‏The potential for conflict between city-based festivals and their residential neighbours has been highlighted by legal action seeking to halt large-scale events in one of London’s busiest parks.

Neighbours of Brockwell Park in South East London, site of a range of large festivals including Mighty Hoopla, Wide Awake, Field Day, Cross the Tracks and City Splash, have crowdfunded more than £30,000 (€35,000) to launch a High Court review of the current licensing process.

The campaign group Protect Brockwell Park cites “ecological damage, loss of public access, flood risks, biodiversity loss and air and noise pollution” as its key complaints. It wants full planning applications to be required for each event, a process that could have a significant knock-on effect not just for gatherings in Brockwell Park, but other events held across the UK.

This week, high-profile local resident and BAFTA-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance joined the fray, saying: “Brockwell Park is a place for people and nature. It is essential to many people’s mental health, to our joy, our healing grief.

“It was a gift to the local community and is held in trust for us by Lambeth. The imposition of high steel walls for Brockwell Live every summer destroys the park for weeks and harms the grass, trees and plant life for months if not for ever. It turns it into a prison camp.”

Campaign founder Jen Hawkins tells IQ the initial legal hearing will take place in “early May” and claims the outcome could impact this year’s planned events.

“Our attempts to engage meaningfully with the council or organisers have been met with only surface-level responses,” she says. “To ensure events suit both the park and community, genuine public consultation is needed – something currently lacking.”

“We understand the importance of Brockwell Park to local residents and take our stewardship seriously”

Brockwell Live, the umbrella group which encompasses festivals run by a number of promoters including Superstruct and Broadwick Live, says it takes its stewardship of the park seriously.

“Brockwell Live delivers a series of free and ticketed events in Brockwell Park with more than half of attendees coming from across Greater London,” reads a statement to IQ. “Celebrating the city’s diverse music and culture, events include the capital’s largest Caribbean and African music festival, a nationally significant queer pop festival and a critically acclaimed celebration of jazz, funk and soul.

“We understand the importance of Brockwell Park to local residents and take our stewardship seriously. We welcome scrutiny and maintain open channels for dialogue with residents, councillors, and community groups at all times.”

Organisers point out that the festivals have donated over £150,000 to local organisations to date through their community fund, and have paid £317,000 to help maintain the park over the past five years. A dedicated community manager and resident hotline is available for engagement with local residents.

Since 2023, the festival organisers have also co-produced the Lambeth Country Show, a free event run by the local authority for 50 years, saving the council over £700,000 last year.

With fan desire for easily-accessible day festivals continuing to grow, it is increasingly bringing promoters and local authorities into potential conflict with local communities. Event organisers are turning to a range of strategies to ensure local residents are onboard with events.

Earlier this year, electronic music event specialists AMAAD announced the launch of BM Park Live, a series of large-scale electronic music events at Boston Manor Park in West London. It has also prioritised community engagement, offering a ballot for local residents, contributions to a park and community fund and a programme that offers local young people their first step into the event production industry.

“We shouldn’t overlook the positive power of city festivals”

Anton Lockwood, director of live at DHP Family, which runs Splendour in Nottingham, points out that city festivals offer an opportunity for people to see a range of “established international artists right on their doorsteps” and provide an easy path into first-time festival-going.

“Urban events are a key part of the live music landscape as this type of event offers a festival experience, without having to pitch a tent in a muddy field – so opens festivals up to people who might not go otherwise – and as such are really important and growing,” he says.

“They also drive tourism into their host cities and, as there’s no camping, will lead to hotel stays and restaurant visits so can contribute hugely to a city’s economy. We urge cities to consider this when assessing the impact of things like traffic and noise.”

Large events run successfully in urban settings across the world, with Yourope General Secretary Holger Jan Schmidt pointing out that the organisation – made up of more than 100 European festivals – has had “inner city festivals as members since our foundation”.

