Portugal’s NOS Alive has reinforced its link-up with Primary Talent, which has curated the lineup for the WTF Clubbing stage for this year’s festival.

In the third year of the partnership, the booking agency has confirmed The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set), A-Trak, NTO (Live), Erol Alkan, Chloé Robinson, Riordan and Papa Nugs for 12 July.

The full bill for the 17th edition of NOS Alive, which runs from 10-12 July at Passeio Marítimo de Algés, includes Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Fender, Kings Of Leon, Nine Inch Nails, Noah Kahan, Benson Boone, Glass Animals, Justice, Girl in Red, The Teskey Brothers, St. Vincent, FINNEAS, CMAT and Foster The People.

In a UK festival exclusive, dance music institution Creamfields has unveiled Anyma, aka Matteo Milleri, as its first headliner. Organisers of the gathering, which takes place from 21-24 August in Daresbury, Cheshire, describe the US DJ, who delivered the first electronic music residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, as “undoubtedly the biggest name in electronic music today”.  Additional names set to play the festival are expected to be revealed at the end of the month.

Nottingham’s Splendour returns for the first time in two years from 19-20 July, headlined by Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Travis and Jake Bugg. Other names include Clean Bandit, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Natasha Bedingfield, Echo & The Bunnymen, Seasick Steve, The Levellers and The Fratellis.

“We’re very pleased to finally be back with another brilliant line-up”

It will also debut daytime disco stage Day Fever, featuring party tunes curated by Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers and actor Vicky McClure.

“Splendour has become a standout weekend for families and seasoned gig-goers alike and an important event for the cultural and economic value it brings to the region,” says George Akins of promoter DHP Family. “We’re very pleased to finally be back with another brilliant lineup, now spread across two days and six distinct stages, offering great value to everyone coming to enjoy the weekend with us.”

Meanwhile, the lineup for Finland’s Provinssi, held in Törnävä, Seinäjoki, from 26-28 June, has been extended with the addition of The Hives, Ella Marie, Sailor Honeymoon, Ahti x Hugo and supercollective Eevil Stöö x Dj Kridlokk x Ex Tuuttiz. They will join the previously announced likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Electric Callboy, In Flames and Knocked Loose.

Scotland’s TRNSMT, which will be topped by 50 Cent, Biffy Clyro and Snow Patrol on Glasgow Green from 11-13 July, had added Good Neighbours, Arthur Hill, NOFUN!, Lucia & The Best Boys, Brògeal, Tom Walker, Nathans Evans & The Saint Phnx Band, Brooke Combe and The View’s Kyle Falconer.

Belgium’s Rock Werchter (3-6 July) has added De La Soul, GLINTSAL, Nia Archives, Ezra Collective, Alessi Rose, Mother Mother, Weezer, Caribou, Warhaus, Arsenal, The Backseat Lovers, Dikke and Sylvie Kreusch, Pommelien Thijs, David Kushner, Shaboozey, Dasha, Wunderhorse, Bolis Pupul and Jokke. Linkin Park, Green Day, Sam Fender and Olivia Rodrigo will headline.

“We’ve always dreamed of bringing a rock lineup of this calibre to the prairies”

The Netherlands’ Spoorpark Live, which is expanding from a festival weekend into a week-long event, has unveiled Bryan Adams (24 June), The Prodigy (27 June) and Nile Rodgers + Chic (28 June) as its first 2025 headliners at Spoorpark, Tilburg.

Elsewhere, in the US, The Lumineers, Hozier, The Killers, Megan Thee Stallion, Lainey Wilson, Benson Boone, Def Leppard and James Taylor are set for Milwaukee’s three-weekend independent festival Summerfest (19-21 & 26-28 June/3-5 July).

And Edmonton, Canada, is getting a new two-day rock festival in the form of Rockin’ Thunder, which launches at Exhibition Lands Racetrack on 11-12 July. Performers will include Def Leppard, Weezer, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Brett Michaels, Stone Temple Pilots, Queensrÿche, Toque, the Trews, and Default.

“We’ve always dreamed of bringing a rock lineup of this calibre to the prairies, and with the incredible energy and love for music that defines Canada’s festival city, it felt like the perfect time,” says festival CEO Troy Vollhoffer.

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DHP Family’s Splendour Festival is set to return in 2025 after a new five-year contract was agreed with Nottingham City Council.

The 25,000-cap UK event’s 2024 edition was axed due to delays over tendering, but the authority is expected to rubber-stamp a deal covering 2025-29 at next week’s commissioning and procurement executive committee.

