Continuing our weekly preview of European festivals, IQ gives readers a glimpse of what’s in store this week…

Serbia’s EXIT Festival (10-14 July) kicks off today at Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, under the slogan “Awakening our Superpowers Together”.

Black Eyed Peas, Tom Morello, John Newman, Gucci Mane, Carl Cox, Artbat and Maceo Plex are among the headliners of the 2024 edition.

Meanwhile, the 47th edition of North Sea Jazz (12–14) will take place at Rotterdam Ahoy with 150 acts including Sting, Raye, André 3000, Corinne Bailey Rae, Masego, Sampha, Noname, Jessie Ware and Jamie Cullum.

Festival director Jan Willem Luyken recently spoke to IQ about the secret behind the Dutch festival’s decades-long legacy.

The swansong edition of Germany’s MELT festival will launch tomorrow

From one stalwart festival to the next, the 58th edition of Montreux Jazz Festival is already underway and will run until 20 July.

The Swiss event, which typically draws 250,000 people over 16 days, features Jon Batiste and Henry Moodie and runs until 20 July. More than 30 shows will be livestreamed for free on the festival’s YouTube channel. Read IQ‘s recent interview with organisers Mathieu Jaton here.

Across the continent, Mad Cool (10–13) will return to the Iberdrola Music Venue in Madrid, Spain. Top-billing acts at the festival are Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam, Måneskin and The Killers.

Mad Cool’s Javier Arnáiz and Cindy Castillo recently spoke with IQ about the various changes they have implemented to improve the customer experience, as well as the event’s evolution during its first decade.

Meanwhile, the swansong edition of Germany’s MELT festival (11–13) will launch tomorrow. The 20,000-capacity event will return to the Ferropolis open-air museum, near Gräfenhainichen, Saxony-Anhalt, where it has been held since 1999.

Queens of the Stone Age were forced to pull out of their headlining slot at Pohoda

Over 120 artists will bid farewell to Goodlive’s longstanding event, including Sampha, James Blake, Sugababes, DJ Koze, Romy, Marlon Hoffstadt, Overmono, James Blake, Obongjayar, Romy and Skepta.

Slovakia’s biggest festival, Pohoda (11-13), returns to Trenčín Airport including James Blake, Skepta, Royal Blood, Arlo Parks, Pendulum, Black Pumas and more.

Yesterday (10 July), it was announced that Queens of the Stone Age were forced to pull out of their headlining slot at the festival due to frontman Josh Homme requiring “emergency surgery”.

And Wireless Finsbury Park (12-14) takes over London’s Finsbury Park this weekend featuring performances by Nicki Minaj, Future, 21 Savage and Doja Cat.

The bill also features special guest Future, plus Ice Spice, Sean Paul, Asake, Gunna, Rema, Tyla, Digga D, Vanessa Bling, Veeze, Ragz Originale, DJ Target and Remi Burgz. Sexyy Red, Fridayy, Skillibeng, Byron Messia, Shallipopi, Strandz, Kenny Allstar, Seani B, Uncle Waffles, Ruger, Teezo Touchdown, Nadia Jae and Snoochie Shy.

Other festivals taking place this weekend include Slottsfjell (NO) 2000 Trees (UK), NOS Alive (PT), Bilbao BBK Live (ES), Cruilla Barcelona (ES) and TRNSMT (UK).

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Companies from across the UK’s live music sector were honoured at the 2024 Music Week Awards, held last night (2 May) at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House London.

Presented by Apple Music 1 radio host Dotty, the sold-out ceremony saw 25 awards handed out across the music industry.

Winners included CAA (Live Music Agency), Live Nation UK (Live Music Promoter), Wireless (Festival) and Dice, who triumphed in the Ticketing Company category for the second successive year.

In their acceptance speech, CAA’s Maria May paid tribute to the “amazing artists we get to work with every single day”, while fellow agent Paul Franklin added: “Thanks also to the managers, the labels, the promoters but mainly to the CAA team who work incredibly hard every day.”

In addition, Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre clinched the Grassroots Venue: Spirit Of The Scene award, which is supported by Music Venue Trust and was decided by a public vote.

“Tonight is proof that pop music matters”

The night’s top award, The Strat – awarded annually to an industry icon – went to Fascination Management founder Peter Loraine, who was presented with the honour by his clients, Girls Aloud.

