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How UTA powered Kenya Grace’s festival charge

UTA agents Tom Jones and Max Lee have opened up on the strategy that helped Kenya Grace rule the European festival scene this summer.

IQ collaborated with music biz directory and data platform ROSTR to analyse the 2024 lineups of 50 top European festivals, highlighting several key trends in terms of genre, age, headliners and longevity. The data also uncovered which agencies booked the most acts during the season, as well as which artists appeared on the most lineups.

Electronic/alt pop artist Grace came out on top in the latter category – starring on 11 bills – one ahead of both Nothing But Thieves and Royal Blood.

“I knew we’d booked a lot of festivals for her and that she’d had a huge, impactful debut year, but for it to be recognised tangibly like that is crazy,” Jones tells IQ.

Of the 50 festivals analysed, Grace appeared at Glastonbury (UK), Reading & Leeds (UK), Mad Cool (Spain), NOS Alive (Portugal), Exit (Serbia), Superbloom (Germany), Lollapalooza Berlin (Germany), Way Out West (Sweden), Flow (Finland), Frequency (Austria) and Electric Castle (Romania).

“The type of festivals that she was playing was massively important”

“The type of festivals that she was playing was massively important,” stresses Lee. “We didn’t want to pigeonhole her, so we targeted a broad spectrum: from more electronic-leaning, ‘cooler’ festivals, through to the mainstream pop tier.”

“We wanted to set real underground targets for her,” elaborates Jones. “Particularly for an electronic music artist, it’s important to demonstrate the culture you come from and where this music is coming from. So we played Melt Festival in Berlin and the Land of Saints stage at Boardmasters, as well as Reading & Leeds and Glastonbury.”

South African-born British singer-songwriter and producer Grace landed an international smash in 2023 with her UK #1 single Strangers, which has been streamed more than 900 million times on Spotify. She has also built a large TikTok following, amassing 15.3m likes.

Her rise on the touring circuit has been similarly meteoric, having only made her live debut proper in October last year.

“The first ever show that we did was a friends and family event at the Lower Third in September 2023, just to get her used to playing in front of an audience, because she’d only played in her bedroom on TikTok before that,” explains Jones. “That was the first seed that we planted for her in London, but it quickly became apparent we’d want to do a ticketed show pretty quickly, so we put a post up on her Instagram to start building a database. She literally just put up a couple of stories saying, ‘I’m thinking of doing a show in London, sign up here to be the first to find out.’

“We decided that we wanted to do it at Corsica Studios, coupled with the fact that we wanted to connect with the underground and lay the foundations for her as an electronic artist, rather than going straight into the pop vein. We were able to sell it out and livestreamed it on TikTok with help from her label.”

“She was a key act that could sit on a multitude of festival stages”

Handily, Grace’s chart success with Strangers coincided with the 2023 International Festival Forum (IFF) in London.

“A lot of her business was done from IFF,” remembers Lee. “Having all of those people in town for meetings at a time when the artist was #1 was incredible. We were in a blessed position.”

“She was one of the hottest new artists on the scene and I guess, because of the way we presented her, she was a key act that could sit on a multitude of festival stages,” suggests Jones. “Whether it was playing on Nos Alive and Mad Cool with Dua Lipa and then being able to do Melt Festival with Overmono and Horsegiirl, or Montreux Jazz, just really reputable, amazing festivals across the board.”

Jones compliments Grace’s knack for marketing herself across her social media channels.

“Kenya is a completely unique artist,” he adds. “She writes, produces and sings all her own music – there’s no external help – and what she has done on TikTok is very captivating. It showed she was as an artist and a performer, even before people had the chance to see her live.”

“For Kenya to the be most booked festival artist is super-reflective of her story as an artist so far,” reflects Lee. “Going from her bedroom to #1 is totally in keeping with that and it’s amazing for her. To do that in her first major year of touring is incredible. We’re super-happy.”