Fruzsina Szép of Goodlive, which runs city festivals Superbloom in Munich and Lollapalooza in Berlin, tells IQ she is fortunate that in both locations, residents are used to frequent large-scale events in the cities’ respective Olympic parks.

Like other organisers of city-based festivals, Superbloom and Lollapalooza Berlin run extensive community engagement and consultation processes and have mechanisms in place for residents to contact event organisers throughout the shows. One very small group of especially impacted residents in Berlin are offered the choice of free tickets to the festival or hotel rooms elsewhere in Berlin for two nights.

“We shouldn’t overlook the positive power of city festivals, which at their best can become one with the city and represent it on the world stage,” she says.

While pointing out that there are differences not just between countries in the acceptance of urban festivals, but between specific cities and communities within them, Schmidt adds that good communication is the key.
“For me, it’s obviously the same as with your personal neighbours. If you want a good relationship, take care of it,” he says.

“You should proactively approach the residents, seek exchange, extend invitations, if necessary in joint dialogue with the authorities. For sure, this will never solve everyone’s concerns and sensitivities, but a good relationship with the majority of the neighbourhood is the basis for dealing with the rest.”

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A 30-year delay in resuming his gap year has allowed Nottingham impresario George Akins to take a family-run venue and build a business that is now one of the UK’s most important independent live music groups. Looking back on a remarkable three decades, the DHP chief tells IQ about his strategy for growth and future plans for the company…

When your father is a titan of the business community, getting a job in the family firm might be inevitable, but for George Akins Jnr, his baptism of fire could not have been more badly timed.

“I was six weeks into a year-long break, in Australia, when my dad sacked everyone at Rock City,” recalls Akins. “So, when I made my regular call home, I was told, ‘You need to come back and run Rock City.’ A few days later, I caught a flight back… I thought I was only going to be there for a few months until things got sorted out. But 30 years later, here we are…”

One of Nottingham’s 20th century legends, Akins’ late father – George Akins Snr – built and operated an empire that included casinos, betting shops, amusement arcades, and an extensive property portfolio. “Rock City was a bit on the side for him, really,” says Akins, who at the age of 18 found himself in the position of being the venue’s boss. “I’d sort of been involved because I was into music, while music wasn’t really dad’s thing, so Rock City was not his core business.”

However, the teenager’s impact was immediate. Within a year, he had refurbished Rock City’s basement to create a 700-capacity space called The Rig. And his expansion of the business, year-on-year, has been pretty consistent ever since.

“It wasn’t really until maybe the late ‘90s that I started looking at proper expansion of the music side, because I’d also been doing sports bars. But at that point, it became clear to me that I needed to stick to what I was good at – the music-led stuff. So rather than identifying sites where I could sell alcohol, my mindset changed toward ‘How can I turn this into a music venue?’”

“Anton was the local indie promoter in Nottingham, working with acts like White Stripes and The Strokes”

George Akins Snr acquired the Rock City premises – then a variety club called Heart of the Midlands – in 1980. He co-founded Rock City with promoter Sammy Jackson, who had been running the Porterhouse in Retford, which was already established on the tour circuit.

“Sammy was there for about a year before Paul Mason was promoted and took over. But Paul was then poached by The Factory guys to run the Hacienda [in Manchester],” Akins tells IQ. “In the late 80s, Andy Copping ran things, and when I took over, he was still working for us as a consultant. Andy was great – someone I could call for support, and he was sort of my mentor for booking. I’d book the indie stuff, and he handled the rock stuff, right up until just before we opened the Rescue Rooms.”

Another key move in DHP’s growth was when Akins hired Anton Lockwood. “Anton was the local indie promoter in Nottingham, working with acts like White Stripes and The Strokes, so it was really important to bring him in the fold when we opened the Rescue Rooms. From then on, we started opening more places and doing more shows.”

Akins and his team had converted what was one of his sports bars into the Rescue Rooms, providing DHP with a springboard to work with acts at different stages of their career development.

