Ally Pally’s Kaleidoscope axed due to high winds
High winds led to the last-minute cancellation of Alexandra Palace’s Kaleidoscope Festival.
The one-day event debuted in 2018, becoming the first ever festival to be held in the grounds of the North London venue.
The fourth annual event was due to to take place last Saturday (15 July), headlined by Hot Chip, having expanded its capacity from 10,000 to 11,000, but was called off at short notice following discussions with partners.
“We are devastated to announce that due to the Met Office’s Yellow Warning and the significant safety risks the forecasted high winds pose on Saturday 15 July, we have no choice but to cancel Kaleidoscope Festival,” says a statement from organisers.
“Our huge apologies go to all our ticket holders, we can assure you that we have explored every alternative option before making this extremely difficult decision. We are contacting ticket holders directly with details regarding refunds and other ticketing options.
“We made this decision based on a site-specific weather forecast provided by the Met Office and following consultation with partners”
“We made this decision based on a site-specific weather forecast provided by the Met Office and following consultation with partners, including the local authority, health and safety advisors, structural engineers and the emergency services. Ultimately, people’s safety has to be the priority.”
Other artists due to perform included Gaz Coombes, George Fitzgerald, Elvana, Girls of the Internet and Anthony Szmierek.
“To be unable to go ahead is heartbreaking,” adds the statement. “Our thanks go to everyone who supports Kaleidoscope, from fans and artists, to production teams and our local community.”
Hozier and Ben Howard will both play outdoor headline shows at Alexandra Palace Park this weekend as part of the venue’s Summer Series, with James Blake, Norman Jay MBE, The Prodigy and The Streets set for indoor concerts later this year.
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Artists offer fans AAA digital passes
Aitch, Hot Chip, Sugababes, The Wombats, Sigala and Kaiser Chiefs are among the first artists to offer fans Access-All-Areas (AAA) digital passes.
Launched by multi-channel D2F platform Planet, the resource allows artists to create customised experiences for content, tickets and merchandise.
The free AAA pass sits within fans’ phone wallet and notifies them whenever their favourite artists have something they’d either like fans to see, hear, or ask their opinion of. Ticket sales go directly from artists to fans, saving on additional fees.
“We want to make it easier for fans to get access to their favourite artists”
“Music defines some of the most memorable moments in our lives,” says Planet’s James Morrison. “We want to make it easier for fans to get access to their favourite artists and in turn enable artists to reward them more often for the part they play in creating these memories.
“The thing with social media is that it treats all fans the same, and the artists we are working with recognise that in many cases this relationship runs deeper than a like or follow but the algorithms have removed any sense of belonging.”
Sugababes utilised the app last week for the pre-sale window of their headline show at London’s The O2 in September 2023, while Aitch recently offered fans an exclusive early look at tour setlists and rehearsal videos ahead of his UK & Ireland tour.
Elsewhere, pop band New Rules met up with some fans on a recent trip to the US via their digital artist pass, and received almost instant feedback to new songs as soon as the shows had finished.
Soft launched back in late 2021, Planet has previously securing funding from TVG’s Ben Lovett and ie:music ventures.
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Planet launches AAA digital pass for artists
Multi-channel D2F platform Planet has launched an Access-All-Areas (AAA) digital pass, enabling artists to create customised experiences for content, tickets, and merchandise.
Planet says AAA allows artists to give fans direct, immediate access to new music, tours, or exclusive drops before, during and after shows.
The platform has been working closely with music management companies such as Verdigris, East City, Modest Management and Everybody’s to develop their interactions with fans.
British band Hot Chip were one of the first acts to come on board and found that 10% of fans utilising their AAA pass had never seen them live before. And Planet claim that K-pop girl group Everglow were able to identify, within 24 hours, the top 20 cities where planet pass holders most wanted to see them live, giving insights to route future tours, as well as what the favourite tracks and preferences on merchandise were in each market.
“What this unlocks for artists is a very exciting innovation for the industry whilst being something fans can adopt easily”
“I have been highly impressed by what Planet is offering to artists and their fanbases,” says Hot Chip’s manager Sam Denniston, MD of Verdigris. “The directness of the platform is remarkable and what this unlocks for artists is a very exciting innovation for the industry whilst being something fans can adopt easily.”
Soft launched back in late 2021, the platform has previously securing funding from TVG’s Ben Lovett and ie:music ventures, which has recently expanded to include the likes of OVG International president Sam Piccione III and Dominic Joseph of Captify Technologies, who joins the board as chair.
The recent involvement takes the total raised to date to £1.5 million, enabling Planet to expand its team across Europe and US.
“For too long, artists have had restricted access to their own fans”
“For too long, artists have had restricted access to their own fans and as a result have had to settle for one-way transactional relationships, whereas other cutting-edge companies create higher value experiences through long term reciprocal relationships,” says Joseph. “This is a huge opportunity for artists to address given the level of fandom they have but right now don’t have the tools to do this. Planet is here to help them make this step into the future.”
Planet will be activating digital passes with a raft of established and emerging artists later this summer to provide them with actionable fan insights ahead of new releases, tour announcements or live shows this autumn.
