How can festivals can thrive on the African continent?
The post ‘It’s a long-term approach’: Africa Rising Music Conference founder Sarah Jane Nicholson on cultivating a music industry on the continent appeared first on Festival Insights.
Elena Beltrami, Director at La Linea festival, on how Latin music is thriving in the UK.
The post ‘It’s about respecting the culture’: La Linea’s Elena Beltrami on putting Latin culture on a pedestal appeared first on Festival Insights.
Finally, some good news in the UK…at least when it comes to our events industry. Earlier in February, the event marketing company Mustard Media announced it had helped drive £166 million in ticket revenue for its music, sport and hospitality clients. The report highlights many success stories. A TikTok campaign for Reading & Leeds Festival […]
The post ‘You have to box clever’: Mustard Media’s Sian Bennett on how festivals can thrive through data appeared first on Festival Insights.
Shambala Festival is a UK festival success story. At least in all the obvious usual metrics. This yearly weekender represents the truly diverse nature of what can be built in a field for just three-ish days. It’s a place where artists from across the continents share stages with the folklorish musics and traditions here in […]
The post ‘If you’re good people to work with people will want to work with you’: Shambala Festival on the importance of festival community appeared first on Festival Insights.
“It’s a bloody nightmare starting a new festival,” begins Alex Lane, founder of the Show of Hands. He’s not exactly wrong. Set across 300-acres in an organic farm, Show of Hands will welcome 2500 revellers for three-days of pioneering jazz and electronic music set across the ancient fields and woodlands of Somerset. But Show of […]
The post ‘We can foster an audience who care about having their voices heard’: Show of Hands founder Alex Lane on crowdfunding a new festival for 2026 appeared first on Festival Insights.
Discovering the next big thing is a multi-billion pound industry. The CMATs of this world don’t come overnight. They are born through countless meetings, focus groups and dozens of executives all bringing their two cents to the table. It’s largely remained that way since The Beatles proved there’s big money to be made in boy […]
The post ‘Fans don’t just want music. They want scenes, experiences, and identity’: Michael Adex on how festivals can break new artists appeared first on Festival Insights.
On 2 December, the UK Festival Awards, powered by Festival Insights, celebrated the best that this industry has to offer. In 2025, over 450 festivals entered, something that truly showcases how festivals continue to innovate and thrive. Northampton’s Shambala Festival were one of the winners on the night, taking home awards for Independent Festival, Medium […]
The post In photos: the UK Festival Awards 2025 appeared first on Festival Insights.
I’m sat on a crisp white sofa overlooking a stream of pristine men, women and everyone in-between filtering in to Harrogate’s Love to be Festival. The one-dayer, being held on a reassuringly warm day in September, was founded in 1994, a time when DJ culture met mainstream celebrity. While Love to be leaned into the […]
The post Bottle service and banging toilets: the VIP-ification of music festivals appeared first on Festival Insights.
As reliably as day turns to night, it seems with each passing week comes the expected news that at least one UK music festival has shuttered its doors. This week, that comes in the celebration of LGBTQ+ culture that is Manchester Pride, alongside the Hertfordshire-based Standon Calling. Over the past seven days, both festivals have […]
The post Opinion: when festivals go bust, why do we so often pay the bill? appeared first on Festival Insights.
South Asian culture has become embedded into every facet of life in the UK. Film, fashion, the way we eat and drink, gritty day parties, our architecture, local cafés and language to lavish wedding halls alike have become brighter through the influence of the South Asian diaspora. South Asian musicians such as Arijit Singh are […]
The post ‘I am constantly having to prove myself in ways that white artists do not’: five key findings from The South Asian Soundcheck report appeared first on Festival Insights.