Coincidentally, 2002 also marked the first time that the company promoted a show in an external venue, when they took System of a Down to Nottingham Arena.

Adding to the DHP Nottingham portfolio, dance music venue Stealth opened its doors in 2004, while the following year, Akins inked a deal with Heavenly Records to buy The Social, which would be renamed The Bodega Social Club.

“On Thekla’s opening night, we nearly sank”

Having four venues in his native Nottingham was close to saturation point for DHP’s boss. But rather than sit on his laurels, Akins’ ambition for growth saw the company looking at venues else- where in the UK to facilitate expansion.

“If I did anything else in Nottingham, it felt like it was going to be robbing Peter to pay Paul. We already had, at that stage, Rock City, Rescue Rooms, Stealth, and Bodega.”

All At Sea
The next path for expansion emerged in ship-shape fashion, in the form of Thekla – a boat in Bristol’s harbour, which was a legendary venue in the city. Adding to the task of fitting out a new live music venue, many others would have dismissed outright using a boat to stage gigs. “I was young, so everything was fucking possible,” laughs Akins. “It was all an adventure.”

He continues, “I’ve done everything imaginable in a venue: I’ve DJ’d, I’ve done the lights, I’ve done the cloakroom, I’ve even had a blast at sound engineering – I’ve never really been frightened of anything, so a boat didn’t faze me.”

That viewpoint was soon to change. “On Thekla’s opening night, we nearly sank,” he recalls. “The original owners had been pumping toilet waste into the harbour, and there was a hole where they pumped it out. Of course, when we put it into dry dock to do all the works, that hole was supposed to be sealed up. But it wasn’t. And we put water tanks on the roof, so as those tanks were filling up, the boat started listing, and when it hit the water line, it started filling up through the hole for the toilet waste.”

Despite that near disaster, the risky move turned out to be pivotal for DHP, expanding their remit and providing a catalyst for the company’s later expansion into London.

“I suppose I take after my dad in that way – my entrepreneurial attitude to things. I see opportunities, and I pounce on them”

Indeed, in 2024, DHP runs eight venues, having also taken on The Garage in London, and opened the adjacent The Grace, as well creating Oslo in a former Hackney railway building.

Akins observes, “I suppose I take after my dad in that way – my entrepreneurial attitude to things. I see opportunities, and I pounce on them.”

Looking back on three decades of what he thought was going to be a temporary job, Akins says, “DHP’s timeline for growth has sort of been venues, venues, venues; then a bit of festivals; then sort of building concert promotions and expanding that nationally, as well.”

Indeed, DHP’s first festival was in 1997. “It was City in the Park, which was a reference to Rock City. The first year was Saw Doctors, where we did 9,000 tickets, and the second year was The Corrs, which did 30,000 people. But we couldn’t make money – the ticket prices were not enough to allow you to make money on the infrastructure and the artist costs. But it was an opportunity to build a relationship with Nottingham Council, so it was definitely worthwhile.

“Then I tried to do a rock event called Distortion, which had sort of spawned from another event called Extreme 2000 – a pop-punk festival I had in 2000. We had Less Than Jake in the first year, then Green Day in 2001, and neither of them made money, but I could see the sprouts of an idea. But when I tried to get The Offspring for 2002 and couldn’t, I realised there just weren’t enough acts in that scene to make that happen. So I shelved it for a few years until Nottingham City Council had ambitions to bring an international class festival to the city and were ready to bankroll it.”

The company’s festival stable now includes the likes of Splendour, Bearded Theory, Dot To Dot, Beat The Streets, Society Exists, and Foolhardy Folk Festivall, while Akins admits he’s looking at other existing events for DHP to acquire.

“The real problem post-pandemic is inflation and opening a venue from scratch”

“With festivals, unless you have incredibly deep pockets, it’s very hard to create something from scratch. And it’s now the same with venues. But there will be opportunities elsewhere to become involved in existing businesses, and that’s what I’m looking for,” he reveals.

