘need to haves’, and made sure that we’re doing what we need to be doing, rather than a wish list, but without compromising what the fans want.”
Rostron emphasises that lack of customer interest is not the issue.
“The really upsetting thing I find is the demand is still there,” he says. “It’s not a failure of demand. Ticket sales are down this year by about 4% and that’s fine. I wouldn’t be here defending things if they were down 50%, but that’s not the case.
“People are starting up because they can see there’s demand: Kendall Calling’s just sold out with record advance sales; Bloodstock sold out; 2000 Trees is nearly there. Across the membership, we’ve had loads sell out this year. The demand’s there, it’s the tightness of those budgets that is the challenge.”
“The 5% VAT would certainly help. It’s become the difference between a profit and loss for a lot of independent festivals”
Back in February, AIF launched a campaign asking for a temporary VAT reduction from 20% to 5% on festival tickets that it says would save many event promoters from closure. But its calls appear to have fallen on deaf ears so far.
“We were really excited by the new government, but they keep closing the door on us on the things that we’ve been asking for in terms of lower VAT,” notes Rostron.
“The 5% VAT would certainly help,” points out Gregory. “It’s become the difference between a profit and loss for a lot of independent festivals, certainly in the years where prices have seen exponential growth as far as the supply chain is concerned. So that would certainly help, but there also probably needs to be some support across the supply chain, because [costs] aren’t just going up by small margins every year, but by huge margins and I just don’t think that’s sustainable.”
With 2024 soon to be in the rear-view mirror, Gregory offers his outlook for the season ahead.
“I would hope that we don’t see another catastrophic year like we’ve had this year,” he says. “It’s been painful. For the industry itself, it’s terrible, it’s the last thing anybody wants. So I would hope that we don’t see those sort of constraints and issues that we’ve had in 2024, reappear in ’25.
“I’d like to see a lot more events go ahead, but I think the government needs to support that as well, and start talking with the likes of the AIF and LIVE.”
In his closing remarks, Drape says he is “looking forward to a good summer”.
“I’m ever the optimist, so it’s always glass half full with me,” he adds. “Clearly, there has been a correction in the market when it comes to the actual number of festivals out there, so hopefully we’ll have a good, solid festival season and we might see a few new ones being introduced into the marketplace. We’re potentially looking to bring something back for 2026, so it’s definitely not all doom and gloom.”
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Kent’s Black Deer Festival cancels for 2025
Organisers of the UK’s Black Deer Festival have cancelled next year’s edition due to the challenging landscape – but have vowed to return in 2026.
The team behind the Americana-themed independent event, which has been held in Elridge Park, Kent, since 2018, blame both financial and operational issues, highlighting “unpredictable” ticket sales and rising production costs over the past couple of years.
“Regretfully, due to the widely reported pressures on the festival industry, we have taken the difficult decision to postpone Black Deer Festival 2025,” says Black Deer Group MD Chris Russell-Fish. “This is not a decision we’ve made lightly. We have explored all avenues to try to make it work next summer, but right now it just isn’t feasible.”
The 2024 event was headlined by Joe Bonamassa, Sheryl Crow and Rufus Wainwright, and also featured the likes of Seasick Steve, The Shires, Damian Lewis, Ward Thomas and Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal.
The Black Deer brand also expanded this year with the launch of the Black Deer Live gig series, which showcased Americana music at UK grassroots venues, as well as radio station Black Deer Radio.
“Whilst our three-day annual festival has brought Americana to many, we wanted to be able to bring Black Deer to even wider audiences around the UK – all year round,” adds Russell-Fish. “Through our new channels and our collective determination to do many more Black Deer Live Events in 2025, we are tremendously excited and looking forward to welcoming our current community and new fans to the genre, as we roll-out our other activities.”
“This is certainly not the end of the Black Deer story”
More than 40 Black Deer Live shows are already scheduled for the coming months, with more dates still to be announced, and other new ideas also in the pipeline including the Black Deer Radio Roadshow.
“This is certainly not the end of the Black Deer story,” adds co-founder Gill Tee. “We are so proud to have built one of the most wonderful festival communities over the past years – a community with a passion and love for Americana that matched ours.
“We are so very proud of all we have achieved to this point, it’s been a real journey and it’s not over yet.”
