Pitchfork Music Festival to launch in Mexico City
Pitchfork Music Festival is launching in Mexico City next year, following editions in Chicago, London, Berlin and Paris.
The event will take place from 6 to 9 March 2024 across venues including Foro Indie Rocks!, Frontón Bucareli, Fünk Club and Yu Yu.
The first acts will be announced in the coming months, along with more venues.
“With its incredible and diverse music scene, Mexico City is a natural home for our festival,” said Pitchfork’s editor-in-chief, Puja Patel.
“With its incredible and diverse music scene, Mexico City is a natural home for our festival”
“We look forward to championing a lineup of local and international artists, and, as always, creating space for music discovery and community. I’m especially grateful to our partners at Indie Rocks for sharing our vision and bringing it to life.”
Pitchfork Plus passes are available for 4,400 Mexican pesos, and grant access to four venue shows and three club shows.
Pitchfork Standard passes are also available for 3,400 Mexican pesos, and grant access to four venue shows.
The Pitchfork Music Festival launched in 2006 in Union Park, Chicago. In 2011, the festival’s first spin-off event took place in Paris at the 15,000-capacity Grande Halle de la Villette.
In 2019, the festival launched in Berlin at the 3,500-capacity Tempodrom, featuring a mix of established artists and emerging musicians. And in 2021, the first edition of Pitchfork Music Festival London took place.
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High demand for Lana Del Rey surprise concerts
Tickets for Lana Del Rey’s surprise shows in Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam have flown off the shelf.
The singer announced the shows last Tuesday (27 June), just three days before tickets went on sale: “I love Europe and after playing at Glastonbury I’ve decided to play a few more shows around my Hyde Park London concert.”
General sale for Del Rey’s concert at the Ziggo Dome (cap. 17,000) in Amsterdam – the largest of the three shows – took place last Friday (30 June) and sold out within 10 minutes. A pre-sale exclusive to subscribers of MOJO’s newsletter launched a day prior.
At present, 1,440 tickets are wanted on the resale platform Ticketswap and 849 have been sold since the general sale.
“I love Europe and after playing at Glastonbury I’ve decided to play a few more shows”
The 4 July concert will mark the first time in a decade that Del Rey has performed in the Netherlands, after a sold-out show at the 6,000-capacity AFAS Live (then known as Heineken Music Hall) in 2013.
The 38-year-old will also visit the 3Arena (13,000) in Dublin on 7 July and the Olympia Music Hall (1,996) in Paris on 10 July. Both shows are sold out.
The New York-born singer, represented by WME worldwide excluding North America, also played Italy’s La Prima Estate festival on 2 July and is due to close BST Hyde Park (AEG Presents) this Sunday (9 July).
It comes after Del Rey’s headline slot at Glastonbury was cut short as a result of appearing on stage 30 minutes late.
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Concerts cancelled due to France riots
A number of concerts and festivals in France have been cancelled as a result of the ongoing riots in Paris.
More than 3,200 arrests have been made amid violent protests and looting sparked by the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb last Tuesday (27 June).
The biggest events to be called off for security reasons were Mylène Farmer’s two nights at the 90,000-cap Stade de France, which were due to take place on 30 June and 1 July.
“Circumstances forced us to cancel the two concerts at Stade de France,” says producer Thierry Suc. “All the teams are looking for the best opportunities to try and find new dates and propose solutions, even if each new day remains an unknown.”
We Love Green and Yard’s Yardland festival at the Parc de Choisy in Paris also fell by the wayside. The 1-2 July event was to have showcased acts such as Metro Boomin, Tayc, Ayra Starr, Omah Lay and Kaaris.
The violence in Paris appeared to be subsiding yesterday following four days of unrest
“We have no choice but to follow and respect this decision,” says a statement by organisers. “We would like to thank everyone involved in this project, especially the teams on site.
“A big thank you to the 33,000 people who had taken their tickets for this first edition. We will get back to you very quickly for the terms of reimbursement. We’re packing up for this year, but we’ll be back. Once again take care of yourself, let’s protect each other.”
French chain store Fnac also cancelled the final night of its Fnac Live Paris festival, which was set to feature Aime Simone, Hervé and Selah Sue.
The violence in Paris appeared to be subsiding yesterday (2 July) following four days of unrest. The number of arrests fell from 700 on Saturday to 150 last night, with 45,000 officers deployed across France for the past three nights.
