Benefit gigs address impact of severe weather
Artists have mobilised to produce benefit concerts in support of Hurricane Helene victims across the Southeastern United States.
Country and folk stars Luke Combs, Eric Church, James Taylor, and Billy Strings announced a benefit concert for North Carolina yesterday (7 October), set for 26 October at Charlotte’s 75,000-capacity Bank of America Stadium. Combs, Church, and Taylor are all natives, with Strings touring the state extensively.
Hurricane Helene ripped through parts of Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee in the final days of September, rapidly intensifying to become the deadliest hurricane since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Over 230 people have died across six states, with 117 of those being from North Carolina, per CNN.
Proceeds from tickets and sponsorships will be split evenly Combs’ choice of recipients, which includes two food banks, and Church’s Chief Cares Foundation, poised to support established aid organizations across the state and greater region.
Church spoke online about his motivation: “This is my home. It’s in every fibre of who I am. Our family members, friends, neighbours and communities are in dire need. I’m honored to share the stage with an incredible lineup in order to help meet those needs.”
The country star also released the song Darkest Hour on Friday (4 October) in response to the devastation, and will donate all publishing royalties.
Tickets will go on sale this Thursday, 10 October. An auction and raffle are also expected to take place, with details to be announced.
“If there’s anything I can do to give back in any way I can I’m always willing to do that”
American country artist Sturgill Simpson will also play in support of victims, with his 21 October show at Cary, N.C.’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre (7,000) to benefit the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund.
Simpson was originally due to play Asheville’s ExploreAsheville.com Arena (7,200) as part of his 2024 fall tour but cancelled the show following extreme flooding across the city. He will now perform two nights in Cary, with tickets for the benefit show going on sale starting Thursday.
Asheville’s arena has also suspended live performances this month, cancelling stops from Ray Lamontagne & Gregory Alan Isakov, Knocked Loose, Goose, and others. It, among other venues like South Carolina’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena (15,000), has been utilised as shelter and gathering spaces for the communities affected.
Other artists are also pitching in. Tennessee native Dolly Parton announced a $1 million (£762k) donation for recovery efforts, which could reportedly take years.
“God has been good to me and so has the public, and I feel that if there’s anything I can do to give back in any way I can I’m always willing to do that. I want to feel like I’m doing my part,” Parton said in a press conference on Saturday (5 October).
Over the weekend, American hardcore band Converge released a live album in support of the victims, with all proceeds to be donated to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief.
Hurricane Helene also forced the cancellation of a series of events across the region, including the final days of both the debut edition of Alabama’s South Star Festival and Kentucky’s Louder Than Life. Impending storm Hurricane Milton, which has rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm, is set to descend on Flordia in the coming days.
“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen”
Severe weather has become an increasingly common issue in the live music ecosystem, with insurance premiums spiking as a result. Panellists at Croatia’s SHIP Conference spoke about the knock-on effects during a discussion about the financial impacts of weather last month.
“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen. We just need to make sure we prepare ourselves the best we can in advance and assess it year by year,” said Barbora Bodnárová, booking manager at Pohoda Festival (SK). This year’s edition of the Slovakian festival was curtailed after a storm-induced tent collapse injured 29 attendees.
Parts of Europe are still reeling from the impacts of Storm Boris, which unleashed severe flooding across parts of Romania, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary last month. Multiple gigs across the affected countries were cancelled as a result of the storm surge.
Last week, leading Austrain promoter Barracuda Music GmbH announced a benefit concert in support of the flooding victims, to take place at Wiener Neustadt’s Arena Nova (5,000). The event, scheduled for 26 October, will feature Austrian artists Seiler & Speer, Wanda, Christina Stürmer, and more.
All proceeds from the concert will be donated to Austria Helps Austria, with donations to be distributed among a handful of local aid organisations.
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Hurricane/Southside secures blockbuster acts for 2025
Germany’s Hurricane and Southside festivals have unveiled the first wave of acts for 2025, following a record-breaking presale.
The first confirmed artists for the twin festivals are Green Day, AnnenMayKantereit, SDP, Alligatoah, Electric Callboy, Nina Chuba, Biffy Clyro, 01099, Yellowcard, Von Wegen Lisbeth, Wet Leg, Amyl & The Sniffers, Berq, Blond and Ikkimel.
In June, Hurricane and Southside shifted 60,000 tickets for the 2025 events in less than 24 hours and before a single act was announced. The first advanced sales run of 10,000 tickets was sold out in just 17 minutes.