Meanwhile, Norwich’s Sundown Festival has also announced it will not be returning in 2025. The festival has run for 12 years, welcoming acts such as Shawn Mendes, Zara Larsson, Dizzee Rascal and Jason Derulo, and also held a spin-off event in Malta over three days this June. Promoters are yet to give a reason for the cancellation.
“It’s been an unforgettable journey,” reads a statement on the festival’s website. “After careful consideration however, we regret to announce that Sundown will not be returning to Norwich or Malta in 2025.”
The Association of Independent Festivals revealed this week that 72 UK festivals have announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024 – double the amount that fell in 2023.
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How UTA powered Kenya Grace’s festival charge
UTA agents Tom Jones and Max Lee have opened up on the strategy that helped Kenya Grace rule the European festival scene this summer.
IQ collaborated with music biz directory and data platform ROSTR to analyse the 2024 lineups of 50 top European festivals, highlighting several key trends in terms of genre, age, headliners and longevity. The data also uncovered which agencies booked the most acts during the season, as well as which artists appeared on the most lineups.
Electronic/alt pop artist Grace came out on top in the latter category – starring on 11 bills – one ahead of both Nothing But Thieves and Royal Blood.
“I knew we’d booked a lot of festivals for her and that she’d had a huge, impactful debut year, but for it to be recognised tangibly like that is crazy,” Jones tells IQ.
Of the 50 festivals analysed, Grace appeared at Glastonbury (UK), Reading & Leeds (UK), Mad Cool (Spain), NOS Alive (Portugal), Exit (Serbia), Superbloom (Germany), Lollapalooza Berlin (Germany), Way Out West (Sweden), Flow (Finland), Frequency (Austria) and Electric Castle (Romania).
“The type of festivals that she was playing was massively important”
“The type of festivals that she was playing was massively important,” stresses Lee. “We didn’t want to pigeonhole her, so we targeted a broad spectrum: from more electronic-leaning, ‘cooler’ festivals, through to the mainstream pop tier.”
“We wanted to set real underground targets for her,” elaborates Jones. “Particularly for an electronic music artist, it’s important to demonstrate the culture you come from and where this music is coming from. So we played Melt Festival in Berlin and the Land of Saints stage at Boardmasters, as well as Reading & Leeds and Glastonbury.”
South African-born British singer-songwriter and producer Grace landed an international smash in 2023 with her UK #1 single Strangers, which has been streamed more than 900 million times on Spotify. She has also built a large TikTok following, amassing 15.3m likes.
Her rise on the touring circuit has been similarly meteoric, having only made her live debut proper in October last year.
“The first ever show that we did was a friends and family event at the Lower Third in September 2023, just to get her used to playing in front of an audience, because she’d only played in her bedroom on TikTok before that,” explains Jones. “That was the first seed that we planted for her in London, but it quickly became apparent we’d want to do a ticketed show pretty quickly, so we put a post up on her Instagram to start building a database. She literally just put up a couple of stories saying, ‘I’m thinking of doing a show in London, sign up here to be the first to find out.’
“We decided that we wanted to do it at Corsica Studios, coupled with the fact that we wanted to connect with the underground and lay the foundations for her as an electronic artist, rather than going straight into the pop vein. We were able to sell it out and livestreamed it on TikTok with help from her label.”
“She was a key act that could sit on a multitude of festival stages”
Handily, Grace’s chart success with Strangers coincided with the 2023 International Festival Forum (IFF) in London.
“A lot of her business was done from IFF,” remembers Lee. “Having all of those people in town for meetings at a time when the artist was #1 was incredible. We were in a blessed position.”
“She was one of the hottest new artists on the scene and I guess, because of the way we presented her, she was a key act that could sit on a multitude of festival stages,” suggests Jones. “Whether it was playing on Nos Alive and Mad Cool with Dua Lipa and then being able to do Melt Festival with Overmono and Horsegiirl, or Montreux Jazz, just really reputable, amazing festivals across the board.”
Jones compliments Grace’s knack for marketing herself across her social media channels.
“Kenya is a completely unique artist,” he adds. “She writes, produces and sings all her own music – there’s no external help – and what she has done on TikTok is very captivating. It showed she was as an artist and a performer, even before people had the chance to see her live.”
“For Kenya to the be most booked festival artist is super-reflective of her story as an artist so far,” reflects Lee. “Going from her bedroom to #1 is totally in keeping with that and it’s amazing for her. To do that in her first major year of touring is incredible. We’re super-happy.”
