Reading & Leeds unveils ‘groundbreaking’ new stage
Reading & Leeds has unveiled details of a ‘groundbreaking’ new stage called The Chevron, featuring the world’s first floating video canopy.
The 40,000-capacity open-air stage will be positioned in the main arena of both festival sites, signalling “the return of the singular iconic main stage”.
The Prodigy, Sonny Fodera and Skrillex are set to headline The Chevron, which will be largely dedicated to dance and hip-hop acts.
Nia Archives, Barry Can’t Swim, Denzel Curry, Bou, Kenya Grace and Digga D will also inaugurate the stage.
The bespoke structure, billed as a “feat of engineering”, will feature a canopy made up of hundreds of thousands of programmable LED lights. With mesh that is 90% transparent, the LEDs appear to be floating in the air.
“This year I saw the opportunity to do something new and truly special, reflecting the audience’s evolving tastes”
The Chevron will also be the new home of the world’s biggest silent disco, which last year was headlined by SIGMA in a live simulcast set across both sites.
“The Chevron is more than just a physical stage; it’s a testament to Reading & Leeds’ continued commitment to innovation and industry leadership,” says Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn.
“We demonstrated this previously, with the introduction and success of dual main stages in 2021. This year I saw the opportunity to do something new and truly special, reflecting the audience’s evolving tastes and cutting-edge production the show is known for. This elevates our electronic and hip-hop music offerings, while still delivering six main-stage headliners and a strong representation across other genres. I can’t wait for everyone to experience The Chevron this summer.”
R&L takes place 21–25 August at Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds, and is headlined by Fred again.., Lana Del Rey, Blink 182, Liam Gallagher, Gerry Cinnamon, Catfish and the Bottlemen.
Other recently announced acts include 21 Savage, RAYE, Skrillex, Jorja Smith, The Prodigy, Digga D, Spiritbox, Reneé Rap, Fontaines D.C, Denzel Curry, Kenny Beats, Beabadoobee, Kenya Grace, Nia Archives, Two Door Cinema Club, Neck Deep, The Wombats, Ashnikko, David Kushner, Rachel Chinouriri, Hak Baker and The Last Dinner Party.
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Skrillex, Fred Again, Four Tet to close out Coachella
Skrillex, Fred Again.. and Four Tet are teaming up again to close out weekend two of Coachella this Sunday (23 April).
The Goldenvoice-promoted festival took to social media today (21 April) to break the news, confirming that the three Wasserman Music-repped acts will assume the ‘TBA’ slot after Blink 182 on the main stage on Sunday.
All four acts were confirmed for the closing slots after Frank Ocean withdrew from Coachella weekend two on doctor’s orders due to leg fractures sustained by the singer.
The Goldenvoice-promoter festival took to social media today to break the news
Coachella was in a similar position last year when Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) pulled out shortly before the festival’s opening day. Swedish House Mafia, who were already on the bill in a headlining but unlisted time slot, played a tag-team set with the Weeknd in the rapper’s place.
This Sunday’s closing set with Skrillex, Fred Again.. and Four Tet comes after the trio teamed up for a five-hour set at Madison Square Garden (21,000) in New York in February.
Prior to that, they joined forces for a run of three surprise shows in three nights at Camden’s Electric Ballroom (cap. 1,500), Electric Brixton (1,700) and the art deco Troxy (3,100) in London.
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Skrillex plans five-hour performance at Red Rocks
Skrillex will deliver a five-hour performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre (cap. 9,545) in Colorado next month.
The American DJ (aka Sonny Moore) will play from 7 pm to midnight ET on Saturday 29 April at the famed US venue.
The format emulates his show last month at Madison Square Garden (21,000) in New York, where he and co-headliners Fred again.. and Four Tet played the same five-hour time slot.
The format emulates his show last month at Madison Square Garden (21,000) in New York
Prior to that, the three Wasserman-repped artists joined forces for a run of three surprise shows in three nights at Camden’s Electric Ballroom (cap. 1,500), Electric Brixton (1,700) and the art deco Troxy (3,100) in London.
“It was an absolute whirlwind, it feels like a dream,” Troxy’s head of live Simon Eaton told IQ. “It’s such a short period to put on a show of that scale and I can’t believe we pulled it off. It’s great to have it out the way in one sense, but you like to look forward to these big events and I feel as though our biggest event of the year has already come and gone – and it’s only January!”
Tickets for Skrillex’s Red Rocks show go on sale tomorrow (31 March) at 12 pm ET.
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Troxy completes dance trio’s London gig trilogy
Troxy’s head of live Simon Eaton has spoken to IQ about hosting the climactic gig in a trilogy of special London performances by Four Tet, Fred Again + Skrillex.
The electronic dance superstars joined forces for a run of three surprise shows in three nights at Camden’s Electric Ballroom (cap. 1,500), Electric Brixton (1,700) and the art deco Troxy (3,100) from 5-7 January.
