The summer festival season is in full swing, with celebrations of music, food, beer, art and literature taking place up and down the country.
To get a flavour of what’s new this year, we’ve put together a round up of recent news stories highlighting the key trends influencing the festival industry…
1. Multi genre festivals
‘Bluedot festival review – cosmic vibes permeate rave revival’ – The Guardian
With an increasingly saturated market, new festivals are having to find creative ways to spark interest and offer extra value. Held for the first time last month at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Manchester, Bluedot Festival, brings together science, electronic music and astronomy in one gloriously geeky package.
Alongside performances by Air, Underworld and Jean-Michel Jarre, sat a comprehensive series of panels and lectures about the secrets of the universe. Art installations included an ‘immersive night-time journey of light and sound’ through woodland, while Brian Eno projected interactive artworks on to the 76-metre-in-diameter Lovell radio telescope.
The Guardian gives Bluedot a glowing review, stating: “Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the inaugural Bluedot festival is that nobody thought to stage it sooner.”
Credit: Bluedot
2. Drug safety initiatives
‘Secret Garden Party tests illegal drugs for festival-goers – but lets them take the rest’ – The Telegraph
Drugs and the safety of attendees are always a concern for music festival organisers. The Telegraph reports that Secret Garden Party has become the first event in the UK to allow attendees to have their illegal drugs tested before taking them.
The scheme, developed in partnership with Cambridgeshire police and local public health authorities, aims to reduce overdoses and poisonings.
In the first day and a half of this year’s festival more than 80 substances were tested, with a quarter then disposed of by festivalgoers due to misrepresented contents.
Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst for Transform Drug Policy Foundation, told the newspaper it is hoped the scheme will be rolled out to become “the norm” at all music festivals, and said it would be “negligent” for organisers to ignore it.
Credit: Secret Garden Party/ Olivia Williams
3. Booze-free festivals
‘No drink, no drugs: what’s drawing young people to teetotal festivals?’ – The Guardian
UK festivals have long been synonymous with alcohol, but a new breed of booze-free events is showing there is another way. The Guardian reports that Buddhafield festival is completely teetotal but it’s proving increasingly popular – despite its £140 ticket price.
The five-day event in Somerset features music, dance, group yoga sessions, and permaculture workshops, and participants are keen to embrace the drug-free philosophy of the event.
Elsewhere, festivals are promoting sober fun in the name of alcoholism recovery (such as Sound Recovery in Nottingham) and health and safety – Butserfest in East Hampshire is designed as ‘cleaned up Download Festival’ offering a safe environment for kids and teens.
Credit: John Flemming/Triratna Buddhafield 2015
4. Controversial subject matter
‘Spraoi festival grapples with complexities of female reproduction’ – Irish Times
Arts organisations are pushing the envelope this summer, sparking debate by taking a sideways look at a variety of risqué topics. In Waterford, Ireland, Fullstop Acrobatic Theatre ruffled feathers at the Spraoi International Street Arts Festival with an exploration of gender stereotypes and the complexities of the female reproductive system, reports the Irish Times.
Meanwhile, Curious State Theatre presented a Victorian funeral procession. The interactive street theatre act Morbid & Sons featured an elaborate hearse, and audience members were enlisted as mourners as the procession wound its ways through the city’s streets.
Credit: Curious State Theatre/ John Loftus
5. Immersive sound and light
‘Edinburgh festival to erupt with sound and light spectacular’ – The Guardian
Staging is becoming ever more impressive and theatrical, with festival organisers finding new and innovative ways to use technology. The Guardian reveals the spectacular digital light show that will open the Edinburgh International Festival next week.
Festivalgoers will witness the city’s birth from volcanic eruptions as 42 high-powered projectors use Edinburgh Castle and Castle Rock as the canvas for a computer-generated 3D animation. It will be accompanied by a specially edited soundtrack of songs by the Scottish rock band Mogwai.
The 18-minute show called ‘Deep Time’ has been devised by 59 Productions, the Tony award winners who created the video sequences for the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.
Conclusion
The festival sector remains at the forefront of event innovation. As these headlines show, far from diluting the scene, the plethora of new festivals has sparked increased creativity, as well as a greater willingness to experiment in order to tackle challenges facing the industry.