At the weekend, the family of Nahel M, the teenager killed by police, called for an end to the violence.
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Global Citizen plans Paris event with Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish, Lenny Kravitz, H.E.R. and Jon Batiste are among the artists set to perform at Global Citizen’s upcoming event in Paris.
The event, dubbed Power Our Planet: Live in Paris, will stream live from Paris’ Champ de Mars on 22 June in a bid to raise awareness about world poverty and climate change.
The free Live Nation-produced event will be held before a ticketed audience and streamed from in front of the Eiffel Tower on the Global Citizen channel on Amazon’s Twitch, with further broadcast or streaming partners to be announced in the coming weeks. Ben Harper, Finneas and Mosimann will provide additional special performances.
The location of the event was chosen to coincide with The Summit for a New Financial Pact, which is being held in Paris between 22-23 June.
Global Citizen hopes that the concert will help compel World Bank President Ajay Banga, the US government’s Janet Yellen and all the G20 Nations to take action on loosening up funds for less developed nations to deal with climate change.
“The only way we’re gonna make this summit count is to bring the whole world to focus its attention on it”
“How will we do that through a concert?” Global Citizen CEO and co-founder Hugh Evans told Variety. “Well, when President Macron and Mia Mottley asked Global Citizen to be part of this, they were really candid. They said there are conferences every day of the week. There are summits every day of the week. People don’t know about 90% of them. They might see a photo of the G8 meeting, and it looks nice, but these summits come and go all the time.
“The only way we’re gonna make this summit count in this critical year that counts for climate change is to bring the whole world to focus its attention on it. That’s why we’re thrilled that Billie Eilish, Lenny Kravitz, H.E.R., Jon Batiste, Ben Harper and so many incredible artists are volunteering their time to be part of this, because we need the US public to engage with this — so that the US Treasury engages with this, so that they actually reform the World Bank.”
Power Our Planet is a year-long campaign aiming to give vulnerable countries a better financial foundation and access to financing solutions to invest in the transition to clean energy and withstanding natural disasters.
“Together with Global Citizens and global artists, we are calling on world leaders, multilateral development banks, philanthropists, and private sector leaders to deliver critical funding and reimagine our financial systems to meet the moment, defend the planet, and make sure that no matter where you live, everyone is protected from the worst impacts of climate change and inequality,” reads a mission statement from Global Citizen.
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Usher announces Paris residency
Usher has announced a forthcoming mini-residency in France at Paris’ La Seine Musicale.
The US star will perform the four-night Rendez-Vous A Paris stint – his only confirmed European dates – from 24-25 and 27-28 September 2023, presented by Live Nation.
Fans are promised “never-before-seen costumes, state-of-the-art lighting and special effects” along with a catalogue of hits from Usher’s near 30-year career.
Tickets range from €100.50 to €441.50, and go on sale this Friday (21 April).
The R&B singer is currently in the midst of his latest Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live in Park MGM
The 44-year-old R&B singer, whose last European played Europe as part of his 2014/15 UR Experience Tour, is currently in the midst of his latest Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live in Park MGM, which runs until October.
“I like the idea of what I’ve found in Las Vegas,” Usher told GQ earlier this year. “It gives me an opportunity to settle. I have children now. I got a life, so [I like] being able to have a few days in certain places and being able to celebrate those places and enjoy them. At this age, you try to hold on to the moments.”
Usher also headlined J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, earlier this month and will star in the second edition of hip-hop and R&B event Lovers & Friends, which returns to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on 6 May.
Other acts slated to perform at the 6,000-cap La Seine Musicale in the coming months include Norah Jones, 5 Seconds of Summer and John Fogerty.
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Global Promoters Report: France
The Global Promoters Report, a first-of-its-kind resource that highlights the world’s leading promoters and the 40 top markets they operate in, is now available to subscribers of IQ.
In an excerpt from the guide, IQ delves into one of Europe’s most influential markets: France.
As one of Europe’s major international touring markets, trends in France have repercussions across the continent. The market prognosis in 2022 is very much a mixed bag. Recovery from Covid after long periods of shutdown was beginning to happen only to crash headfirst into growing energy costs and a mounting economic crisis in the country. There are plenty of things to be optimistic about in the sector, but the severe challenges impacting live music cannot be ignored.
