Honestly, I think ATP and the location are the biggest factors rather than the line up. There’s plenty of niche/underground things that keep going. My friend went to the Funtastic Dracular Carnival in Benidorm (!) last year (see below). Wouldn’t have seen any market for that, but it was their eleventh year straight.
Biggest issues for my friends were:
I got a four person chalet on debit card, was going with strangers…hadn’t got all the money before it got cancelled so could be pretty fucking expensive. What are the chances of getting money back from the bank? How have other people fared with previous failures?
Anyway, am looking into camping in North Wales alone just in case…couldn’t justify losing the train fare if I have lost the ticket money as well.
Bangface still turns a profit every year as well, never quite sure who’s showing up to that year in year out.
Yeah weird that, innit. BF, alongside things like that Shine On festival above suggests it can’t be the ageing punters that’s killing ATP.
Surviving would be the appropriate term for rockaway beach, yes
Isn’t it also about the bands being burnt loads of times? If I was (say) an American band who’s rated in the UK and got a gig in London, I’d be like yeah let’s do it. If it was in a holiday camp in Wales maybe I’d have heard a few things about that kinda thing by now. Obviously no one gave up on ATP for ages but maybe Jabberwocky finally undid all the good will. What I’m saying is, at this stage it’s not just about the fans, it’s the artists too, no?
But why don’t bands or pormoters seem to know that stuff, or indeed care? I still feel a bit burnt by some of the pro-ATP bands that made out everyone was being a pussy for complaining. Yeah, its alright for you Mogwai, Sleaford Mods and Portishead, you probably got paid.
Ijust don’t know how any of them could’ve thought this would go ahead. Surely the answer would be “thanks, looks great, call us in a couple of years when you have proved it works.”
And on the does-the-model-work thing; Honestly think if the ATP version where they did two a year, in Minehead, and a few London gigs would’ve worked just dandy if they’d taken on a bit of sponsorship/advertising and didn’t bother with any other element.
Bangface built up a strong following with the club night long before the weekenders started and they know not to oversaturate (couple of club nights a year, a boat party in the summer and the weekender) so that the festival feels like an event. Also: some people REALLY like gabba. I enjoyed the BF weekends I went to but probably don’t have the stamina to do another one.
I bought tickets for this on the first day they were out and don’t recall seeing a single person suggest this was doomed to tank, or even overly ambitious, until they announced the cancellation, so this strikes me as taking wise-after-the-eventness to absurd levels
A lot of people were quietly studying how this would do the first year from afar before considering to buy tickets for next year. People don’t have to be vocally skeptical, the skepticism was there in a lot of people, they just didn’t buy tickets.
As much as I disliked Pontin’s iirc it’s just one train to get there and maybe about 3-4 hours?
Actually just checked this two hours and 40 minutes, idk the travelling part wasn’t what bothered me tbh. It was more the venue.
yeah daresay there’s something to this but (a) this obviously invites a self-fulfilling prophecy and (b) the history of boutique/specialist/weird festivals doesn’t really indicate that if the debut one manages to go ahead OK, it’ll be plain sailing in the following years
They should probably have planned this first one as a lower risk/overheads/ticket prices one-dayer and built up their reputation before moving on to full weekends with large birth chalets etc. a couple of years down the line. After ATP and with a line up that looks in no way commercially viable enough to go sticking however many £200+ tickets on your credit card, it seems incredibly naive.
Even if I’d have wanted to go I’ not sure I could have found many other friends tempted by both line up and price to make up a full chalet…I’ve barely heard of most of the artists. I’m generally familiar with more bands at Sounds From The Other City festival in Salford, and that one’s a fraction of the price at about £25.
Hard Rock Hell seems to be doing well in Prestatyn, so the location and punter age aren’t necessarily deal breakers.
The titular Hell being provided by the accommodation, I suppose.
judging by the fact only 61 people have left a comment on the cancellation notice on Facebook it’s kinda telling how few tickets were sold.
Safe As Milk as a festival was a new thing but I thought the promoters who were putting it on had been round the block a while - thought they were related to Tusk
Heads up for people wanting to see Grouper - they’re playing a replacement gig on April 23rd at the tin tabernnacle in kilburn! I’m going down to London at the same time for other stuff, feel very lucky that I am able to go.
Shame that happened because of Safe As Milk being cancelled. The Tusk promoters do stuff in Newcastle and they’re really sound.
Balls, looks like this is sold out already. Don’t suppose anyone has got a link for available tickets?