“The UTA ethos is to build teams of agents around acts that can use their individual expertise to further the progression of the act”
What’s more, Lee believes the dual agent strategy offers an endorsement of the company’s collaborative approach.
“The UTA ethos is to build teams of agents around acts that can use their individual expertise to further the progression of the act,” he notes. “This can be seen with Tom’s focus mainly on electronic and my focus mainly in the live space. This combination has been imperative for Kenya’s growth in multiple lanes.
“Kenya has got an incredible team around her. Beyond UTA, [management] Nick Huggett, Nick Shymansky and Sarah Charbonnel have been instrumental in providing the expertise and tools to support Kenya’s development as an artist.”
UTA books Grace worldwide, with Jones and Lee working in harmony with the singer’s North American representatives Scott Schreiber and Samantha Kirby Yoh. The agency’s music brand partnerships team have secured further opportunities for the 26-year-old.
“Off the back of an incredibly busy first summer festival season, we connected Kenya with Rimmel London who signed her as a new Collective ambassador in September,” Anna Gregorek, UTA’s senior director, music brand partnerships, tells IQ. “Rimmel London joined Kenya on the road for a ‘behind the scenes’ digital campaign, promoting the collection as her staple ride-or-die product essentials.
“Earlier in the year she also worked with the brand to produce Get Ready With Me social content ahead of the BRIT Awards, coinciding with Kenya’s nomination for Song of the Year. Thanks to the tight-knit collaboration between UTA’s live and brand teams, we’re able to unlock opportunities like these, not only for established names but also to support the career trajectory of rising stars like Kenya.”
“She’s got some new music coming, which we’ll build some hard ticket touring around”
As for what comes next, festivals will again form a significant part of Grace’s live slate.
“She’s got some new music coming, which we’ll build some hard ticket touring around, and then we’re aiming to do a few key festivals that we didn’t hit in 2024,” shares Jones. “She’s done a lot of touring and we really want to let the music breathe, so we just want to hit some key city touring around her next single, and then some key festival targets.”
“Some new markets as well, places that she connected with as an artist, but hasn’t had the opportunity to go to,” concludes Lee. “The love for her was so far and wide, it was near impossible for us to go to every market in ’24.
Subscribers can read the full ROSTR analysis in issue 130 of IQ Magazine.
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Northern Might: Norway Market Report – Part 2
IQ presents the second part of our Norway market report, where we dig into their expansive festival sector and how professionals work around a lack of venues. Catch up on part one here.
Festivals
The extreme geographical disconnection between Norwegian cities is the secret behind the appeal of the country’s festivals, of which there are said to be around 400, many of them performing an important regional function.
“The festival market is huge in relation to the size of the country,” says Osmundsvaag. “There’s so many, and that goes back to the geography of Norway. You don’t just hop in your car and go to an event that is 100 or 200 miles away, because in Norway that’s eight hours with the fjords and the mountains. So, there’s a lot more regional festivals, because a lot of those regions are quite insular.”
A strong example of such a festival is the not-for-profit Parkenfestivalen in Bødo, high up on Norway’s west coast, just inside the Arctic Circle, which this year mixed Keane, Pixies, Sundfør, The Cardigans, and Detroit rapper Danny Brown with national and very local artists. As enticing as the bill sounds, festival manager Gøran Aamodt says the audience is mostly drawn from the surrounding region.
“Almost 90% [of the audience] live in Bodø, and the people travelling to the festival are often people coming back to their hometown to meet old friends and sing along to well-known songs. It ́s a tradition for most people. And to have a sold-out 10,500-capacity festival in a town with 50,000 people is quite special.”
In its own way, Bodø is typical of the industrious, self-entertaining rural Norwegian city, with the Bodø Jazz Open in February, Opptur for Gen Zs in July, the classical Nordland Musikkfestuke in August, and Parken in August – as well as several club venues and a concert house. Predictably, however, while demand for events remains strong, the financial balancing act this year has been a tough one.
“You can see the demographic of the place changing during these festivals to reflect the particular subculture”
“All cities from 10,000 and upwards have their own festival,” says Aamodt. “But Parken is a special case. We sell out the day we release our tickets – 10,500 festival passes in total. So, all in all, we had a good year in terms of selling tickets, but the costs have increased so much that even with a sold-out festival, we are depending on good weather to make it work.”
