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ICA-Live-Asia president Tommy Jinho Yoon tells IQ he is planning to launch a new festival after working on the debut edition of Summer Sonic Bangkok.
Yoon partnered with promoter Creativeman on the two-day event, which was held from 24-25 August at the 12,000-cap Impact Challenger Hall in Muang Thong Thani, Thailand.
Headlined by OneRepublic and Lauv, the lineup included further overseas stars such as Laufey, Aurora, Suede and Nothing But Thieves. Ticket prices ranged from 3,500 (€89) to 11,000 (€278) for a one-day pass, and 6,500 (€164) to 20,000 (€506) for two-day entry.
“Summer Sonic Bangkok 2024 went extremely well, especially with it being its first year in Bangkok,” says Yoon. “This was the very first time Summer Sonic was officially licensed anywhere outside of Japan.”
Aside from numerous upcoming headline shows throughout the continent, Yoon reveals his company has a brand-new event in Seoul, South Korea, in the offing – the name of which will be confirmed shortly.
Yoon is also international artist programmer for Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival – the first major festival of its type to be established in Korea back in 1999 – plus Yoursummer and Legend of the Guardian Festival.
He launched US-based ICA to cater to the growing demand for live events in Korea, China, Asia and the Philippines, and created a mini-Asian tour for Britpop icons Suede, taking in KBS Arena in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and Zepp Kuala Lumpur, alongside their slot at Summer Sonic Bangkok.
“Most territories in Asia have limitations on how high ticket prices can go”
“They did extremely well in Seoul, selling out, and also had a great performance at our festival in Bangkok, but faced some difficulties in Kuala Lumpur,” explains Yoon. “Like Europe, territories in Asia differ, and international artists have specific markets that work for them and others that don’t.
“To put it simply, the overall market for international artists in Asia is generally positive at the moment. We anticipate even more positive outcomes as the market continues to expand.”
According to Yoon, current challenges include increased competition among promoters in the region, “leading to bidding wars and higher artist fees”.
“Most territories in Asia have limitations on how high ticket prices can go,” he continues. “For example, in Korea, there is no concept of overpriced or high-priced VIP tickets. On the opportunity side, the international music scene is becoming more mainstream, with audiences expecting more shows and tours to enter the market. Ticket sales are generally reflecting these positive trends.”
And Yoon, who hosted a panel on K-pop at last year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London, says there are few signs of the phenomenon dying down any time soon.
“K-pop is still going strong globally and has expanded even further on a global scale,” he adds. “On the domestic scene, it has diminished slightly. But with foreigners entering Korea and becoming the primary ticket buyers, the market remains strong.”
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Inhaler is the latest act to cancel a scheduled show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton, as the historic venue remains closed.
The future of the 5,000-cap Academy Music Group (AMG) venue is under threat after police applied to Lambeth Council seeking the revocation of the venue’s licence, having “lost confidence in the premises licence holder” following the events of 15 December 2022, when two people died in a crush at a show by singer/songwriter Asake.
The Irish band had been set to perform at the south London venue on 4 November ahead of their biggest headline concert to date at the 3Arena in Dublin the following week.
Inhaler have now scrapped the show, replacing it with three London dates at O2 Forum Kentish Town (31 October), the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (1 November) and Troxy (4 November).
It comes days after Suede cancelled their shows at the O2 Academy Brixton, scheduled for December, replacing them with three smaller gigs at the nearby Electric Brixton. American hardcore punk band Turnstile rescheduled their show at the venue back in April.
AMG has since submitted proposals to Lambeth Council to install a speaker system around the Grade-II listed building
Earlier this year, numerous artists and industry professionals spoke out against the potential permanent closure of the O2 Academy Brixton.
A fresh campaign to save the academy was then launched in May by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).
AMG has since submitted proposals to Lambeth Council to install a speaker system around the Grade-II listed building, according to MyLondon. The speaker system will let staff make safety announcements to customers outside of the venue to assist with crowd control, according to plans.
AMG has also submitted separate plans to Lambeth Council to replace eight basement fire doors below the stage in the venue.
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Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top have become the latest acts to announce a co-headline tour, following in the footsteps of Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, The Charlatans and Ride, Motley Crue and Def Leppard, and Suede and the Manic Street Preachers.
The bands’ Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour, produced by Live Nation, will hit 22 cities in North America next summer.
The tour kicks off on 21 July at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida, and continues with stops in Fort Worth, Phoenix, Chicago, and more before wrapping up in Camden, New Jersey at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion on 17 September.
The bands’ Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour, produced by Live Nation, will hit 22 cities in North America next summer
ZZ Top are represented by CAA worldwide (excluding Europe) while Lynyrd Skynyrd are repped by WME’s Greg Oswald in North America.
The newly announced tour buoys a growing trend of joint headline tours, especially among acts that share representation.
Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service share band member Ben Gibbard, as well as their agent for North America – Wasserman Music’s Trey Many.
The Charlatans and Ride also share their agent for North America, Wasserman’s Brad Owens, while Motley Crue and Def Leppard are both represented by Artist Group International for North America.
The latter bands’ co-headline run was 2022’s biggest North American stadium tour, with 1.3 million tickets sold.
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Together the People, the new Brighton festival which will this September feature a UK festival exclusive 50th-anniversary performance of Pet Sounds by Brian Wilson, has completed its 2016 line-up.