Demand for the 2025 events exceeded that of last year’s presale when 50,000 tickets were sold on the first day.
The twin festivals, which are organised by FKP Scorpio and DreamHaus, will return to Scheeßel and Neuhausen ob Eck between 20–22 June 2025.
The first confirmed artists for the twin festivals are Green Day, AnnenMayKantereit, SDP, Alligatoah, Electric Callboy, Nina Chuba
The two promoters, along with eventimpresents, recently revealed the 2025 bill for their other twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park.
Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Sleep Token, Biffy Clyro, KIZ, A Day To Remember, Beatsteaks, Lorna Shore, The Warning, Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Idles, Jinjer, Powerwolf and The Ghost Inside are among the first confirmations.
Both events will mark significant anniversaries from 6-8 June next year, with Nürburgring’s Rock am Ring celebrating its 40th birthday and Nürnberg’s Rock im Park turning 30.
Elsewhere, FKP and DreamHaus recently celebrated the successful premiere of 6PM festival, which took place as part of Germany’s IFA Sommergarten – the centrepiece of leading technology and industry trade fair IFA Berlin.
The one-day event, organised in partnership with streetwear brand 6PM and TwoSlides, saw 10,000 fans flock to see performances from German-language rappers or Deutschrap.
Luciano, Pashanim, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Reezy, Ski Aggu, Juju, Yung Hurn and surprise guest Central Cee delivered performances at the inaugural event.
Elsewhere, FKP and DreamHaus recently celebrated the successful premiere of 6PM festival
Many of these artists are at the forefront of the Deutschrap boom, as reported in IQ‘s recent Germany market focus.
When half-Mozambican, Saxony-born Luciano tours late next year, it will be in the finest arenas in Cologne, Hanover, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Berlin.
Another DreamHaus-promoted act, Apache 207, born in Ludwigshafen on the Rhine, of Turkish extraction, recently concluded a 24-date tour of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and likewise hit all the biggest German arenas, typically for two or even three nights each.
“Germany is a very big market in itself,” says López. “So a lot of German hip-hop artists already have very good fanbases and a good market playing in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland,” said Neus López, head of export at German music funding institution Initiative Musik.
DreamHaus, All Artists Agency, and Landstreicher Booking are among those who have put a heavy emphasis on German-language hip-hop, nurturing the genre as it has exploded over the past decade. While DEAG has recently has spun off its hip-hop booking division into a standalone brand called District Live.
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Hurricane and Southside sell 60k presale tickets
Germany’s Hurricane and Southside festivals have sold 60,000 tickets for their 2025 events in less than 24 hours, surpassing last year’s record.
The twin festivals in Scheeßel and Neuhausen ob Eck, which are organised by FKP Scorpio and DreamHaus. have a combined capacity of 143,000. The first advanced sales run of 10,000 tickets was sold out in just 17 minutes.
Demand exceeded that of last year’s presale, when 50,000 tickets were sold on the first day. The 2024 editions starred acts including Ed Sheeran, Bring Me The Horizon, K.I.Z, Deichkind and Avril Lavigne from 21-23 June.
“The fact that the demand for tickets for our festival flagships would be high was to be expected based on the advance sales launches of recent years,” says Stephan Thanscheidt, CEO and head of festival booking at FKP Scorpio. “However, we were surprised that we would once again significantly exceed last year’s record.
“Our own costs across all areas of festival production have also risen by around 45% compared to before the pandemic”
“We have a fantastic festival weekend behind us with shows by Ed Sheeran, K.I.Z, Avril Lavigne, Bring Me The Horizon, Deichkind and many other acts that seem to have completely thrilled our guests. Music fans in the north and south of Germany have expressed their trust in us with this bombastic demand, which we greatly appreciate, especially in a phase of rising living costs.”
Tickets for next year are on sale now priced €219.
“Our own costs across all areas of festival production have also risen by around 45% compared to before the pandemic and are therefore at a level that we neither can nor want to pass on to our guests,” adds Thanscheidt. “This popularity makes it easier for us to plan and shows how important live culture is to people out there. Our contribution to this will therefore also consist of a top-class line-up and good organisation in the coming year.”
Also in Germany, the FKP Scorpio/eventimpresents/DreamHaus-promoted twin festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park sold a combined 50,000 ticket in the first 24 hours of the presale for their anniversary editions. Nürburgring’s Rock am Ring celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, while Nürnberg’s Rock im Park turns 30. Slipknot are the first 2025 headliner to be confirmed.