As in most European markets, the international heavyweights in France are Live Nation and AEG Presents. Live Nation runs Lollapalooza and Afropunk festivals in the capital, as well as I Love Techno Europe and Main Square. International touring acts it brought in during 2022 included The Rolling Stones, Jack Harlow, Sting, Chainsmokers, and Lil Nas X, with Bring Me The Horizon, You Me At Six, The Vamps, Lizzo, and Sam Smith booked for 2023 as well as stadium shows in Paris with Beyoncé, Metallica and The Weeknd.
AEG Presents runs the Rock en Seine festival, and acts it booked for 2022 included Suede and Olivia Rodrigo. Acts confirmed for 2023 include Tom Brennan, Yungblud, and Celine Dion.
Take Me Out is a new local entrant in the French market, launching in February 2022. Bookings this year include The Amazons, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and The Libertines, with We Are Scientists, North Mississippi Allstars, Circa Waves, and The Slow Readers Club booked for next year.
Corida Group (incorporating Corida, Super!, The Talent Boutique. and Pi-Pôle) is the live music arm of the Because Group and acquired a 50% stake in the Pitchfork Paris festival promoter Super! in 2018. Super! also runs the Villette Sonique festival.
“Unlike other countries, we were lucky enough to benefit from government subsidies during most of the pandemic”
Alias Production brought acts such as Courtney Barnett, Mogwai, Confidence Man, Franz Ferdinand, and Youssou N’Dour to play in 2022. Its bookings for 2023 include dEUS, The War on Drugs, Yo La Tengo, Lewis Capaldi, and Robbie Willims.
“Unlike other countries, we were lucky enough to benefit from government subsidies during most of the pandemic, which has protected companies and saved many jobs, so there hasn’t been too much damage across the industry,” says Emma Greco, promoter at AEG Presents in Paris.
“However, the French political climate is heated as we’re facing new challenges with the rise of energy prices, shortages of gas, and the high cost of living, all causing new waves of protest and strikes.”
She says touring costs are shooting up, with transportation costs in particular up 20% this year. There is also a skills and equipment shortage, caused in part by the pandemic, as infrastructure companies closed/downscaled and skilled workers were forced to leave the business and seek work elsewhere. As more acts race to get back on the road in France, there is still not enough staff or enough equipment to go around.
“All the sound and lighting providers were out of stock in recent months, meaning we have sometimes had to turn to our EU neighbours,” explains Greco.
“All the sound and lighting providers were out of stock in recent months, meaning we have had to turn to our EU neighbours”
Jean-Louis Schell, promoter at Take Me Out, believes there is also an oversaturation in the market. He says that 20 years ago, around 150 international acts were touring in France each year; now it is over 1,000.
“We have the same number of venues, maybe more small clubs with free entry, but there are the same number of people buying tickets and inflation is increasing; even if it is less than in other territories, 5.6% is still huge,” he says. “Students and young people generally have less money.”
Arnaud Meersseman, general manager of AEG Presents and programmer at Rock en Seine, says increases in ticket prices and acts touring too frequently are causing severe problems in the market.
“Large venues with more than 5,000 capacity have seen ticketing go up by 19% compared to 2019, but small venues have seen a drop of 38%, and medium venues have seen a drop of 26%,” he says. “Those medium and small bands that are in the middle, they’re all touring at the same time. They are probably not that new, they’ve probably been around for a while, people have seen them, and they’re on their second or third record. If you miss them this time around, well, that’s fine; you can see them the next time they come around.”
Pascal Bernardin of Encore Productions lays out the scale of the challenges as he sees them. “I’m lucky that my business is outside France,” he says of the state of the domestic market. “If I look at promoters, it’s been hard, and I’m not sure when it will come back. Festivals did okay, and the big ones did very, very well. A lot of smaller festivals did not do so well. A lot of people complain about the cost, which is getting higher.”
The average ticket price for major shows in France is €120-130 so consumers cannot afford to go to more shows more frequently
What this all means is that smaller acts and acts in the middle are struggling the most, with Schell suggesting audiences are increasingly waiting until the last minute to buy tickets. “It forces the promoters to increase their promo expenses, so the breaking point becomes more difficult to reach,” he says. “Stadiums and arenas are filling – or at least most of them are.”