“Our growth since the pandemic has really been the festival stuff. Venue wise, there have been some opportunities, but the real problem post-pandemic is inflation and opening a venue from scratch. We had a building in Birmingham that we seriously looked at, but the construction costs just became insane and wouldn’t make financial sense.”

In terms of DHP’s promoting credentials, Akins cites Anton Lockwood’s partnership with NME that saw him booking acts for the Club NME tours as an eye opener for the company. But he reveals that the late Dave Chumbley, as well as fellow agents Paul Boswell and Ian Huffam, had helped persuade DHP to expand to national touring. “They recognised that there was a need to see some competition to the status quo. So, through Dave Chumbley, we did a national tour with Dropkick Murphys where we ended up doing a Brixton Academy-sized tour across the country. Then I did Human League with Paul Boswell, and shortly afterwards, Turin Brakes with Ian Huffam.”

Acts like Lana Del Rey, Nick Cave, New Order, and Flaming Lips would follow, cementing DHP’s credentials as a full UK promoter.

When it comes to his strategy for growth, Akins once again channels his father’s outlook.

“My whole career has been about just seeing opportunities that fit with me. If I see an opportunity, I jump on it. It doesn’t always stick. For instance, we had a good run with artist management – we represented Dog Is Dead and another artist called Indiana – and it was pretty successful, but it was just too time and energy intensive; it really is a 24/7 job.”

“We can grow in so many different ways – as a concert promoter, as a festival operator, as a music venue operator”

Noting that he always has numerous projects on his mind, he adds, “DHP is just very good at doing all the elements. I think that’s what sets us apart from our competitors. We don’t only do gigs, leaving someone else to do the club nights – we’ve got to do the club nights ourselves; we’ve got to do the gigs ourselves; we’ve got to do the bars ourselves. We don’t outsource anything. Our speciality is all those elements.”

With the company payroll now covering 400 people, DHP has inevitably attracted the interest of some of the corporate behemoths. “The problem is, if you sell to them, you’ve got to work for them. And I’m unemployable. I’ve worked for myself essentially since I was 19 years old,” states Akins.

And as for future expansion, he concludes, “We can grow in so many different ways – as a concert promoter, as a festival operator, as a music venue operator – and I never really know which it’s going to be each year. But the plan is always music-related, recognising opportunities, and pouncing when we see them.

“It’s redbrick university towns that interest me. I’m not going to be opening venues in secondary university towns where there’s not the audience. It has to be redbrick towns where you know you’re gonna be able to promote a significant number of shows in the city.

“There are always opportunities bubbling. I’ve got probably three ideas running at the moment, but I’m not sure if all three might happen or none of them might happen. But in terms of the next five years, nothing’s off the table.”

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The UK has seen a gradual decline in the length of domestic tours across the last four decades, according to new figures from Music Venue Trust (MVT).

Artists are playing 11 shows on an average tour on the UK grassroots circuit this year, compared with 13 shows in 2014, 18 shows in 2004 and 22 in 1994, according to the findings.

“I would absolutely concur with these figures – the majority of artists we have playing grassroots and mid-level tours are playing shorter tours than ever before,” ATC Live’s Alex Bruford tells IQ.

“Touring is significantly more expensive and the four or five largest shows on the run will often cover the deficit generated from adding additional dates. The artists are often faced with the difficult choice of playing a longer tour to more people and losing money, or playing a shorter tour to fewer people but covering costs and perhaps making a profit. Many just have to choose the latter.”

With an increasing number of artists opting for shorter tours that focus on major cities, fans in regional markets are missing out on seeing their favourite artists.

As DHP Family promoter Scott Kennedy points out, this trend could have a profound impact on the diversity and accessibility of the UK’s music scene.

“The decline in grassroots touring hits working-class artists and regional working-class towns particularly hard,” he tells IQ. “With fewer shows, especially in smaller towns, it becomes much harder for working-class bands to build a following organically and reach new audiences. Rising costs and fewer gig opportunities mean that only those with financial backing can afford to take the risks involved in touring, while others are left out.