All shows, which followed the release of Wasserman Music clients Fred Again and Skrillex’s Rumble collaboration with Flowdan, had tickets released on the day and sold out within minutes.
“We got a call from Eat Your Own Ears, the promoter, a couple of days before Christmas,” Eaton tells IQ. “We do a lot of work with them and are good friends of ours. They often come to us with similar ideas, although normally with a slightly longer lead time!
“They wanted to go with three independent venues – bigger venues each day – finishing with that final explosive show. They were looking for something of around 2,000 cap, which is our capacity for club nights, so we fitted what they were looking for. It was finalised around 27-28 December and it was all systems go from that point. I had to cancel my annual leave and work over the Christmas period, but it was well worth it.”
“To sell 2,000 tickets in 16 seconds and there not be a single issue was outrageous”
All three events were not announced until the days they took place, with tickets released in staggered announcements on the artists’ Instagram stories.
“They wanted to split the tickets into three sections, so each artist had their own little pot of tickets rather than everything pulling from one central pot,” explains Eaton. “They wanted the artists to make the announcements themselves, rather than the venue, promoter of anyone else.
“We’d already built all the ticketing behind the scenes and supplied them with the links the day before, so it was ready to go and we were just waiting for them to do it. Four Tet went just after midday and the other two not until a little bit later in the afternoon.”
More than 20,000 fans tried to buy tickets on the first two announcements alone, with over 9,000 users on a waiting list as soon as the final announcement went live.
“I think 16 seconds was how long it took for all tickets to be in baskets, which is insane,” says Eaton. “It’s broken all records here. To sell 2,000 tickets in 16 seconds and there not be a single issue was outrageous, so kudos to Dice, our ticketing provider, for that.”
“We had the most sold-out shows we’ve ever had at one period of time at the back end of last year – and that’s now rolling into this year”
An extended stage platform was built from the venue’s main stage which enabled the DJs to perform from a central location in the midst of the crowd.
“It was an absolute whirlwind, it feels like a dream,” adds Eaton. “It’s such a short period to put on a show of that scale and I can’t believe we pulled it off. It’s great to have it out the way in one sense, but you like to look forward to these big events and I feel as though our biggest event of the year has already come and gone – and it’s only January!”
East London’s Troxy continues its busy start to 2023 with a sold-out concert by Editors (1 February) as part of Independent Venue Week. Other shows include Black Veil Brides (25 February) and The Flaming Lips (25 April), who will be performing their Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots album in full.
“There’s a different challenge every day,” says Eaton. “[The cost of] everything has gone up and it’s difficult at the minute, but everyone’s in the same boat and we’re doing the best we possibly can with it. Fortunately, we’ve got an incredible year of events coming up, which I’m quietly confident is going to offset all those costs.
“We had the most sold-out shows we’ve ever had at one period of time at the back end of last year, and that’s now rolling into this year.”
The building, which opened in 1933, is also undergoing a refurbishment, which coincides with its 90th anniversary and will result in a capacity increase.
“We’re looking at Q4 for that coming into play, but it’s TBC on what the exact number will be in terms of the capacity increase,” he adds. “That needs to be signed off by licensing and police and whatnot, but it’s substantial.”
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Spain’s Monegros festival back after 5-year break
The Arnau family, the group behind Spanish promoter Elrow, has announced the return of electronic music event Monegros Desert Festival, which has been on an extended hiatus since 2014.
The last edition of Monegros festival attracted 40,000 fans to dance in the desert to sets by Skrillex, Carl Cox, Steve Aoki and Boys Noize. The 2015 edition, which was to see a reduced capacity of 20,000, was “suddenly suspended” two months prior to the event, according to local media.
After days of teasing, the festival’s return was revealed on Facebook, with the bilingual statement: ¡Monegros ha veulto! Monegros is back!
The 2020 festival, which will include more than 20 hours of music, will take place on 1 August in the eponymous desert in northeast Spain, marking the 21st edition of the event.
“We are not coming back to do something predictable”
“We are not coming back to do something predictable,” says festival owner Juan Arnau. “We want to produce the biggest festival ever seen in the history of Monegros.”
Arnau’s father, Juan Arnau Duran, launched Monegros Groove Parade in 1994, later renaming the event to Monegros Desert Festival. Arnau Duran’s children, Juan and Cruz Arnau, now own and run the event.
The pair are also the current owners and managers of the Elrow brand and the founders of the Elrow parties, which happen at major clubs and festivals worldwide. James Barton-led Superstruct Entertainment invested in the Barcelona-based promoter in 2017.
Acts to have performed at past Monegros festivals include the Prodigy, Underworld, Public Enemy, Justice and Richie Hawtin.
Fans can sign up for pre-sale tickets, which become available on 15 October at 12 p.m. (CET), here. Priority access to tickets is limited to 3,000.
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