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European festival line-ups take shape for ’24
The 2024 festival season in Europe is beginning to take shape after a raft of top events made their first line-up announcements for next summer.
In Germany, Eventimpresents/DreamHaus’ twin Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, held at Nürburgring and Nürnberg, respectively, will welcome the likes of Die Ärzte, Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age, Green Day, Broilers, Billy Talent, Måneskin, Parkway Drive and Kraftklub from 7-9 June.
FKP Scorpio’s flagship festivals Hurricane, in Scheessel, and Southside, in Neuhausen ob Eck will also return from 21-23 June with acts such as Ed Sheeran, The National, Bring Me The Horizon, Avril Lavigne, The Offspring, The Hives, Jungle and Fontaines DC.
Denmark’s famed Roskilde has also announced its first batch of artists for its 52nd edition from 29 June to 6 July, which includes PJ Harvey, Kali Uchis, Romy, Trueno, The Armed and Blondshell.
“We have a long-running history of being a progressive festival with an international perspective, and we consistently push ourselves to further that purpose,” says Roskilde programme director Anders Wahrén. “We aim to inspire every single one of our 130,000 festival participants with a diverse lineup characterised by artistic curiosity and groundbreaking headliners presented in a unique festival setting.”
“Roskilde Festival is a very communal event where dreams and new ideas for a better tomorrow are being addressed”
He adds: “Roskilde Festival is a very communal event where dreams and new ideas for a better tomorrow are being addressed, exchanged, cultivated and eventually tried out by our participants. And music and art play a big part in inspiring us to even think and sense those new ideas to begin with.”
Set for 6-10 August, Norway’s Superstruct-backed Øyafestivalen will celebrate 25 years with headliners including Pulp and PJ Harvey, while Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival INMusic, which was cancelled in 2023 due to financial challenges, will return to Zagreb from 24-26 June, topped by Smashing Pumpkins and The National.
Elsewhere, Ed Sheeran was unveiled last month as the first headliner of Rock in Rio Lisbon’s 20th anniversary edition. First held in 2004, the biennial festival returns to Portugal for a double weekender between 15-16 & 22-23 June 2024.
Isle of Wight Festival today became the first major UK event to show its hand. Headlined by The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys and – in a UK festival exclusive – Green Day from 20-23 June. The bill also includes The Streets, Keane, Simple Minds, Crowded House, Blossoms, Nothing But Thieves and Zara Larsson, among others.
“We’re thrilled to announce our 2024 headliners today and to continue to showcase a truly exciting array of talent for next year’s festival,” says IoW organiser John Giddings. “From globally-recognised and pioneering artists, to chart-topping talent and rising stars, we can’t wait to welcome everyone to the island next year.”
Glastonbury has pushed its 2024 ticket sale back by two weeks
Also in the UK, Derbyshire’s Bearded Theory will welcome the likes of Jane’s Addiction, Amyl and the Sniffers, Sleaford Mods, Orbital and Dinosaur Jr to its 15th anniversary from 23-26 May.
And Slam Dunk, the UK’s biggest independent rock festival, will bring You Me At Six, The All American Rejects, I Prevail, Funeral For A Friend, Asking Alexandria, Waterparks, Palaye Royale and Pale Waves to Hatfield Park (25 May) and Leeds’ Temple Newsam (26 May).
Meanwhile, Glastonbury has pushed its 2024 ticket sale back by two weeks to 16 November (tickets plus coach travel) and 19 November (general admission) “out of fairness” to people who discovered they were no longer registered to attempt to buy tickets, despite believing they were.
“Following this year’s festival, we alerted everyone with a registration which pre-dated 2020 of a scheduled review of the details held by See Tickets in the Glastonbury Festival registration database,” says a statement. “This was in order to ensure that the details we hold are current and that we do not store individuals’ information for any longer than is necessary. These registrants were asked to take action to confirm their registration if they wished to keep it.
“Unfortunately, it has come to light that some individuals hoping to buy tickets for 2024 have discovered after Monday’s registration deadline that they are no longer registered, despite believing they were.
“Out of fairness to those individuals, we will be re-opening the window for registration at 12 noon on Monday, 6th November. It will remain open until 5pm on Monday, 13th November.”