And, of course, the impact of Brexit on British acts touring in France (and elsewhere in Europe) remains an issue. “The ATA carnets are a pain for young bands,” says Schell, “so we mainly look for venues and festivals providing backline.”
For the biggest acts, their popularity insulates them to an extent. Meersseman points to Blackpink and other K-pop superstars as creating their own centre of gravity in the French market. “We find that it is doing exceptionally well with very high ticket prices,” he says, especially with regard to upsell options. “If you get the full VIP package and you’re two people, you can be spending up to €2,000 on the show.”
Meersseman also suggests the average ticket price for major shows in France is €120-130, and that means big acts scoop most of the money, and consumers cannot afford to go to more shows more frequently. “Once you spend that times two, you’re not going to be spending much on tickets for the rest of the month,” he says.
Meersseman also feels there is something of a touring arms race happening at the upper levels at the moment that will greatly impact on the future shape of the market.
“To bring in a bigger show costs a fortune, therefore you raise ticket prices”
“The competition is so intense because of the volume of touring that acts need to bring in bigger and bigger shows – but everything costs more and more,” he says. “To bring in a bigger show costs a fortune, therefore you raise ticket prices. Other acts think they should raise ticket prices and bring in a bigger show. It’s a vicious circle, and I don’t think it’s leading to anything very good.”
The processes of breaking acts across France are, however, beginning to change, even amid the market uncertainty outlined above. “We start off with a club show or a tastemaker event,” says Meersseman. “Agents love putting all their acts through Primavera and then having a soft launch for all the acts at the same time in June. We try to avoid that if we can. From there on, we’ll usually give them a good slot at our festival, Rock en Seine, to try to build them up from there. Then we’ll try to get them back in for a bigger Paris show. After that we will try to get them back for some regional shows and regional festivals. France is such a centralised country, that if you don’t break Paris, you’ll never be able to venture into the regions. Paris is the key to opening up everything.”
Greco says that breaking Paris is only the start and that promoters really need to be thinking and acting locally. “I think it’s important to build an artist outside of Paris – whether it’s through festivals or regional shows,” she says. “There’s not always time for it, but I believe it’s an important step when building an artist in our market.”
“If you don’t break Paris, you’ll never be able to venture into the regions”
International acts that have performed well in terms of touring are varied. Schell mentions Peter Doherty and Kasabian as recent successes, adding that French hip-hop acts are now selling tickets on a par with some of the biggest international acts, suggesting an interesting domestic/foreign split in the live market.
Greco points to Fred Again, who sold 1,600 tickets in two minutes for his show at Elysée Montmartre, and Olivia Rodrigo’s first show in France at the Zenith in June 2022 exceeded expectations.
Meersseman says, beyond a range of K-pop acts and major international stars like Robbie Williams and Tyler, The Creator doing well, there is a revival of interest in pop-punk from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Hella Mega Tour (featuring Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer) sold out the 35,000-capacity La Défense Arena in July 2022. Meanwhile, The Offspring have sold out the Zenith in Nantes and were already close to selling out the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, with both shows not happening until May 2023.
Parts of the market are struggling and other parts of the market are over-indexing. This dynamic looks unlikely to change for a while, with suggestions that, with many postponed shows running into next year, it might not be until 2023 that the live market in France fully recalibrates itself.
The Global Promoters Report is published in print, digitally, and all content is also available as a year-round resource on the IQ site. The Global Promoters Report includes key summaries of the major promoters working across 40+ markets, unique interviews and editorial on key trends and developments across the global live music business.
To access all content from the current Global Promoters Report, please click here.
12 injured in moshpit collapse at Paris festival
Twelve people were injured at a French music festival when part of the floor collapsed during a performance by rapper Nes.
The incident took place late on Saturday (21 January) at the Hyperweekend festival at Radio France’s Maison de la Radio et de la Musique headquarters in Paris.
According to local police, as per Le Parisien, it is believed that a slab gave way under the weight of pogoing spectators. None of the injuries were considered to be serious but the show was curtailed and the space closed as a result of the accident.
“We are in contact with the police teams and Radio France is hiring an expert to determine the causes of the incident”
Radio France, which organised the event, offers its “most sincere apologies” in a social media post.
“We are thinking in particular of the 12 festival-goers who suffered injuries,” says the statement. “We are in contact with them to get news and support them. tonight, their condition seems reassuring and we wish them all a good recovery.