Loraine’s 30-year music career has included stints as magazine editor, label head and artist manager. He also famously gave the Spice Girls their nicknames.

Video tributes were provided by the group’s Melanie C and Emma Bunton, along with artists Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Will Young, Jessie Ware, Jake Shears, S Club 7, Bananarama, All Saints and Steps, in addition to Universal Music Group’s Sir Lucian Grainge, David Joseph and Selina Webb.

“If I think about it for any amount of time, I just think it’s wild,” said Lorain. “I’ve been able to turn my childhood obsession with pop music into a 30-year occupation. As a teenager, I only wanted three things: I wanted to move to London to work for a music magazine, for a record company and to be friends with Bananarama – not much to ask for really… Tonight is proof that pop music matters.”

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Festival lineups from across Europe have continued to flood in for 2024, with the UK’s Wireless, Greece’s Release Athens and Ireland’s Longitude among the latest to confirm.

Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, 21 Savage and J Hus head the first wave of acts for Wireless, which will take place at Finsbury Park, London from 12-14 July.

The bill also features special guest Future, plus Ice Spice, Sean Paul, Asake, Gunna, Rema, Tyla, Digga D, Vanessa Bling, Veeze, Ragz Originale, DJ Target and Remi Burgz. Sexyy Red, Fridayy, Skillibeng, Byron Messia, Shallipopi, Strandz, Kenny Allstar, Seani B, Uncle Waffles, Ruger, Teezo Touchdown, Nadia Jae and Snoochie Shy.

In Greece, concert series Release Athens has so far unveiled headliners The Offspring, Megadeth, Jain, Pulp, Thievery Corporation, Massive Attack, Duran Duran, Judas Priest and Behemoth between 9 June and 28 July. The Smile, Black Pumas, Blind Guardian, Telenova, Pestilence, Bruce Dickinson, Testament and Accept are also on the bill.

Set for Marlay Park, Dublin from 29-30 June, Longitude‘s first round of acts includes Central Cee, Doja Cat, Becky Hill, 21 Savage, Belters Only, blk., D-Block Europe, Sonny Fodera, Joel Corry, Jazzy and Kenya Grace.

Italy’s I-Days has headline shows with Metallica, Lana Del Rey, Green Day, Doja Cat, Tedua, Queens of the Stone Age, Bring Me the Horizon, Sum 41 and Stray Kids. The gigs, which will be staged in Milan between 29 May and 12 July, will also feature a supporting cast including Five Finger Death Punch, Ice Nine Kills, Nothing But Thieves, Hemlocke Springs, 21 Savage, Royal Blood, Yungblud, Bad Omens, Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan.

Jonas Brothers are the final headliner announced for the 20th anniversary of Rock in Rio Lisbon. The trio will play their first ever show in Portugal at the event alongside Scorpions, Ed Sheeran and Doja Cat over the weekends of 15-16 & 22-23 June. The likes of Camila Cabello, Jake Bugg, Evanescence, James, Lukas Graham, Ivete Sangalo and Callum Scott will also appear.

“It’s thrilling to announce such an incredible range of groundbreaking artists who are shaping the music scene in real time”

Spain’s Mad Cool has added The Killers, Måneskin, Rema, Tyla, Sexyy Red, Nia Archives, Alec Benjamin, 2ManyDJs, Claudia León, Dead Posey, Depresión Sonora, Lord Huron, Bar Italia, Andres Campo, Picture Parlour, Sea Girls, Nadye, Comandante Twin, Julia Sabaté, Choses Sauvages and Slix.

The acts join Pearl Jam, Motxila 21, Dua Lipa, The Smashing Pumpkins, Avril Lavigne, Keane, Janelle Monáe, Bring Me The Horizon, Garbage, Sum 41, Jessie Ware, Soccer Mommy, Greta Van Fleet, Larkin Poe, Rels B, Chinchilla and Jet Vesper on the lineup from 10-13 July.

Back in the UK, Reading & Leeds has announced more than 50 new artists for 2024 including Reneé Rapp, Fontaines D.C., Denzel Curry, Pendulum, Neck Deep and Nia Archives, who will join the six headliners, including UK festival exclusives Fred again.., Lana Del Rey and Blink-182, as well as Liam Gallagher, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon. Organisers have also teased the launch of a new stage called The Chevron.