Yesterday it was announced that annual action sport and music festival NASS, held near Bristol, will not take place next year as a result of rising costs. Meanwhile, the debut of new Dutch heavy metal festival South of Heaven has been postponed for a year after “no certainty could be given about obtaining the necessary permit for the first edition”. The event was set for 31 May and 1 June, promoted by TIRR Music Agency, Muziekgieterij Maastricht and Doomstar Bookings.
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FKP sees roaring presales after successful summer
FKP Scorpio boss Folkert Koopmans says the company is enjoying strong presales for its German festivals next year, despite price increases across the board.
The promoter wrapped up a successful 2023 festival summer with the Highfield Festival, organised with Semmel Concerts, which attracted 35,000 fans from 18-20 August.
Highfield featured acts such as Die Ärzte, K.I.Z, Marteria, SDP, RIN, Enter Shikari and Beatsteaks at the Störmthaler lake, just outside Leipzig. The presale has just begun for the 2024 edition, which will be held from 16-18 August.
The previous week saw the M’era Luna Festival take place before 25,000 fans in Hildesheim, featuring artists including Within Temptation and VV (Ville Valo). More than 60% of tickets for next year’s event, set for 10-11 August 2024, have already been sold. Acts will include ASP, Front 242, Saltatio Mortis, Lord of the Lost, Schandmaul, Die Krupps, Suicide Commando and Oomph!
Back in June, over 50,000 tickets were purchased on the first day of the presale for FKPs flagship Hurricane and Southside festivals, setting a new bar in the 20-plus-year history of the twin festivals in Scheeßel and Neuhausen ob Eck, respectively, which have a combined capacity of 143,000.
“We are still feeling the after-effects of the two pandemic years in many areas”
“The enormous popularity is the nicest confirmation for us,” says Koopmans. “We are still feeling the after-effects of the two pandemic years in many areas, especially in terms of price increases in all areas. And part of these costs, unfortunately, we have to pass on to the guests, even if we try to reduce this burden to a minimum.
“The fact that we have now organised successful festivals all around in the second year after the pandemic and that people have had a good time and trust us to offer them very special festival experiences again in 2024 makes us very happy.”
In addition, the 60,000-cap Deichbrand Festival sold out in 2023, and advance sales for next year have got off to a record-breaking start. The event will take place near Cuxhaven from 18-21 July.
“In a year in which many festivals and events have problems with advance ticket sales, to be completely sold out even before the festival begins is a terrific confirmation for us of the months of work and passion that everyone involved puts into the festival,” says festival MD Marc Engelke. “And after current record advance sales, more than 15,000 tickets have already gone through the store, which makes us extremely optimistic for the upcoming edition.”
“The positive feedback from our guests and the sensational advance sales inspire us”
FKP Scorpio CEO and head of festival booking Stephan Thanscheidt says further line-up details for next year will be revealed soon.
“My team and I are working flat out on the line-ups for 2024 and are sure we will be able to sign up great acts again and also reveal the first ones soon,” he adds. “The positive feedback from our guests and the sensational advance sales inspire us. We are very grateful for this appreciation and are already looking forward to the festival summer 2024!”
Speaking to IQ last month, Thanscheidt suggested the success of FKP’s festivals bucked the trend seen elsewhere in the country.
“Rising costs for virtually everything continue to take their toll,” he says. “Because of this, less demand and purchasing power, a lot of festivals are struggling, and we suspect their number to further decrease in the future. We consider ourselves very lucky that the demand for our remaining festivals such as Highfield and M’era Luna is stable, with the latter probably being sold-out shortly before the festival weekend.”
The company has tours later in the year with acts including The National and Queens of the Stone Age, and will also promote Taylor Swift’s Eras stadium dates in Germany next year.
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FKP Scorpio MD runs rule over ’23 festivals
FKP Scorpio MD Stephan Thanscheidt has reported a strong summer for the promoter’s flagship events, but warned of struggles across the wider German festival sector.
The twin Hurricane and Southside festivals took place from 16-18 June in Scheeßel and Neuhausen ob Eck, respectively, headlined by artists such as Muse, Die Ärzte, Placebo, Queens of the Stone Age, The 1975 and Loyle Carner.
“We’re very pleased with this year’s editions,” Thanscheidt tells IQ. “With 78,000 attendees at Hurricane and 60,000 at Southside we were almost sold-out, which is something that very few big festivals in Germany can say this year. Most importantly, our guests and artists had a great time and the weather was near-perfect.