“Artists are often faced with the difficult choice of playing a longer tour to more people and losing money”

“As a result, the music scene risks becoming less diverse and more exclusive, shutting out voices that have traditionally driven the most innovative and authentic movements in music. It’s a threat to the cultural fabric of the UK music scene.”

Runway Artist’s Matt Hanner says that while MVT’s figures ring true, his agency is trying to buck the trend of shorter tours where possible.

“We believe investment in these markets can be what eventually contributes to being able to tour sustainably across the UK, even if you are not doing big numbers,” he tells IQ. “Developing a ticket and merch-buying audience in a wider range of cities and towns should be part of the big picture but of course we understand that not everyone has the financial capability to speculate to accumulate.

“Many promoters are still vary wary of pushing up ticket prices for fear of pricing out ticket-buyers, sometimes even if it’s only a couple of extra pounds, so fees remain relatively static while costs have increased. Of course, it’s a vicious cycle and after a couple of campaigns of not playing outside of London and Manchester your audience in the wider regions is likely to decline so there’s then no incentive to expand an artists’ touring.”

Associations such as LIVE have been lobbying for changes that could make touring more financially viable for artists and more accessible for music fans up and down the country.

“Touring in the UK has had to deal with post-lockdown shortages in talent and kit driving up costs, the illegal invasion of Ukraine fuelling inflation in the supply chain, and the disastrous mini-budget spiking interest rates,” LIVE CEO Jon Collins tells IQ.

“Soaring costs while the public has reduced disposable income has forced artists to focus on markets that give the best likelihood of a financial return. Inevitably that means the major cities. With a government committed to the principle of universality, LIVE is firmly of the view that a reduction in the 20% VAT rate on tickets is the quickest way to add liquidity into our market and allow artists, venues and promoters to programme more shows in more towns and cities to the delight of millions.”

“Soaring costs have forced artists to focus on markets that give the best likelihood of a financial return”

While the decline in touring has been mapped in smaller venues, the figures also “reflect what we’re hearing about the mid-capacity and arena level tours,” adds Collins.

The decline at GMV level is further evidenced by the 18.7% decrease in ticket sales in the last two years, per MVT’s research. Ticket sales per GMV in 2022 averaged 22,547, then increased in 2023 to 23,796, before dropping in 2024 to 18,331.

The sharp downturn in ticket sales has resulted in 14.1% decline in gross ticket income from live music 2023 (£134,123,094) to 2024 (£115,206,209).

Meanwhile, the cost of presenting live music at UK GMVs has increased by 11.1% year on year, from £248,936,880 in 2023 to £277,267,285 in 2024.

In more positive news the number of GMVs in the UK remained broadly steady in the last 12 months, where previous years had seen significant falls.

Some artists have vowed to do their part to support the sector, with Coldplay recently pledging to donate 10% of the proceeds from their Wembley and Hull shows to the Music Venue Trust. Last year, Enter Shikari donated a portion of ticket sales from their UK arena tour to MVT.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the Beyond the Music conference in Manchester on Friday that the government is “deeply concerned about the closure of live music venues and the huge challenges that face existing venues right now”, and said the issue is “absolutely at the top of our agenda”.

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A convoy of 55 Harley Davidson bikers has delivered the ashes of Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister to Rock City in Nottingham following the close of this year’s Bloodstock festival.

The specially-created Lemmy Forever memorial urn commissioned by Bloodstock has now taken up residence at DHP Family’s flagship Rock City in Nottingham, where Motörhead played 10 times from 1987 to 2006.

It will remain on public display at the venue before returning to Bloodstock, which is held at Catton Hall in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, each August.