“It’s thrilling to announce such an incredible range of groundbreaking artists who are shaping the music scene in real time,” says Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn. “Reading & Leeds doesn’t stand still; our audience demands the best and our line up strives to reflect what people are currently listening to. We’re proud to always be at the cutting edge and keen eyes may have spotted another evolution for the show on the poster; ‘The Chevron’ – details of which will be revealed soon.”

K-pop superstars Stray Kids are the latest headliners announced for American Express presents BST Hyde Park in London on 14 July. Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams have previously been confirmed.

Completing Boardmasters‘ 2024 bill is Sam Fender, who headlines alongside Stormzy and Chase & Status in Newquay, Cornwall between 7-11 August. Other acts include Courteeners, Declan McKenna, Overmono, Kate Nash, Wunderhorse, Los Bitchos, Charlotte Plank, Newdad, Sprints, Redro, Flo Crowe & The Dilemmas, Girls Don’t Sync, Hedex & Eksman, Billy Gillies, Charlie Boon, 24hr Garage Girls, a Dick & Dom DnB set, Elkka, Syreeta, Kara and Pola & Bryson.

Family festival Camp Bestival lands in Lulworth Castle, Dorset from 25-28 July with artists such as Pete Tong, Paloma Faith, McFly, Orbital, Jake Shears, The Darkness, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Roger Sanchez. It will then be held at Weston Park, Shropshire between 15-18 August with a similar lineup including Faithless, Paloma Faith, Rick Astley, McFly, Orbital, Jake Shears, The Darkness and Level 42.

Elsewhere, following the announcement of Sheryl Crow as headliner, Black Deer Festival has bolstered its 2024 lineup with the likes of Seasick Steve, Hermanos Gutiérrez, The Shires, Courtney Barnett, The Staves and Villagers. Running from 14-16 June at Eridge Park, Kent, the UK’s festival for Americana will also showcase rising talent such as Dylan Gossett, Divorce, Michele Stodart, Prima Queen and Holly Macve.

“We really are at a critical point for the UK’s festival sector… UK festivals need time to recover and rebuild. They need help from our government”

Plus, the inaugural Plymouth Summer Sessions will star Tom Jones, Bryan Adams, Madness and Sting from 13-16 June, with support from Gabrielle, Cassyette, Lightning Seeds and Blondie, while Stirling Summer Sessions will welcome Busted and The Darkness on 28 June, with Tom Jones to perform on 30 June.

Meanwhile, UK trade body the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has launched a new campaign for a VAT reduction on festival tickets, which it says would save many event promoters from closures in 2024.

The 5% For Festivals campaign seeks to inform festival-goers about the problems that music festival promoters have faced over the last five years, encouraging them to contact their MPs to lobby for a VAT reduction on tickets.

AIF research suggests that at least 36 festivals cancelled before they were due to take place in 2023, with six UK festivals having announced some form of cancellation already this year: NASS Festival, Leopollooza, Long Division, Bluedot, Barn On The Farm and Nozstock The Hidden Valley, which will make its 2024 edition its last.

“We really are at a critical point for the UK’s festival sector,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “Five years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine that promoters would have to endure something as damaging as the Covid-19 pandemic – but many of them did, without passing the inevitable cost onto the consumer. To think that, since then, they have had to manage the effects of Brexit, war in Ukraine, inflation and an energy crisis is staggering.

“That festival-goers were able to enjoy some of the fantastic events they did in 2023 is testament to the resilience and passion of those promoters. But we lost 36 festivals last year, and with six festivals having postponed activity in 2024 or closed the gates for good, we are on track to see well over double the number of casualties this year.

“UK festivals need time to recover and rebuild. They need help from our government. A reduction in VAT on festival tickets from 20% to 5% for three years is an evidence-based, simple, sensible remedy that would ease the financial burden on promoters enough for them to return to health. We need this action now.”

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Wireless Festival will be allowed to take place in London’s Finsbury Park every summer until 2027, despite opposition from residents groups.

The local council says the new five-year deal with promoter Festival Republic will raise “significant income” for the north London park and boost the local economy.