The platform “hands back the ownership of the fan relationship to the artists” by providing them access to 100% of demand and full control of how this is activated.
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Luis Fonsi brings live music back to Santiago, Chile
After 26 days of silence at Santiago’s Movistar Arena, live music returned once more with a two-night run by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi.
On 8 and 9 November, the ‘Despacito’ singer played the first concerts at the 17,000-capacity arena since Iron Maiden’s 14 October show.
Anti-government protests have been ongoing in the Chilean capital since 18 October, sparked by a public transport fare hike and evolving into more general protests about inequality and the cost of living. The protests, and consequent government-imposed curfew, resulted in the cancellation of many live entertainment events.
The Fonsi dates marked the end of the singer’s Vida world tour, which has seen him play 16 shows in Europe, ten in North America and six in Latin America.
After 26 days of silence at Santiago’s Movistar Arena, live music returned once more with a two-night run by Luis Fonsi
The concerts also signalled the resumption of programming at the arena, with upcoming dates from Erkyah Badu, Marco Antonio Solís, Shawn Mendes and J Balvin.
Hot Chip, who were supposed to play in Santiago on Saturday, had their performance cancelled last minute. “We don’t have details yet but we were set up and ready to play when we were to told it was not going ahead for safety reasons,” the band posted on Twitter.
The group were scheduled to play at the Ten Years of Fauna event, a replacement for Fauna Primavera festival, which was cancelled earlier this year due to “difficulties in finding an appropriate headliner”.
For an in-depth look at the fast-growing Latin music world, read IQ’s recent feature on the genre here.
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Rain fails to dampen spirits at From the Fields fests
Extreme weather tested Manchester, UK-based promoter From the Fields at Kendal Calling and Bluedot festivals this year, but did little to detract from the events’ best ticket sales to date.
Bluedot and Kendal Calling, From the Field’s biggest events, took place on two consecutive weekends from 18 to 21 and 25 to 28 July.
Both festivals were an “absolute success”, From the Fields co-director and Bluedot festival director Ben Robinson tells IQ. Bluedot, now in its fourth year, sold out in advance with a 30% increase in capacity.
“I think we’ve reached our happy size there at 16,000,” says Robinson, stating “we have no ambition to increase further.”
The longer-running, larger Kendal Calling also saw record sales, shifting 30,000 tickets and maintaining a capacity crowd throughout the weekend, despite “a lot of extreme weather”.
“Every stage went ahead as planned and the festival opened on time every day,” explains Robinson, commending the site crew on their efforts “against the elements”.
Taking place each year at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the gigantic Lovell Telescope, the fourth outing was a special one for Bluedot, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing.
“[The moon bounce] was the most unique thing I’ve ever seen at a festival and something you’d only find at Bluedot”
Audio clips recorded by headliners Kraftwerk, New Order and Hot Chip were used in a moon bounce, a radio communications technique that reflects waves from the moon back to an Earth-based receiver.
Robinson says the Bluedot moon bounce was “the most unique thing I’ve ever seen at a festival and something you’d only find at Bluedot”, which fuses music, science and technology.
The festival received a one-off license extension to 5 a.m. on the Saturday, allowing organisers to projection map onto the telescope and broadcast radio clips in real time with the original moon landing fifty years before.
According to Robinson, the “niche electronic programming” and music/ science combination – scientific speakers such as astronaut Helen Sharman and wildlife documentary presenter and biologist Liz Bonnin shared the main stage along with musical acts – attracts a “more specific audience” than Kendal Calling.
“Kendal Calling really feels like a broad cross section of the northwest of the UK,” says the From the Fields co-director. “There’s something for everyone.”
Orbital, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Manic Street Preachers, Doves, Courteeners and Tom Jones were among those playing the main stage over the weekend at Kendal Calling. Bristol punk rock band Idles were joined on stage by rapper Slowthai in a “truly unique” collaboration.
“There’s a real sense of community at both Bluedot and Kendal, and that makes people feel safe”
Despite their differences, both festivals provide a family-friendly environment, which Robinson puts down to “robust back of house services” and “good security and stewarding”.
“There’s a real sense of community at both Bluedot and Kendal, and that makes people feel safe,” says Robinson.
Both festivals have “landmark” years coming up in 2020, with Bluedot’s fifth anniversary and Kendal Calling’s 15th edition.
If this year’s Bluedot was about looking backwards at an iconic historical moment, says Robinson, next year’s festival will be a lot more future-facing. “The collaboration between music, science and tech gives ample opportunity to keep things fresh, as there are always new and exciting elements within those areas.”
Robinson describes the longevity of Kendal Calling as a “really bold achievement for us”, as the promoter confirms plans to continue the festival for the next ten years at least. Following “quite a muddy year”, the From the Fields co-director believes it is the right time to take a step back and look at “refreshing the site and design” in time for the festival’s anniversary.
Tickets for Bluedot 2020 are already available, with weekend camping priced at £168.75. Tickets for next year’s Kendal Calling go on sale on Friday at 10 am GMT.
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