The Great Merch Debate
One viral photo of Gojira's merch list prices - including an £80 hoodie - sparked a row that refuses to die and lifted the lid on the murky world of merch concessions at venues and festivals. But is it as black and white as greedy venues or promoters dipping their hands into the pockets of hard working bands, or is there a more nuanced conversation to be had about what services are provided in return, from a toilet tour to a major outdoors festival? Do all events approach the issue in the s...
9 Maj 20241h 1min
Lessons Learned
As the old saying goes, you learn from your mistakes, but that doesn't make those mistakes any easier to deal with! From bogged down loos, stages with no stage managers, the importance of building a team and what weather you can survive and what weather you can't... Gav and James relive some horrors from down the years. And what do we want to see in a band's press pack? We go again, every Thursday morning.
2 Maj 20241h 12min
Why was Opeth's set cut short? Q&A 2
In the second of our monthly Q&A bonus pods, we try to get through as many burning questions as possible. Our biggest triumphs and screw ups? How has Brexit impacted attracting bands? What happens to our festivals if one of us is hit by a bus? Have we ever been held to ransom by a greedy band? And why didn't Opeth play their full set length at ATG last year? We answer them all. We go again, every Thursday morning.
25 Apr 20241h 27min
Clashfinder Confessions: ATG
The ArcTanGent stage times are out and everyone has been colour coding their digital day plans and having a social media rant about the decisions they've been forced to make. But what does the man responsible for the clashes, which can make or break your weekend, have to say for himself? How did Clown Core and Author & Punisher find themselves pitted against each other? Is Torpor at 11am on the final day really a bright idea? And do fans really want to see both Amenra and Tokky Horror? ...
25 Apr 20241h 7min
Headliners of The Future
Green Lung, Creeper, Brutus, Malevolence, Zeal & Ardor, Bob Vylan, Dinosaur Pile Up, Bleed From Within, Boston Manor... all names we hope to see headline our festivals in the future. But what does it take to get there and why does the path to the top of the bill seem so clear at 2000trees, yet so complicated at ATG and Damnation? Gav and James also have a bash at booking a stage for the other's festival, from the sublime (We Lost The Sea and Tomb Mould) to the ridiculous (Moon Too...
18 Apr 20241h 24min
Cancelled Festivals & The Near-Death of Damnation
21 UK festivals have been cancelled or postponed so far this year with up to 100 at risk without Government support, according to the The Association of Independent Festivals. It's grim reading, so how are ArcTanGent, Damnation and 2000trees coping in this brutal landscape and what can be done to help the situation? Gav and James have a plan and it involves you! We go again, every Thursday morning.
11 Apr 20241h 15min
Breaking Bands
Bob Vylan to Din of Celestial Birds, Idles to Amenra... have our festivals helped "break" bands to a larger audience in their scenes and if so, is that important to us or a byproduct of the job? Gav and James get in about it. We go again, every Thursday morning.
4 Apr 202448min
The Agent Strikes Back
After a month or so of agent bashing, it was only a matter of time before someone stepped up to put us back in our place. And that someone is the brilliant Mr Tom Taaffe, the man behind the bookings of the likes of Every Time I Die, Pallbearer, Spanish Love Songs, Deafheaven, While She Sleeps, Beartooth and Elder at our festivals. What's his take on the ballache of billing and A-Z line-up posters, the rising fees for bands and promoters asking US arena-level bands to play club shows in Engl...
28 Mars 20241h 37min