As part of the deal, promoter Festival Republic will also be allowed to hold a second weekend of major events in the park each year.

Wireless draws crowds of up to 50,000 people per day and has been held annually in the park since 2014, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 when Covid-19 restrictions were in place. Previously, the event was arranged year by year.

The Friends of Finsbury Park local group has opposed the five-year deal, arguing that there would be no benefit to local people and that it was “about money, not culture”.

The council said the events raise around £1.2 million per year for Finsbury Park

“Evidently, council budgets are tight. But elsewhere in the borough, Haringey Council is making great investments in parks. And perversely, this deal appears to deliver less money for Finsbury Park,” the group said, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. It also said there would be less oversight of the event.

The group, which has been attempting to stop the festival since 2016, has previously complained about noise levels, drug taking and anti-social behaviour at the festival.

The council said the events raise around £1.2 million per year for Finsbury Park, funding the maintenance team and paying for improvements such as a new play space, air-quality monitoring stations and an expanded skate park.

Wireless Festival has an eighteen-year legacy in the UK. The most recent edition of the festival was held across three sites – Crystal Palace Park and Finsbury Park in London, and the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

This year, Wireless will return to Finsbury Park between 7–9 July with headliners Playboy Carti, Travis Scott, D-Block Europe and 50 Cent.

The weekend prior, Festival Republic is promoting a trio of concerts in the park: Jamie T (30 June), Pulp (1 July) and The 1975 (2 July).

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Wireless Festival’s debut in Abu Dhabi has been deemed a “huge success” by Live Nation Middle East.

The sold-out festival took place last month at Etihad Park on Yas Island with 25,000 fans and 18 artists from across hip-hop, urban, rap, R&B, grime, and dance.

Travis Scott (US), Roddy Ricch (US), Central Cee (UK), Wegz (EG), Black Sherif (GH), Ali Gatie (IQ/CA), M.I.A (UK), King (IN), Divine (IN) and Young Stunners (PK) were big draws in the global offering.

“Wireless Festival was a huge success for us in Abu Dhabi,” says James Craven, president for Live Nation Middle East. “The festival was a sold-out event, and as Live Nation, our commitment is to promoting regional talent. We brought a host of the biggest rappers in South Asia and the Middle East to our festival line-up, including Egyptian artist Wegz, Indian singer and rapper King, Indian rapper Divine, and the Pakistani Hip-Hop duo Young Stunners.”

“We brought a host of the biggest rappers in South Asia and the Middle East to our festival line-up”

Travis Scott also recently performed at Live Nation Israel’s largest-ever hip-hop event at Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv, with an audience of over 27,000. The concert was supported by Atar Mayner, Eden Derso and Noroz.

“We are very happy to celebrate another regional routing, with the successful run of the Travis Scott shows in the Middle East,’ says Guy Beser, Live Nation Israel CEO. “We are very proud of the show and we received overwhelming reviews. This is definitely a performance we, and the audience, will remember for a long time.”

Wireless Festival has an eighteen-year legacy in the UK. The most recent edition of the festival was held across three sites – Crystal Palace Park and Finsbury Park in London, and the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham – in July 2022 with headliners A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Tyler, the Creator, Dave, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, and SZA.

This year, Wireless will return to Finsbury Park between 7–9 July with headliners Playboy Carti, Travis Scott, D-Block Europe and 50 Cent.

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The final week of January has brought a flood of festival announcements from events across Europe for this summer.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary France’s Rock en Seine will return to Paris on 23 and 25-27 August, headed by Billie Eilish, Placebo, The Chemical Brothers, Florence + The Machine and The Strokes.

The Strokes will also star at AEG’s All Points East in Victoria Park, London, on 25 August, while the UK’s Wireless Festival will feature headliners Travis Scott, Playboi Carti and D-Block Europe in London’s Finsbury Park from 7-9 July.

Also in the UK, Kendal Calling will be topped by Nile Rodgers & Chic, Kasabian, Royal Blood and Blossoms at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District from 27-30 July, and Love Saves the Day will take place at Ashton Court Estate, Bristol from 27-28 May, topped by Fatboy Slim and Years & Years.