“We are so excited that the Lemmy Bust has arrived at its new home here at Rock City, and are honoured that Bloodstock Festival chose our venue to host the bust here between his annual pilgrimage back to their event each year,” says Rock City programmer Amy Lawson. “It seems fitting that a bust to celebrate such an iconic trailblazer in rock will stay in a venue which is tied so closely to his musical heritage. We can’t wait to welcome his legions of loyal fans to pay their respects to the icon.”

Also in attendance at yesterday’s (12 August) handover were Bloodstock festival directors Adam Gregory and Vicky Hungerford along with Alan Hungerford, Lemmy’s PA.

DHP recently announced it is reopening historic 2,500-capacity Nottingham venue Pryzm, which will be returning to its original incarnation of The Palais

At this year’s Bloodstock, fans were able to view the Lemmy Forever memorial and pay tribute to Lemmy and his legacy. The re-creation of Lemmy’s dressing room featured a host of his personal items including his hat, boots, bass guitar, and hand-drawn pictures, as well as handwritten lyrics, dressing room paraphernalia, and a never-seen-before selection of his personal photos.

Meanwhile, DHP recently announced it is reopening historic 2,500-capacity Nottingham venue Pryzm, which will be returning to its original incarnation of The Palais ahead of celebrating its 100th year in 2025.

The Palais, which first opened 24 April 1925 as a dance hall and billiard saloon, was reinvented as a nightclub in the late 80s, hosting the TV show Hitman and Her and has been known by several names including the Ritzy and Oceana. It is set to reopen from mid-September.

“As a local business deeply rooted in Nottingham’s music scene, we feel it’s only right to recognise the heritage of the venue and revive Nottingham’s original dancehall,” adds The Palais manager Sam Dye.

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DHP Family’s Splendour Festival is set to return in 2025 after a new five-year contract was agreed with Nottingham City Council.

The 25,000-cap UK event’s 2024 edition was axed due to delays over tendering, but the authority is expected to rubber-stamp a deal covering 2025-29 at next week’s commissioning and procurement executive committee.

The two-day festival in Wollaton Park was last held in 2023, when it was headlined by Madness and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

“This is a popular attraction as part of Nottingham’s annual events and entertainment programme and has created positive recognition, economic and social benefit for the city,” says the authority. “This would be lost or put at risk if these were discontinued. The cancellation of the event in 2024 has already seen a detrimental reputational impact on the city alongside a loss of income to the council.”

The council document lists the total value of the decision as £11.8 million (€13.9m), based on estimated turnover over the five years. The authority staged the annual festival jointly with Nottingham-headquartered promoter and venue operator DHP since 2007, but a formal competitive tendering process was initiated following the expiration of the most recent agreement two years ago.

“We understand the council, as owners of the Wollaton site, wanting to check that they are getting value for money for city residents from our deal”

“Revised terms between the council and DHP were agreed within a heads of terms agreement that covered the period from 2018-22,” it notes. “This approach reflected the wider changes in the council’s risk appetite and approach to staging events to reduce financial risks and begin the move towards a cost neutral, commercial income events model. This approach also sought to align our commercial terms for Splendour with other events of a similar nature staged within the city.

“Some of the changes at this time were also reflected in the wider UK festival industry. Instead of very large annual mega-festivals such as V Festival or T in the Park, most cities were now hosting some form of local/regional music festival; hence there was little or no rationale for the council to continue to financially support a festival, that was being entirely delivered by the commercial sector in other cities.

“Subsequently this event was identified as a concession and under the council’s procurement policy and best value duty required a formal tendering process to be undertaken which commenced in 2023.”

According to the Nottingham Post, DHP has declined to comment at this stage, but said in a previous statement: “We understand the council, as owners of the Wollaton site, wanting to check that they are getting value for money for city residents from our deal.

“We are confident that’s what we offer already, and that’s what we can offer in the future. We have ambitious plans to make Splendour an even more popular and successful event.”

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DHP Family’s charity festival Beat The Streets has announced its January event raised £81,600 for the unhoused population across the East Midlands region of England.