“We’re also happy that we continue to make progress in making our festivals ecologically and socially more sustainable. Our gamification-based garbage concept ‘Trasholution’ generates donations for local charities, while all main stages at Southside as well as other infrastructure are powered with renewable energy. ‘Gamechanger’, our new band contest for female acts, was also very well received north and south.”
“We’ve worked very hard to achieve this success in an overall troubled market”
It was also recently revealed that both Hurricane and Southside set advance booking records after putting tickets on sale for 2024. Fans bought over 50,000 tickets on the first day of the presale, setting a new bar in the 20-plus-year history of the twin festivals, which have a combined capacity of 143,000. Weekend passes were priced from €199.
“Obviously, we’re over the moon in light of the overwhelming support and trust our guests put in our work,” says Thanscheidt. “For us, the sale onset for 2024 is a strong sign that people had a great time at Hurricane and Southside. Additionally, our ticket fares are moderate in comparison to our competition because we’re doing our hardest to shoulder or mitigate the rising production costs ourselves. Be that as it may, we’ve worked very hard to achieve this success in an overall troubled market and couldn’t be any happier right now.
“We’re constantly improving existing concepts based on audience feedback and our experience. Regarding the next edition I wouldn’t speak of many changes because both festivals proved this year that they’re successful the way they are. That doesn’t mean that we won’t improve, however, more sustainability and the next steps towards more diversity on our stages are our focus at the moment.”
FKP will also stage M’era Luna festival from 12-13 August near Hildesheim, topped by VV and Within Temptation, as well as Highfield, which will be held in Leipzig from 18-20 August with the likes of Die Ärzte, K.I.Z, Marteria, SDP, RIN and Beatsteaks.
“Rising costs for virtually everything continue to take their toll”
Thanscheidt suggests the success of FKP’s festivals bucked the trend seen elsewhere in the country so far this summer.
“Rising costs for virtually everything continue to take their toll,” he says. “Because of this, less demand and purchasing power, a lot of festivals are struggling, and we suspect their number to further decrease in the future. We consider ourselves very lucky that the demand for our remaining festivals such as Highfield and M’era Luna is stable, with the latter probably being sold-out shortly before the festival weekend.”
The company also has tours later in the year with acts including The National and Queens of the Stone Age, with Taylor Swift Eras stadium dates in Germany coming up next year.
“Apart from our successful festival summer, the rest of 2023 shapes up to be a comparatively calm time,” adds Thanscheidt. “With record-breaking stadium tours just behind us and Taylor Swift just confirmed for 2024, this is a welcome breather for our team.”
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2023 lineups: Øya, Flow, Hurricane & Southside
Øya (NO), Flow (FI), Hurricane & Southside (DE), Paaspop (NL) and Welcome To Rockville (US) are the latest festivals to beef-up their 2023 festival line-ups.
Norway’s Øya festival has detailed its gender-balanced line-up for 2023, which includes Sigrid, FKA Twigs, Caroline Polachek, Amyl and the Sniffers, Devo, Håkan Hellstrom, Shygirl and TV Girl.
The Superstruct-backed festival, which will return to Oslo’s Tøyenparken between 8–12 August, will once again put sustainability at the forefront of its operation.
The site operates free of fossil fuels, with 98% of its power being renewable and all construction machinery is run on biofuel.
That approach is also applied to everything from recycling (75% of all waste is recycled, having been sorted by hand) to travel (98% of attendees arrive by bike, foot or public transport).
The Øya site operates free of fossil fuels, with 98% of its power being renewable
Superstruct’s Flow Festival has also revealed the first acts for next year’s edition in Helsinki, Finland, between 11 and 13 August.
FKA Twigs, Caroline Polachek, Suede, Devo, Amyl & The Sniffers, Shygirl, Jockstrap, 070 Shake and more will perform at the culture, music, arts and debate festival in the post-industrial area of Suvilahti.
In Germany, the 2023 editions of FKP Scorpio’s flagship festivals, Hurricane and Southside, are beginning to take shape.
Billy Talent, Muse, Die Ärzte, Kraftklub, Placebo, Casper, Peter Fox and Queens Of The Stone Age will top the bill for the twin events, which this year sold-out and attracted 150,000 attendees.
Southside and Hurricane will return to Neuhausen ob Eck and the Eichenring motorcycle speedway in Scheessel, respectively, between 16 to 18 June 2023.