Travis Scott, Playboy Carti and Meek Mill will top the bill at the second annual Rolling Loud Portugal

Afro Nation Portugal will host Burna Boy, 50 Cent and Booba in Portimao, the Algarve, from 28-30 June, and Travis Scott, Playboy Carti and Meek Mill will top the bill at the second annual Rolling Loud Portugal, also in Portimao, from 5-7 July.

Elsewhere, Stormzy is a new addition to Belgium’s Rock Werchter, scheduled for 29 June to 2 July and Wizkid and Blur have been unveiled as headliners for Norway’s Øya Festival from 8-12 August. The latter two acts have also bolstered Finland’s Flow Festival Helsinki, which is set for 11-13 August, while Ellie Goulding and The Kid Laroi have joined Sam Smith and The 1975 on the Orange Warsaw Festival 2023 line-up from 2-3 June.

And Denmark’s Tinderbox has 19 new names including Black Eyed Peas, Lukas Graham and Dean Lewis. The event takes place in Odense from 22-24 June.

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Just two months after the British government confirmed the full reopening of the country’s live music sector, Festival Republic has completed all seven of its domestic events.

The Live Nation-owned promoter has not only delivered Reading, Leeds, Latitude, Clapham Common, Wireless, Wilderness and Download Pilot – it has also been an integral part of the government’s Events Research Programme (ERP), which paved the way for the UK’s reopening.

On the back of a particularly busy summer, and in advance of Benn’s double keynote interview with Folkert Koopmans at the upcoming International Festival Forum, IQ met with the Festival Republic MD onsite at Wireless Festival to discuss his last event of 2021.

IQ: Amid a global pandemic and frequent uncertainty, you may be one of the only festival promoters in the world to pull off seven festivals in 2021. How triumphant are you feeling right now?

MB: It is an achievement. I think I am probably the only one. The team is exhausted because we have had to work incredibly hard to make these festivals happen. We’re sat here on 12 September, exactly two months from 12 July when the prime minister announced that things could open up again. And actually, until the 12 July, as much as we thought something might happen, we didn’t know. So we’ve literally had two months to put everything together. That’s really tough – particularly, on the back of the pandemic and the difficulty with the supply chain and other post-Brexit issues. I’ve got reason to be triumphant.

Today (12 September) marks another significant win for the British live music sector, as the health minister has said vaccine passports will not be required at events. What was your reaction to the news?

If I’m being really honest, our ideal world is no vaccine certification at all. So we’re really pleased about that. Would we have carried on with Covid certification (as a pose to vaccine certification) if we had to? Yes, we would’ve just got on with it because we want to make shows happen. What the health minister appears to have confirmed… is a massive step forward for us. It means that the government is pretty happy with its control of Covid. It’s a great statement for us as an industry too. The UK live music scene is truly open now.

No Covid certification or vaccine certification is a massive step forward for us

Unlike other Festival Republic events, Covid certification and testing were not enforced at Wireless, only recommend. What was the thinking behind that decision?

Two reasons. One is, legally, I don’t need to. Another is, it’s not a camping festival – people weren’t here for lots of days. And tracing the contraction of Covid to a particular location in London is really hard because people move around London so much – especially with the transport. We’re very largely a London audience. It didn’t seem to make any sense from an economic standpoint. All the crew, staff and artists are being tested though.

Wireless moved from Finsbury Park to Crystal Palace Park for this year only. How have you found the new location?

Amazing, really fantastic. It’s a beautiful, historic park and I’ve loved learning things about it, and about the neighbourhood. The beauty of the park is what really drew me to it. It’s also really special to have an audience arena that’s on two levels. I think it’s probably the best sound in London because of the nature of the way the site is. All the agents have been telling me as much.

I think Wireless probably has the best sound in London because of the nature of the way [Crystal Palace Park] is

It sounds like you’ve got an affinity with Crystal Palace Park. Will you be returning in any capacity?

We’re going to go back to Finsbury Park next year with Wireless but I will be returning to Crystal Palace Park. There are a couple of things that I’m looking at… some concert days. I’ve one activity that I think will be really good – a big American thing that I’m very excited about. I’m not able to say what it is but it’s already contracted for mid-July 2022 and then I’m going to build some concert dates around it. I’ve gone into a long term arrangement with the park and the trust and I’m committed to Crystal Palace now.