All proceeds raised by the one-day festival go to Framework, a Nottingham-based charity that provides a network of support for at-risk and homeless individuals in the region. Since its inception in 2018, the multi-venue event has raised £490,600 for the charity.

This year, funds will be dedicated to supporting the charity’s Street Outreach team, which engages with the local homeless community daily. Money raised during Beat The Streets will “cover a large part of the cost” to help secure a quarter of the team, which came under risk after Nottingham City Council reduced funding to the charity, said Framework’ CEO Andrew Redfern.

“The level of rough sleeping continues to rise relentlessly,” Redfern says. “Funds raised at the 2024 festival back in January will help us maintain the outreach team who work with people on the streets of Nottingham every day of the year.”

“We’ve been able to make another significant contribution to the hard work that Framework do, at a particularly vital time”

Nottingham’s rough sleeper population is growing nearly 20% every year, per Framework, as the housing association works to provide housing, health, employment support, and care services to 18,500 people per year.

The festival’s seventh annual, which took place on 28 January, featured special guests Beats on Toast, Fat Digester, Lois, George Gadd + The Aftermath, along with more than 50 local artists. All proceeds from tickets, bar purchases and merchandise went directly to Framework.

“The funds raised each year at our event make a tangible difference to the lives of homeless people in the area, and thanks to everyone who attended, performed at, and worked on our 2024 event, we’ve been able to make another significant contribution to the hard work that Framework do, at a particularly vital time,” says DHP Family’s MD George Akins.

Beat The Streets is delivered by DHP Family in collaboration with local organisations and music groups, including I’m Not from London; Farmyard Records; Hockley Hustle, and Rough Trade.

DHP Family also owns and operates the 25,000-capacity Splendour Festival — which has been cancelled for 2024 — and multiple venues across the UK. The organisation also promotes concerts and tours while also operating independent ticketing platform alt. tickets.

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Two of the UK’s best-loved independent festivals, Barn On The Farm and Splendour, have been called off for 2024.

Splendour in Nottingham has been axed due to delays over tendering, according to promoter DHP Family.

DHP said it was told by the city council in May it needed to bid to continue running the 16-year-old event at Wollaton Park but “numerous delays” during the process meant it was now too late to stage Splendour this year.

George Akins, DHP’s managing director, said: “It has been a hugely frustrating time for us. Splendour could have gone ahead had the council heeded our warnings about the timescales required. 2023’s headliners were contracted more than a year in advance and everyone was aware of this.”

Akins said he was “well aware” of the city council’s current financial difficulties, but “some of these delays” pre-dated the announcement that the authority was effectively bankrupt.

He added: “We don’t believe it should have had any effect whatsoever. I would also say that Splendour is a significant income generator, not a cost, for the council.

The council responded: “We said last year that under the council’s new commercial strategy, the event fell into a category where a formal tender process was needed. This was to protect the authority legally, financially and to ensure the festival was achieving best value for the council and the residents of Nottingham.

“The procurement process is complex and has taken longer than we would have liked – this has made the viability of delivering a festival in 2024 very difficult.”

The council said it was “optimistic” that Splendour could return to its longtime home in 2025.

“Barn On The Farm’s recent announcement is a further warning sign of the difficult conditions facing independent festivals”

Barn on the Farm organisers yesterday (25 January) announced that the Gloucester festival – which has booked the likes of Ed Sheeran, Bombay Bicycle Club and Sigrid in its 14-year history – would be postponed until 2025 due to “financial difficulties”.

“As you know we’ve been openly vocal about the difficulties that we, alongside many other festivals, have faced over the last year,” reads a statement from the organisers. “So rather than rush into another season of planning and be on the rocks financially, we feel it’s better for us to use our time this year to focus on planning 2025 and making a huge comeback.”

Barn On The Farm 2025 will take place on 3–6 July at Over Farm, with tickets going on sale soon. Full refunds for the 2024 edition will be available until the end of the year.