The two-day festival in Wollaton Park was last held in 2023, when it was headlined by Madness and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

“This is a popular attraction as part of Nottingham’s annual events and entertainment programme and has created positive recognition, economic and social benefit for the city,” says the authority. “This would be lost or put at risk if these were discontinued. The cancellation of the event in 2024 has already seen a detrimental reputational impact on the city alongside a loss of income to the council.”

The council document lists the total value of the decision as £11.8 million (€13.9m), based on estimated turnover over the five years. The authority staged the annual festival jointly with Nottingham-headquartered promoter and venue operator DHP since 2007, but a formal competitive tendering process was initiated following the expiration of the most recent agreement two years ago.

“We understand the council, as owners of the Wollaton site, wanting to check that they are getting value for money for city residents from our deal”

“Revised terms between the council and DHP were agreed within a heads of terms agreement that covered the period from 2018-22,” it notes. “This approach reflected the wider changes in the council’s risk appetite and approach to staging events to reduce financial risks and begin the move towards a cost neutral, commercial income events model. This approach also sought to align our commercial terms for Splendour with other events of a similar nature staged within the city.

“Some of the changes at this time were also reflected in the wider UK festival industry. Instead of very large annual mega-festivals such as V Festival or T in the Park, most cities were now hosting some form of local/regional music festival; hence there was little or no rationale for the council to continue to financially support a festival, that was being entirely delivered by the commercial sector in other cities.

“Subsequently this event was identified as a concession and under the council’s procurement policy and best value duty required a formal tendering process to be undertaken which commenced in 2023.”

According to the Nottingham Post, DHP has declined to comment at this stage, but said in a previous statement: “We understand the council, as owners of the Wollaton site, wanting to check that they are getting value for money for city residents from our deal.

“We are confident that’s what we offer already, and that’s what we can offer in the future. We have ambitious plans to make Splendour an even more popular and successful event.”

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DHP Family’s charity festival Beat The Streets has announced its January event raised £81,600 for the unhoused population across the East Midlands region of England.

All proceeds raised by the one-day festival go to Framework, a Nottingham-based charity that provides a network of support for at-risk and homeless individuals in the region. Since its inception in 2018, the multi-venue event has raised £490,600 for the charity.

This year, funds will be dedicated to supporting the charity’s Street Outreach team, which engages with the local homeless community daily. Money raised during Beat The Streets will “cover a large part of the cost” to help secure a quarter of the team, which came under risk after Nottingham City Council reduced funding to the charity, said Framework’ CEO Andrew Redfern.

“The level of rough sleeping continues to rise relentlessly,” Redfern says. “Funds raised at the 2024 festival back in January will help us maintain the outreach team who work with people on the streets of Nottingham every day of the year.”

“We’ve been able to make another significant contribution to the hard work that Framework do, at a particularly vital time”

Nottingham’s rough sleeper population is growing nearly 20% every year, per Framework, as the housing association works to provide housing, health, employment support, and care services to 18,500 people per year.

The festival’s seventh annual, which took place on 28 January, featured special guests Beats on Toast, Fat Digester, Lois, George Gadd + The Aftermath, along with more than 50 local artists. All proceeds from tickets, bar purchases and merchandise went directly to Framework.

“The funds raised each year at our event make a tangible difference to the lives of homeless people in the area, and thanks to everyone who attended, performed at, and worked on our 2024 event, we’ve been able to make another significant contribution to the hard work that Framework do, at a particularly vital time,” says DHP Family’s MD George Akins.

Beat The Streets is delivered by DHP Family in collaboration with local organisations and music groups, including I’m Not from London; Farmyard Records; Hockley Hustle, and Rough Trade.

DHP Family also owns and operates the 25,000-capacity Splendour Festival — which has been cancelled for 2024 — and multiple venues across the UK. The organisation also promotes concerts and tours while also operating independent ticketing platform alt. tickets.

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Two of the UK’s best-loved independent festivals, Barn On The Farm and Splendour, have been called off for 2024.

Splendour in Nottingham has been axed due to delays over tendering, according to promoter DHP Family.

DHP said it was told by the city council in May it needed to bid to continue running the 16-year-old event at Wollaton Park but “numerous delays” during the process meant it was now too late to stage Splendour this year.

George Akins, DHP’s managing director, said: “It has been a hugely frustrating time for us. Splendour could have gone ahead had the council heeded our warnings about the timescales required. 2023’s headliners were contracted more than a year in advance and everyone was aware of this.”

Akins said he was “well aware” of the city council’s current financial difficulties, but “some of these delays” pre-dated the announcement that the authority was effectively bankrupt.

He added: “We don’t believe it should have had any effect whatsoever. I would also say that Splendour is a significant income generator, not a cost, for the council.