Suede, who also count Standon Calling, I-Days Festival in Milan, Les Ardentes in Liège and Summer Sonic in Japan among their other festival appearances this summer (as well as a Q&A at Tramlines in Sheffield), will headline on Sunday 4 September, with other new acts including Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, New Order/Joy Division bassist Peter Hook and his new band, The Light (performing songs by Joy Division and New Order), and singer-songwriter M. Ward.
Promoted by record store Resident Music and supported by Arts Council England, Together the People will also host The Horrors, Turin Brakes, Supergrass’s Gaz Coombes, Songhoy Blues and more (a full line-up is available at the festival website) and a children’s stage featuring live shows by TV programme LazyTown and book-turned-stage show Aliens Love Underpants!.
Now in its second year – last year’s headliners were Super Furry Animals and José González – Together the People takes place in Preston Park on 3 and 4 September. Weekend tickets are £103 for adults, while day passes will set you back £59.
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Suede, whose confirmed festival appearances for 2016 so far include Primavera Sound, Rockwave in Athens, Tinderbox in Denmark, Down the Rabbit Hole in the Netherlands and a meet-and-greet at Tramlines in Sheffield, have added another festival date to their summer/autumn tour.
The Britpop heroes, who reformed in 2010, will headline Bilbao’s BIME Live in the last weekend of October. Also announced for the Last Tour-promoted festival today (€44 for a ticket, or €55 if you’re camping) were The Divine Comedy, The Horrors, Wild Beasts, Toy, Nacho Vegas, Lambchop, Richmond Fontaine and James Vincent McMorrow. (The Horrors photo by Rasmin on Flickr.)
One festival Suede won’t be appearing at is Forgotten Fields, whose second edition has been called off citing cost reasons. In a statement, the independently promoted Hertforshire event said:
“Due to the rising costs of producing a quality event of this size, we are unable to produce a show that is of the standard both our team and customers would be proud of.
“After thorough consideration of the event and exhausting all options we have sadly reached this conclusion. It was an exceptionally difficult decision to make and hasn’t been taken lightly.
“We had a truly amazing time and weekend to remember in 2015, lifelong memories shared with lovely people in the fields, and we wish all the festival goers and team well for the coming festival season.”
4,000 people attended last year’s festival. Slated to headline alongside Suede this year were Kelis and Jess Glynne.
Primavera Sound has unveiled the line-up for its Heineken Hidden Stage for 2016. Lush, Peaches, Bob Mould, Cat’s Eyes, Lee Ranaldo & El Rayo and Los Hermanos Cubero will play the stage in the first week of June, with free tickets available from the information desk on Primavera’s Parc del Fòrum site.
Pitchfork Music Festival Paris has revealed its dates for 2016. No performers have yet been announced, but the festival – a joint venture between the music magazine of the same name and agency Super! – will return to Grande Halle de la Villette from 27 to 29 October.
Last year’s headliners included Beach House, Björk, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Ratatat. (Peaches photo by Eric Silva.)
Further demonstrating that James Murphy intends to milk the LCD Soundsystem reunion for all it’s worth, the recently reformed electro-rock act – who can also be seen this year at Coachella, Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, FYF Fest, Roskilde, T in the Park, Bonnaroo and basically every other festival with an attendance of over about 100 – have announced one more festival appearance: III Points in Miami.
The festival, promoted by independent III Points Presents, will also play host to M83, Thievery Corporation, Method Man and Redman, Dixon and a Flying Lotus DJ set when it returns to the Mana Wynwood venue for the fourth time from 7 to 9 October. (M83 photo by NRK P3.)
Both M83 and Thievery corporation will also perform at Colours of Ostrava in the Czech Republic as the festival celebrates its 15th birthday. Joining them at Colours’ ‘steel heart’ – a disused steel mill and European cultural heritage site in Vítkovická – from 14 to 17 July will be Underworld, Tame Impala, Of Monsters and Men, Anohni, The Vaccines, Slowdive and Boys Noize Live.
The festival says it also remains “committed to presenting less commercially known artists from across the globe” and will welcome 70 performers from New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Mali, Cameroon, the Congo, Ghana, South Korea, Israel and more. (Anohni photo by Juan Bendana.)
Finally, Ariana Grande, Calvin Harris, J. Cole, Martin Garrix and Fetty Wap will headline the second Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival in Jones Beach, New Jersey, on 20 and 21 August.
The festival, attended by 40,000 people last year, is a joint venture between Billboard magazine and Live Nation. (Ariana Grande photo by NRK P3.)
Independent UK festival Tramlines has partnered with a local cinema to offer attendees a programme of music films and a chance to meet iconic Britpop band Suede.
The Showroom Workstation in Sheffield will show Suede film Night Thoughts, which will be followed by a Q&A with the band, as well as NG83: When We Were B Boys, Where You’re Meant to Be (followed by a Q&A with Aiden Moffat of Arab Strap), Lee Scratch Perry’s Vision of Paradise, Songs from Lahore and Prince’s Purple Rain.
All film screenings will be open to all holders of Tramlines wristbands and passes.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with the people behind such a cutting-edge and innovative film programme, as well as offering Tramlines-goers the opportunity to enjoy something beyond the music,” says festival director Sarah Nulty.
Tramlines 2016, organised by a collective of venue owners, promoters and volunteers, will take place at various venues in Sheffield city centre from 22 to 24 July. Performers confirmed so far include Catfish and the Bottlemen, Dizzee Rascal, Kelis, Jurassic 5, Hinds and Little Simz.