Danny Wimmer Presents unveiled the line-up for its longest-running annual festival
In neighbouring country, the Netherlands, The Event Warehouse is putting the final touches on Paaspop 2023.
Limp Bizkit today (15 December) joined next year’s line-up which already included 90 names including Antoon, Armin van Buuren, Calum Scott and Danny Vera.
Davina Michelle, De Staat, dEUS, DI-Rect, Flemming, George Ezra, Goldband, Reinier Zonneveld, Rondé, S10, Son Mieux and Triggerfinger are also lined up for the festival, scheduled for 7–9 April 2023 at De Molenheide in Schijndel.
Also today, Danny Wimmer Presents unveiled the line-up for its longest-running annual festival, Welcome To Rockville (US).
Tool, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, Deftones, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Queens of the Stone Age, Evanescence and Incubus are the first name to be announced for the 12th edition.
The event will return to Daytona International Speedway In Daytona Beach, Florida, between 18–21 May 2023. This year’s edition brought together 150,000 fans.
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FKP Scorpio MD: ‘We’re proud about our comeback’
FKP Scorpio MD Stephan Thanscheidt has given his verdict on this year’s festival season following the sell-out success of Germany’s Southside and Hurricane events.
Held from 17-19 June, the twin events were topped by Kings of Leon, Rise Against, Seeed, Martin Garrix, The Killers, Deichkind, Twenty One Pilots and KIZ.
The events return to Neuhausen ob Eck (Southside) and the Eichenring motorcycle speedway in Scheessel (Hurricane) from 16-18 June 2023.
In addition, FKP joined forces with DreamHaus and Loft Concerts to launch brand new open-air festival Tempelhof Sounds in Berlin earlier this month on the grounds of Tempelhof Airport – where the Berlin Festival once took place, and the German Lollapalooza Festival launched in 2015. Tempelhof Sounds was headlined by Florence + The Machine, Muse and The Strokes.
As FKP’s head of festival booking, Hamburg-based Thanscheidt is responsible for a programme of over 25 festivals across Europe. The company’s festival repertoire also includes Highfield, M’era Luna, Rolling Stone Beach, Metal Hammer Paradise, A Summer’s Tale, Plage Noire and Deichbrand.
On the international side, FKP Scorpio hosts Provinssi (FI), Sideways (FI), Greenfield (CH), Gården (SWE), Indian Summer (NL), Best Kept Secret (NL), Tuckerville (NL) and Aairport (DK), among others.
Here, in a quickfire Q&A with IQ, he reflects on the 2022 season so far and shares his hopes and fears for the wider market…
“We are facing the same challenges as everyone else, most notably a shortage of qualified personnel and a significant increase of expenses”
How pleased were you with the response to this year’s Southside and Hurricane festivals?
“We’re more than pleased with this year’s instalments of our flagship festivals. Both were sold out and all 150,000 attendees had a great time. That’s not taken for granted given the difficult circumstances our industry still finds itself in. The presale for both events has already started and is shaping up to be very dynamic. It’s also worth noting that we were very successful with a festival premiere this year: Tempelhof Sounds took place in Berlin the weekend before Hurricane and Southside and sold well over 40,000 tickets, surpassing even our expectations.”
What were the biggest challenges in the run-up to the events?
“We were facing the same challenges as everyone else, most notably a shortage of qualified personnel and a significant increase of expenses. A lot of people, for example in lighting, sound, planning or other areas, aren’t working in the sector anymore – with corona naturally being the main cause for this. The high inflation caused by the pandemic and the horrible war in Ukraine are additionally contributing to the issues we’re facing in production of live events today. It really shows in the light of recent developments that our big network of skilled labour in the value chain is a tremendous asset to have.”
How is the rest of your year shaping up?
“We’re proud about our comeback from the pandemic. In addition to the aforementioned, our European festivals, Deichbrand, M’era Luna and Highfield are just around the corner. Apart from the festival sector we’re promoting shows of the likes of The Rolling Stones and Ed Sheeran or new concepts like The Masked Singer. It’s not a given to not only get back into business after two years of break, but also bringing new ideas to the market.”
“Although we’re managing quite well, the live sector does not yet stand firmly on its own feet like it used to”
How is this year’s festival’s season going in Germany overall?
“The before-mentioned problems have caused some festivals to cancel – luckily not for us. One festival had to be stopped on its second day recently due to a lack of security personnel. Additionally, a lot of festivals had to cancel because the ticket sales did not go so well. Combined with the rising costs of producing live events, the risk of failure is bigger than ever.”