“The securing of the site, the management of injuries and the evacuation of festival-goers were done immediately and calmly, thanks to all the festival-goers present. We are in contact with the police teams and Radio France is hiring an expert to determine the causes of the incident.”
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Made In Korea festival to launch in Paris next year
Made In Korea festival will be exported to the Accor Arena (cap. 20,300) in Paris on 18 and 19 February 2023, following a successful edition in London this summer.
Organisers today unveiled phase one of the lineup, which includes K-pop soloists CL and Chung Ha, along with groups like BtoB, Pentagon, Kard and Cherry Bullet.
Other confirmations include Korean rappers Kid Milli, Giriboy, Han Yo-han and Jjangyou, as well as DJ Dnopf and DJ Apro. The second and third phases of the Paris bill will be announced at a later date.
The most recent Made In Korea festival was held in London’s Southwark Park in July and was hailed as Europe’s biggest outdoor K-pop festival.
The most recent Made In Korea festival was held in London’s Southwark Park in July
The two-day event comprised a K-pop day featuring performances by Chung Ha, Cherry Bullet, Red Velvet, VIVIZ and more, along with a second hip-hop day, which included acts like Jay Park and Jessi.
Alongside music, the £168 ticket price also included non-music activities and events revolving around Korean fashion, lifestyle, culture, street food and more.
Made In Korea is one of a raft of new K-pop festivals that have launched in Europe in the last year, including K-pop.Flex which debuted in Frankfurt this year and Singapore’s HallyuPopFest which was transported to London’s OVO Wembley Arena in July.
K-pop.Flex, touted as Europe’s largest K-pop festival, will debut next September at London’s The O2. The venue’s VP and general manager Steve Sayer recently spoke to IQ about launching the festival, as well as Blackpink’s recent headline shows at the venue.
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Slam Dunk France to debut in 2023
The long-delayed launch of Slam Dunk France has been confirmed for 2023.
No date or venue has yet been announced for the pop-punk, emo, metal and alternative music festival, which was launched in Leeds, UK in 2006 by promoter Ben Ray.
The French spin-off, teased via a logo on the event’s social channels, was originally set for 30 May 2020 at La Cigale & La Boule Noire, Paris in partnership with Paris-based agency Opus Live, with tickets priced €35.20 to €38.50.
The UK edition of Slam Dunk will be held across two sites
Acts such as The Used, Four Year Strong, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk, Landmvrks and Grayscale were lined up for the inaugural edition before the event fell victim to the pandemic. Plans to reschedule the festival for 2021 were also later cancelled.
Meanwhile, the UK edition of Slam Dunk will be held across two sites – Hatfield Park on 27 May and a northern leg in Temple Newsam, Leeds on 28 May.
Artists will include The Offspring, Enter Shikari, Billy Talent, Bowling for Soup, Yellow Card, Less than Jake, Kids in Glass Houses, Underoath, Flogging Molly, Creeper and The Hunna, among others. General admission tickets cost £89 (€102).
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French indie promoter targets international acts
French promoter Take Me Out has launched new indie night They’re Gonna Be Big (TGBB), which is dedicated to giving emerging international acts their first show in Paris and securing them a place on the company’s roster.
Take Me Out officially launched in early 2022 as a collaboration between concert organiser Speakeasy and Paris rock club Supersonic, which hosts the recurring theme night.
Run by live music industry veteran Jean-Louis Schell, Speakeasy worked with acts such as The Libertines and Kasabian, while Supersonic has welcomed the likes of Yungblud, The Warlocks, Nick Olivieri and Soccer Mommy.
“The idea behind Take Me out is to build on the strengths of both companies to spot talent early on and book their gigs on French territory,” Schell told IQ earlier this year. “The plan is to take artists way beyond small-sized venues such as the Supersonic.”
“The plans are to organise five to six nights a year”
TGBB hosts five bands over two stages: the 300-cap club and 140-cap Supersonic record store two doors down. Recent acts have included English Teacher, Memes, Courting, Pale Blue Eyes and Honeyglaze.
The club night returns on 24 August with Jaws The Shark, Hallan and The Rills, with more names to be announced.
“The plans are to organise five to six nights a year, depending on the opportunities,” says Schell. “The Supersonic and Take Me Out warmly welcome suggestions.”
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