Pstereo in Trondheim is another key festival clinging hard to its local identity, which general manager Eirik Brevik summarises as local history, food, culture, art, and the constant emergence of young, local artists.
“Pstereo is one of the few remaining independent festivals of its size in Norway and is certainly feeling the market’s changes,” he says. “Faced with rising costs, currency fluctuations, and increasing competition from more commercial festivals, we’ve chosen to remain true to our identity. 2024 has been a particularly good year for us, and we see that as a validation that staying close to our roots is the right approach.”
Given the challenges of travel, Norway’s larger cities – specifically Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim – are typically the only ones that can sustain more specialist festivals, but the compact size of even these larger local markets offers an opportunity for immersive city events.
“It can make for very interesting festivals,” says Egenes. “You go to Bergen for Beyond The Gates if you are into extreme metal or Ekko if you like electronic music, and they bring talent from all over the world to quite a small city. You can see the demographic of the place changing during these festivals to reflect the particular subculture.”
Norway has for decades maintained a persistently thriving metal scene – particularly black and extreme, including Gorgoroth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and the notorious Mayhem.
“We always try to deliver a little bit more than people expect, but we need to do that in a smart way”
Accordingly, Tons of Rock in Oslo, first staged in 2014 and acquired by Live Nation in 2019, has consistently beefed up in recent years to assume the mantle of Norway’s biggest festival, with a heavyweight lineup to match. Metallica, Tool, Judas Priest, Greta Van Fleet, and ZZ Top this year topped a bill that spanned the rock and metal spectrum, while domestic acts on the bill included Seigmen, Abbath, Satyricon, and rising stars Nova Twins and Skynd.
“It was a new milestone this year, we sold out almost all four days, almost 35,000 each day, so that’s 140,000 tickets,” says Nielsen. “And then you always have a few more when it comes to volunteers and partner tickets and guest artist tickets, comps, so I would guess that it was close to 150,000. There’s no festival close to it in Norway and definitely a new Norwegian record.”
Sky Festivals, part of Sky Agency, remains the biggest festival owner in Norway with ten events, including Oslo’s Findings (with Live Nation), the 18,000-cap Festningen in Trondheim, 12,000-cap Utopia in Stavanger, 10,000-cap Landstreff Fredriksten in Halden, and the 15,000-cap IDYLL in Fredrikstad.
“We feel lucky, because we have the most popular festivals in each city, so we are in a good position,” says Opsahl. Nonetheless, he says the year has been one of ups and downs as costs rose and the marketplace lost a little of its ticket-buying enthusiasm.
Sky’s 2021 acquisition, Stavernfestivalen, in the southern city of Larvik has historically drawn 80,000 over three days. But the festival was a four-dayer this year, and even with Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Burna Boy, and others on board, Opsahl concedes it was a day too many in a summer that saw a downturn in demand after two booming post-Covid years
“We made the decision to add a day quite early – even before the festival in 2023,” says Opsahl. “And putting an extra day in the market is something we wouldn’t do if we did it over again.”
Like many other festival promoters, he describes a careful balancing act between quality events and likely revenues, risk, and reward, and he expects 2025 to be every bit as challenging as 2024.
“We always try to deliver a little bit more than people expect, but we need to do that in a smart way; to look at everything, from marketing to partners to budgets and production, and make sure everything we do is cost-efficient,” he says. “We need to start a little bit from the beginning in some places, in terms of what should we put on and how much should we pay for artists. But we still need to make good events that people are happy with and want to come back again next year.”
“The festival model is tailored for this expansive country”
All Things Live’s festivals include Verket, Drøbakfestivalen, Hvalstrandfestivalen, Sarpsborgfestivalen, Lillehammer Live, and Haikjeften, with the aim of creating synergies across the network of events.
“The festival model is tailored for this expansive country,” says Mølleskog. “We collaborate with a team of local stakeholders and strong regional partners in each location to establish unique, community-focused festivals. However, all booking, programming, marketing, and project management are handled by our team. These festivals stimulate local business and help build enduring regional brands across the country.” She adds that All Things Live is open to new launches and collaborations.