The council responded: “We said last year that under the council’s new commercial strategy, the event fell into a category where a formal tender process was needed. This was to protect the authority legally, financially and to ensure the festival was achieving best value for the council and the residents of Nottingham.

“The procurement process is complex and has taken longer than we would have liked – this has made the viability of delivering a festival in 2024 very difficult.”

The council said it was “optimistic” that Splendour could return to its longtime home in 2025.

“Barn On The Farm’s recent announcement is a further warning sign of the difficult conditions facing independent festivals”

Barn on the Farm organisers yesterday (25 January) announced that the Gloucester festival – which has booked the likes of Ed Sheeran, Bombay Bicycle Club and Sigrid in its 14-year history – would be postponed until 2025 due to “financial difficulties”.

“As you know we’ve been openly vocal about the difficulties that we, alongside many other festivals, have faced over the last year,” reads a statement from the organisers. “So rather than rush into another season of planning and be on the rocks financially, we feel it’s better for us to use our time this year to focus on planning 2025 and making a huge comeback.”

Barn On The Farm 2025 will take place on 3–6 July at Over Farm, with tickets going on sale soon. Full refunds for the 2024 edition will be available until the end of the year.

“As you know the future of independent festivals [is] uncertain but my god do we need them for new music to survive,” the statement continues. “We hugely appreciate every single one of you who supports us moving forwards.”

John Rostron, Association Of Independent Festivals (AIF) CEO, commented: “Barn On The Farm’s recent announcement is a further warning sign of the difficult conditions facing independent festivals at the moment.

“Festivals are being squeezed by the rise in supply chain costs, and the effects of closures and debt incurred during COVID, meaning they are in a unique, perilous position that threatens the future of almost all but the very biggest operators in the UK.”

Rostron continued: “We again call on the government to expedite a lower VAT rate of 5% on ticket sales for the next three years to create the space for festivals to make it through this severe situation and back to the growth we all enjoyed in outdoor events prior to the pandemic.”

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UK-based promoter and venue operator DHP Family is launching the Grace, a new late night music venue in Islington, north London.

The 150-capacity venue is the latest addition to the DHP Family portfolio, which includes London venues the Garage (600-capacity) and Oslo (375-capacity), as well as award-winning boat venue Thekla (400-cap.) in Bristol.

Opening today (Friday 13 September) with music by DJs from Soho record store Sister Ray Records, upcoming shows at the venue include country singer Lauren Jenkins, Manchester bands Ist Ist Ist and the Covasettes and neo-soul singer Ben Brown.

Housed in what originally opened as Upstairs at the Garage, the space has already hosted acts including Jeff Buckley, the Killers, Sheryl Crow, Mogwai and Grimes.

“Here at the Grace, we had the perfect opportunity to combine our bar and live music space”

“London is well known for its live music pubs which are institutions in their own right,” comments DHP Family owner George Akins.

“Here at the Grace, we had the perfect opportunity to combine our bar and live music space to create an atmospheric space that can function equally well for after-work drinks or post-gig partying.”

The Grace will open from 5 p.m. each day, closing at 2 a.m. Monday to Thursday and at 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The venue will not open on Sundays.

The venue is situated opposite Highbury and Islington tube station. More information can be found here.

In addition to its venue portfolio, Nottingham-based DHP Family runs the 25,000-capacity Splendour festival in Nottingham and multi-venue festival Dot to Dot in several cities. DHP also puts on 1,500 gigs per year, promoting tours by Ed Sheeran, the War on Drugs, Enter Shikari and more.

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DHP Family welcomed a best-ever 21,000 people to its ninth Splendour festival in Nottingham, UK, on Saturday 23 July.

Splendour, a co-production between the promotion/venues group and Nottingham City Council, was held in the 500-acre Wollaton Park and headlined by Jess Glynne in her first festival headline slot. Other performers included The Human League, UB40, The Fratellis, The Darkness and Turin Brakes.

George Akins, DHP Family’s owner and managing director, says: “We’re proud to have once again staged a hugely successful Splendour. The months of careful planning by DHP Family and Nottingham City Council paid off to make it an enjoyable experience on the day for everyone involved, from the artists backstage to all the people who came to enjoy the music, comedy, food and fringe acts.”

Councillor Dave Trimble, Nottingham’s portfolio-holder for leisure and culture, adds: “This year’s festival has been a fantastic success. […] Nottingham has a great reputation for its music scene and Splendour festival showcases that talent.”

View drone footage of the festival, courtesy of dgtl Concepts, below:

Nottingham-based DHP Family expanded its footprint in London in May with the acquisition of famed venues The Garage and The Borderline, previously owned by the MAMA Group/Live Nation.

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