“The UTA ethos is to build teams of agents around acts that can use their individual expertise to further the progression of the act”

What’s more, Lee believes the dual agent strategy offers an endorsement of the company’s collaborative approach.

“The UTA ethos is to build teams of agents around acts that can use their individual expertise to further the progression of the act,” he notes. “This can be seen with Tom’s focus mainly on electronic and my focus mainly in the live space. This combination has been imperative for Kenya’s growth in multiple lanes.

“Kenya has got an incredible team around her. Beyond UTA, [management] Nick Huggett, Nick Shymansky and Sarah Charbonnel have been instrumental in providing the expertise and tools to support Kenya’s development as an artist.”

UTA books Grace worldwide, with Jones and Lee working in harmony with the singer’s North American representatives Scott Schreiber and Samantha Kirby Yoh. The agency’s music brand partnerships team have secured further opportunities for the 26-year-old.

“Off the back of an incredibly busy first summer festival season, we connected Kenya with Rimmel London who signed her as a new Collective ambassador in September,” Anna Gregorek, UTA’s senior director, music brand partnerships, tells IQ. “Rimmel London joined Kenya on the road for a ‘behind the scenes’ digital campaign, promoting the collection as her staple ride-or-die product essentials.

“Earlier in the year she also worked with the brand to produce Get Ready With Me social content ahead of the BRIT Awards, coinciding with Kenya’s nomination for Song of the Year. Thanks to the tight-knit collaboration between UTA’s live and brand teams, we’re able to unlock opportunities like these, not only for established names but also to support the career trajectory of rising stars like Kenya.”

“She’s got some new music coming, which we’ll build some hard ticket touring around”

As for what comes next, festivals will again form a significant part of Grace’s live slate.

“She’s got some new music coming, which we’ll build some hard ticket touring around, and then we’re aiming to do a few key festivals that we didn’t hit in 2024,” shares Jones. “She’s done a lot of touring and we really want to let the music breathe, so we just want to hit some key city touring around her next single, and then some key festival targets.”

“Some new markets as well, places that she connected with as an artist, but hasn’t had the opportunity to go to,” concludes Lee. “The love for her was so far and wide, it was near impossible for us to go to every market in ’24.

Subscribers can read the full ROSTR analysis in issue 130 of IQ Magazine.

 


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Adelaide’s The Drive to host live music after 13 years

Adelaide’s The Drive will once again host live music after a hiatus of 13 years, according to an announcement from Ticketmaster Australia and Tennis SA.

Following a recent $48 million redevelopment, the South Australia venue can now host concerts with up to 7,000 attendees.

Working alongside promoters Live Nation and Zaccaria, Sir Tom Jones will inaugurate the venue’s music programme in March 2024, followed by Incubus and +LIVE+ in the month after.

“It has been great to partner with AVM and Tennis SA to help bring live music back to The Drive. It is such a privilege for our team, and welcoming renowned artists such as Tom Jones, Incubus, and +LIVE+ as the inaugural performers is a fitting tribute to mark this historic occasion and this wonderful new music venue,” says Ticketmaster Australia managing director, Gavin Taylor.

“The anticipation among Adelaide’s fans for events of this calibre to grace The Drive once again has been incredible, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

“The anticipation among Adelaide’s fans for events of this calibre to grace The Drive once again has been incredible”

Tennis SA CEO, Debbie Sterrey, adds: “We are thrilled to announce the return of live music to The Drive. As part of the venue redevelopment, it has been our goal to see The Drive return to its former glory as a vibrant sporting, community and entertainment venue.”

“Those who have experienced the atmosphere at The Drive in the past have been waiting for the day that live music returns to the venue. We can’t wait to welcome Tom Jones, Incubus, and +LIVE+ as our opening acts.”

In July, it was announced that Ticketmaster Australia had formed a multi-year partnership with Tennis SA to ticket content for The Drive.

The Drive says it will work with Live Nation and other content providers to “ensure the continuous delivery of diversified content for the venue”.

 


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