A personal favourite among the group’s local festivals is Haikjeften (Shark Jaw) in Narvik, far up in the fjords, Mølleskog notes. “It’s a medium-sized festival that HES has built up, and the whole city gets involved, and it sells out months ahead every year. It creates a great atmosphere in the whole city.”
OverOslo, which takes place at Grefsenkollen, looking down on Oslo from the east, has steadily grown in the past few years, and now draws 8,000 a day over four days. That makes it one of Norway’s bigger crowd-pullers in terms of unique visitors, but it maintains its appeal as a boutique festival, both deliberately and as a consequence of its location.
“We are located on a hilltop, there’s one way up and down, so we do have some issues with big productions and the logistics around that, which limits us a bit,” says co-founder Lars Petter Fosdahl. Nonetheless, the Pet Shop Boys featured in 2022, Van Morrison and Sophie Ellis-Bextor in ’23, Jungle and Melanie C this year, even as the festival maintains an 80:20 split between Scandinavian and broader international names.
“The general development of the industry in Norway is that there aren’t too many indie festivals left that haven’t been bought up by international organisers,” says Fosdahl, who adds that he has no intention of selling out. “It has really been our baby since the beginning, so I think everyone involved here feels a special connection to what we have built.”
“While Oslo may feel more urban and international, Trondheim offers a stronger local identity”
PiPfest’s most recent edition took place in June, headed by Stormzy, Massive Attack, Tom Odell, and L’Impératrice. Its 8,000 capacity will rise to 12,000 next year, with the addition of a third stage. And while there is clearly demand for the right events, Osmundsvaag says promoters need to be extremely watchful as they allocate their resources.
“You have to recalibrate yourself almost on a daily basis,” he says. “And I think you have to be dynamic and proactive and just keep turning the stones and looking underneath, going, ‘Well, was that decision wise? Do we need to rethink that?’ We just need to be very aware of the environment we’re working in and just work harder, really, to bridge that gap of cost versus income.”
Splashing on mainstream talent, he suggests, increasingly looks like a risky and unreliable route to success. “Relying just on the headliners to define you is obviously the easy way out,” he says. “I’m focusing more and more on communicating that if you come to my event, you’re going to have a really good day, taste some really good food, meet some really interesting people, see some really good bands – maybe some bands you didn’t even know existed.”
Key Norwegian industry events include by:Larm in Oslo and the Trondheim Calling showcase festival, of which Brevik was until recently the CEO. “Trondheim Calling is, in my opinion, the showcase festival in Norway that best reflects the Norwegian market,” he says.
“Trondheim is a modern, vibrant student city, which gives the city a youthful and energetic atmosphere. While Oslo may feel more urban and international, Trondheim offers a stronger local identity, closely connected to nature. The fjords, mountains, and its thriving tech scene give the city a distinct role in the broader Norwegian context.”
“We also still miss a national stadium for concerts and events, and that’s what the big acts request these days”
Venues
It is hard to find anyone who is fully satisfied with Norway’s range of larger venues, amid grumbles about the shortage of available outdoor spaces and the lack of options in Oslo between club and arena level.
Oslo’s Spektrum Arena, Norway’s major arena for visiting and domestic artists, is closing for renovations and a 14-month rebuild next summer. Shows will be shifted to the 25,000-cap Unity Arena, previously the Telenor Arena, with Broiler, Simply Red, Billie Eilish, and The Offspring all booked in for 2025, amid horse shows and handball championships.
“It’s a larger arena but not as centrally located, so it will be very interesting to see how this will impact arena touring in Norway,” says Pride at FKP.
Given the emphasis on blockbuster outdoor events, there is an ongoing demand for public spaces, which the city of Oslo is not always willing to indulge.
“There is a big issue in Oslo when it comes to concerts not getting enough focus,” says Nielsen. “We almost had to beg them to get a second night at Voldsløkka to do Bruce Springsteen last year. There are two or three promoters waiting on answers for an outdoor venue where you can hold 15 to 20,000 people, and there’s currently no options. We also still miss a national stadium for concerts and events, and that’s what the big acts request these days. So yeah, it’s a bit tough.”
Among the possibilities is Bjerke Travbane in northeastern Oslo – the harness-racing track where Rammstein played Norway’s biggest show. “The city has gone in with some money now to facilitate asphalt, power etc, trying to make that into a workable concert arena for promoters. We have to go through the costs again when everything is finalised, but so far, I see it as a venue for acts planning to sell at least 30,000 tickets or more.”