What are your biggest hopes and expectations for the market now moving forward?
“I would simply hope for more stability for the whole industry. Although we’re managing quite well, the live sector does not yet stand firmly on its own feet like it used to. At the same time, I’m positive that this will gradually change once the bulk of postponed events finally took place and the economic situation is more stable. What we’re still sure about is this: People love to experience live music, maybe more than ever – no amount of uncertainty will ever change this.”
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Storm Henri disrupts US concert comeback
We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, the star-studded show held in New York’s Central Park on Saturday 21 August, became the biggest victim of Hurricane Henri, the tropical storm which battered New England and the north-eastern United States over the weekend.
The concert, first announced by the mayor of New York city, Bill de Blasio, in June, was put together by veteran label exec Clive Davis in association with Live Nation and was to have featured performances by Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Paul Simon, the Killers, Jennifer Hudson, Run DMC, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J, Andrea Bocelli and more. However, the 60,000-strong crowd were asked to leave Central Park early – at around 8pm, during Barry Manilow’s set, and before Springsteen, Simon and the Killers could take the stage – as the heavens opened and lightning filled the sky.
While most tickets for the show were given free to New York residents, VIP tickets were available, priced between US$399 and $5,000, according to AP.
De Blasio acknowledged that “while it’s disappointing that tonight’s concert had to end early”, the lightning meant that authorities had no choice but to end the show early: “the safety of everyone in attendance had to come first.”
While it's disappointing that tonight's concert had to end early, the safety of everyone in attendance had to come first.
To everyone who came out tonight: thank you. Thank you for showing the world that New York City is coming back stronger than ever before.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) August 22, 2021
Other events were also called off after the state of New York declared a state of emergency on Saturday morning ahead of Henri (now downgraded to a tropical storm) making landfall.
Eagles’ highly anticipated return to Madison Square Garden, part of the band’s Hotel California tour, on Sunday (22 August) was cancelled by the arena, as was a Jason Mraz show at Mohegan Sun Arena (10,000-cap.) in Uncasville, Connecticut, the same night.
Elsewhere in Connecticut, Kiss’s show at the 30,000-capacity Xfinity Theatre in Hartford will now take place tonight (23 August) after being postponed from Sunday due to the hurricane.
Sporting events such as the PGA Tour golf tournament, which is in New Jersey, also cancelled or postponed scheduled fixtures.
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Rock am Ring/im Park, Hurricane and more called off
Some of Germany’s biggest music festivals, including Eventim Presents/DreamHaus’s Rock am Ring (95,000-cap.) and Rock im Park (75,000-cap.), FKP Scorpio’s Hurricane (78,000-cap.) and Southside (65,000-cap.) and ESK Events’ Deichbrand Festival (60,000-cap.), have been called off for a second year running.
The festivals’s promoters, all part of the Eventim Live network, “were compelled to call off the events due to the ongoing uncertainty about infection rates and mutations”, according to a statement from CTS Eventim.
Also off are dance music festival SonneMondSterne (35,000-cap.) and Swiss event Greenfield, which is also promoted by Hamburg-based FKP Scorpio.
Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, CEO of CTS Eventim, says: “We regret these cancellations very much and share the disappointment of everyone involved. But precedence must, of course, be given to safeguarding and protecting the health of fans, performers, festival teams and partners.
“However, it is also clear that this continuing uncertainty is further exacerbating the dramatic financial situation in which the live music industry finds itself. We are working on many levels to ensure that live culture can return to the stage as quickly and safely as possible.”
“We have had to accept with a heavy heart that festivals of this magnitude are not yet feasible at present”
The cancellations come in spite of Germany’s €2.5 billion fund for underwriting events held later in the year, as the country lags behind its neighbours in its Covid-19 vaccine roll-out.
Other major German festivals, including Melt Festival, Wacken Open Air, Parookaville, Wireless Germany and Superbloom, are still on at the time of writing.
Frithjof Pils, managing director of Eventim Live, says that “2021 was actually meant to be the summer of reunions, and festival organisers have invested a great deal of time and energy in sanitary and infection control concepts to make that possible. But given the persistent epidemiological situation and the associated restrictions in force, we have had to accept with a heavy heart that festivals of this magnitude are not yet feasible at present.”
“We are therefore focusing on the 2022 festival summer,” he adds, “and want to make it unforgettable for all of us.”
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