One pandemic-related problem is international artists dropping out of lineups. Wireless hasn’t just retained its international lineup, it has also included surprise guest features from the likes of Drake. What’s your secret? 

The thing is, hip-hop acts are generally not travelling with so much backline, or a full band. They rehearse in a smaller space. It’s very expensive for a band to rehearse and get hotels and bring crew and a team. Hip-hop has the ability to travel lighter, with fewer people and therefore, for what is one-off shows, it’s still worth travelling. Bands need to be amortising those costs across lots of festivals around Europe. The drop out of American acts has largely been due to mainland Europe not being able to host shows.

We’re going to go back to Finsbury Park next year with Wireless but I will be returning to Crystal Palace Park

Wireless has a storied past with guest features. Why do you think this is?

What’s really nice about Wireless is, it’s exclusively within the genre. Every hip-hop act, grime act, drill act wants to be here and they all know each other and they all feed off each other. They know each other’s songs inside and out so they can come up and guest really easily. That’s a joy. You can feel the buzz in the backstage area. Friends are bumping into friends. It is the festival they want to play.

More information about how to attend the International Festival Forum (IFF), along with the full event schedule, is online at www.iff.rocks.

Wireless and Parklife have joined a slate of other UK festivals in selling out their 2021 editions, while other festivals such as Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival and Margate’s Hi-Tide have decided to call it quits on this year, citing a lack of insurance and uncertainty as the reason.

Wireless Festival 2021 sold out of first release tickets within 24 hours of going on sale, even with the line-up yet to be announced.

First release tickets ranged from £75 for a day ticket to £195 for a three-day weekend pass. Final release tickets will be on sale soon.

The London festival will return once more between September 10-12 this year, but it will move from its traditional Finsbury Park location to South London’s Crystal Palace Park for the first time in its history.

Wireless Festival 2021 sold out of first release tickets within 24 hours of going on sale, even without a line-up announced

Wireless promoter, Live Nation-owned Festival Republic (FR), previously announced that one of its other big-hitters, Reading Festival (cap. 105,000), has also completely sold out.

Weekend tickets for Leeds Festival (75,000-cap.) are also gone, according to the festivals’ Twitter account, with only limited Friday and Sunday day tickets remaining.

FR also recently confirmed that Latitude Festival plans to run at ‘full capacity’, provided ‘the prevailing situation in the UK is deemed safe’.

The four-day festival, which takes place at Henham Park in Suffolk on July 22-25, will feature performances from Lewis Capaldi, Bastille, First Aid Kit and Snow Patrol, with more still to be announced.

Parklife enjoyed similar success to Wireless, selling out its 2021 edition in record time

Parklife, Manchester’s premier hip hop and electronic festival, is enjoying similar success to Wireless after selling out its 2021 edition in record time. Tickets ranged from £84.50 for day passes to £199.50 for weekend VIP.

Megan Thee Stallion, Skepta, Jamie xx and Little Simz are among the artists scheduled to play Parklife 2021 on 11 and 12 September in Heaton Park. See full line-up below.

Junction 2 Festival, Mighty Hoopla, Sundown Festival, Boomtown, Creamfields and Field Day have also sold out their 2021 editions after British prime minister Boris Johnson revealed plans for lifting all restrictions by 21 June, prompting a festival frenzy.

However, Johnson’s reopening roadmap hasn’t instilled confidence in everyone. Cambridge Folk Festival has pulled the plug on this year’s edition, planned for 29 July to 1 August, citing uncertainty about the organisation of large-scale events this summer.

“Despite the government roadmap out of lockdown, we still don’t know whether artists will be able to travel internationally and what steps organisers would be required to take to keep the public safe,” Cambridge councillor Anna Smith told Cambridge Live. 

“Despite the government roadmap out of lockdown, we still don’t know whether artists will be able to travel internationally”

“With summer and the need to make binding contractual commitments fast approaching, we couldn’t delay a decision any longer. We are all so upset that we can’t have the festival this summer, but we look forward to being together again in person in 2022.”

Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the longest-running folk festivals in the world, having launched in 1965.

Elsewhere, Scotland’s Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival today called off its 17th edition, set for 29th-31st July 2021 at the Belladrum Estate near Inverness.