“There’s so much going on – almost too much”
Osmundsvaag prides himself on his ability to scope out untried new sites. “I’ve always enjoyed finding new parks and new areas,” he says. “I’ve just found a new one, actually, this summer [Torshovdalen, site of the Klovner I Kamp show]. It actually amazes me that people can’t be bothered to do the work; they just complain there’s nowhere to put on shows. Well, put the hours in, go and find an opportunity.”
He goes to his window and points to the city park, Sofienbergparken, across the road from his office. “I’m actually sat right next to a park now where everyone told me, ‘No, that’s never going to work,’ and that’s where we do PiPfest. You can see where I got the council to put the land power in.”
It is not only in Oslo that promoters are calling for more options for bigger shows, especially given the distinctly seasonal appeal of outdoor areas. Springsteen’s Bergen show was the first to be staged at the city’s cargo port, known fairly literally as Dokken.
“We have a great open-air arena of up to 23,000 cap at Bergenhus Fortress in the city centre – we are the licence holder,” Bergen Live managing director Frank Nes told IQ’s forthcoming Global Promoters Report. “But the need for bigger capacities, and a modern indoor arena, is definitely a major factor if we are to be able to compete with other cities.”
At club level, things are typically pretty good in larger Norwegian cities, but Oslo is particularly blessed. Auditorium AS operates three key venues – the 1,300-cap Rockefeller, the smaller 500-cap basement room John Dee, and the 1,750-cap Sentrum Scene, staging scores of Norwegian and international shows.
Formerly one of the oldest cinemas in Europe, the 117-year-old Parkteatret is now a 500-capacity music venue with a constant stream of local and international gigs. By:Larm uses venues including the 400-cap Blå, the smaller Himmel room upstairs, 150-cap dive bar Revolver, and the 950-cap Vulkan Arena.
“If you go to concerts between 100 and 500 capacity in Oslo, it’s fantastic,” says Egenes. “There’s so much going on – almost too much.”
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AEG Presents launches Milton Keynes Bowl festival
AEG Presents is debuting a one-day alternative music festival at The National Bowl, Milton Keynes.
Forever Now will launch on 22 June next year and will be the UK sister event of US festival Cruel World, with lineup details to be revealed next week. Tickets start at £85 (€102).
Dedicated to post-punk music, fashion and literature, the gathering will feature two music stages, as well as a third stage, The Echo Chamber, hosted by music journalist John Robb.
“We are delighted to present a festival that reflects the rich heritage of artists in the alternative music field,” says AEG UK CEO Steve Homer. “The day will feature some amazing artists, unique sets, and collaborations not seen on a UK stage before. As the birthplace of alt counterculture, the UK is the perfect home for a festival to pay homage to alternative creative artistry.’’
The Echo Chamber stage will the artistry, movement and culture through in-depth discussions with renowned artists.
“If you feel a nostalgia for an age yet to come whilst still seeking the classic and have a curiosity for the next wave, then this will be a day to get immersed in,” says Robb.
Manchester’s Outbreak Festival will form part of the lineup for AEG’s new Lido Festival in Victoria Park
Presented by AEG’s Goldenvoice division, the promoter behind Coachella and Stagecoach Festival, Cruel World is held annually at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Its fourth iteration is slated for 17 May 2025, headlined by New Order and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Other acts will include The Go-Go’s, Devo, OMD, Death Cult, Garbage, Madness, ‘Til Tuesday, She Wants Revenge and Alison Moyet.
Earlier this year, AEG partnered with Yungblud to launch one-day festival BludFest, also at Milton Keynes Bowl. Prices were capped at £49.50 for the multi-genre event, which was headlined and curated by the singer-songwriter.
Meanwhile, the firm has revealed that Manchester’s Outbreak Festival will form part of the lineup for its new Lido Festival in London’s Victoria Park next summer. Described as “the biggest outdoor event led by hardcore acts that the UK’s ever had”, the 13 June gathering will be topped by a UK exclusive performance by Turnstile, as well as acts such as Alex G, Sunny Day Real Estate, Danny Brown, Fleshwater, Have A Nice Life and Knocked Loose.
The inaugural London edition will be followed by a two-day event at Outbreak’s usual home of Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester on 14-15 June, headlined by Knocked Loose & Alex G.
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