“We have been working closely with the rest of the UK event industry in lengthy conversations with Westminster Government to provide an insurance policy for our industry. Without this, the risk of pushing on with planning with no certainty on what the future holds is simply too huge,” reads a lengthy statement on Belladrum’s Facebook page.

” [Belladrum] feels there are still too many uncertainties surrounding the potential restrictions that may be in place”

“We don’t want to deliver an event we aren’t proud of or compromise in any way on the magic that makes Bella so special to all of us.”

Margate’s Hi-Tide Festival (cap. 15,000) is postponing its inaugural event for the second consecutive year, also citing the uncertainty around this summer.

The two-day festival was due to make its debut from 3-5 July at Dreamland Margate theme park with headliners Fatboy Slim and Madness. The organisers hope the festival will launch in 2022.

Other UK festivals set to return this year include Kendal Calling (Cumbria), Victorious Festival (Portsmouth), Arts By The Sea Festival (Bournemouth), all of which announced plans this week.

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Festival Republic and MelodyVR have announced the full line-up for Wireless Connect, a three-day virtual reality music festival taking place from 3 to 5 July.

The event will see exclusive performances – filmed in MelodyVR’s LA studio and custom-made studio in Alexandra Palace, London – from acts including Stefflon Don, Mist, Steel Banglez, Jay1, as well as additional footage from Wireless 2019 featuring Skepta, Young Thug, Rae Sremmurd and more. 

Other performances will come from Yungen, Unknown T, Big Narstie and Deno in the UK and from Saweetie, iann dior and 24kGoldn in the US. The full line-up and schedule can be found here.

Wireless Connect will be available in 360​° immersive virtual ​reality on smartphones and VR headsets via the MelodyVR app. It will also stream on the Wireless Facebook Live and YouTube channels.

Free to watch, Wireless Connect fans are encouraged to make a donation to the Black Lives Matter movement

Free to watch, Wireless Connect fans are encouraged to make a donation to the Black Lives Matter movement via a Crowdfunder, which launches at 5 p.m. BST today (29 June).

Radio station Capital Xtra will air artist interviews and provide the soundtrack to those bringing the festival experience to their home.

A celebration of rap, grime, hip hop and RnB, Wireless Festival was forced to cancel its fifteenth anniversary edition this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Acts billed to play the event in London’s Finsbury Park included ASAP Rocky, D-Block Europe and Lil Uzi Thug.

Ben Samuels, North America president of MelodyVR, was one of a number of music industry innovators to take part in the IQ Focus Innovation Session last month. All previous IQ Focus sessions can be watched back here.

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Music-focused virtual reality (VR) company MelodyVR has announced hip-hop act Cypress Hill will perform live via its platform this Friday, as the VR pioneer begins filming for the digital edition of Wireless Festival in London.

Working in partnership with Festival Republic, Melody VR is helping to produce Wireless Connect, the virtual reimagination of this year’s Wireless, which will be aired from 3 to 5 July.

The company is filming artists performing live in a recently unveiled, custom-built, 360° studio in London’s Alexandra Palace theatre.

London-based audio specialist is working with the Wireless Connect team to deliver broadcast audio mixes in stereo and immersive formats. Spiritland founders Antony Shaw and Gareth Iles have previously worked with festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Big Weekend.

MelodyVR is filming artists performing live in a recently unveiled, custom-built, 360° studio in London’s Alexandra Palace theatre

In keeping with Covid-19 restrictions, artists and performers remain in isolation for the duration of the performance and do not come into contact with the public, the MelodyVR team or other on-site crew.

Wireless Connect will be accessible to anyone with a smartphone and free to watch, with viewers encouraged to make a charity donation over the course of the weekend. The full line-up will be announced on the Wireless website soon.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, hip-hop legends Cypress Hill are performing as part of Melody VR’s Live from LA series. The show, which will be available to watch in 360° for free via the MelodyVR app and VR headsets, will be broadcast live on 19 June at 6 p.m. PT/3 a.m. (20 June) CET and will be available on demand from 25 June for those who miss the original broadcast.

Other artists to have featured in the series include John Legend, The Score, Katelyn Tarver, DaniLeigh and Zella Day.

Ben Samuels, North America president of MelodyVR, was one of a number of music industry innovators to take part in the IQ Focus Innovation Session last month. All previous IQ Focus sessions can be watched back here.

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