“As you know the future of independent festivals [is] uncertain but my god do we need them for new music to survive,” the statement continues. “We hugely appreciate every single one of you who supports us moving forwards.”

John Rostron, Association Of Independent Festivals (AIF) CEO, commented: “Barn On The Farm’s recent announcement is a further warning sign of the difficult conditions facing independent festivals at the moment.

“Festivals are being squeezed by the rise in supply chain costs, and the effects of closures and debt incurred during COVID, meaning they are in a unique, perilous position that threatens the future of almost all but the very biggest operators in the UK.”

Rostron continued: “We again call on the government to expedite a lower VAT rate of 5% on ticket sales for the next three years to create the space for festivals to make it through this severe situation and back to the growth we all enjoyed in outdoor events prior to the pandemic.”

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DHP Family’s charity festival Beat the Streets raised £89,500 for the homeless population in Nottingham, England.

The award-winning festival takes place in January across multiple venues in the city, where the UK independent venue operator is based. The money raised this year surpassed the £76,000 ($95,000) raised last year.

Since launching in 2018, Beat The Streets has raised more than £400,000 ($500,000) for Framework, the charity that supports the homeless population of Nottingham, and has directly benefitted more than 300 individuals.

This year’s funds will go towards the creation of eight self-contained flats for people who have been on the streets for more than 20 years.

The accommodation will provide rough sleepers with permanent housing combined with a program of unlimited person-centred support towards independence.

They will also be able to access Framework’s other services dedicated to drug, alcohol, mental health, and employment support, and more.

“We hope to continue to use our expertise as music promoters and festival organisers to make a difference”

This year’s Beat The Streets lineup featured Ferocious Dog, 7th In Line, Alt Blk Era, Jerub, Lacey, Palm Reader, The Publics, Victory Lap, and many more.

“As a Nottingham-based company, it means a lot to all of us that work here to continue to deliver a fantastic Beat the Streets festival each January as we know how vital the funds are to Framework and the people they support across the city,” adds DHP Family’s MD George Akins.

“We hope to continue to use our expertise as music promoters and festival organisers to make a difference. We are extremely grateful to all the artists who give their time to play and each and every person that bought a ticket as together, we are helping to support something very worthwhile.”

Beat The Streets is delivered by DHP Family in collaboration with local organisations and music groups including I’m Not from London, Farmyard Records, Hockley Hustle and Rough Trade.

DHP promotes national tours and concerts, operates music venues, organises festivals and manages artists.

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DHP Family MD George Akins tells IQ the company is exploring fresh opportunities in the venue market after business returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The independent UK venue operator and promoter racked up estimated turnover of £31-32 million (€35-36m) for 2022 –in line with its previous best year of 2017 and well up on the Covid-hit years of 2020 and 2021, when revenues hit £9m and £21m, respectively.

The Nottingham-headquartered firm attributes much of the upswing to the strong performance of its native venues, including Bodega and the legendary Rock City.

“The venue business has come back strong, especially the club nights, and the shows are coming through,” says Akins. “I’ve got a tour rescheduled from the pandemic all the way to July next year, so it’s still backed up, but we’re able to find avails now.

“Sales are good regionally. London was really tough up until very recently – it was under selling – and Manchester was ahead of it a lot of the time, but London has has recovered now and we’ve started to see shows selling what they should be. Generally, I think there’s been a hangover of work from home that affected London considerably, but a lot more people are back in the office now and people are going out again. It’s definitely more vibrant.”

“We’re looking at venue opportunities. We’re not in a mad hurry, but we’ve identified something we like the look of”

Other DHP venues include London’s Oslo, The Grace and The Garage, the latter of which turns 30 this year, Bristol’s Thekla and Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms and Stealth. But further additions could be on the cards.

“We’re looking at venue opportunities,” confirms Akins. “We’re not in a mad hurry, but we’ve identified something we like the look of and we hope to do something this year. If that comes off then that will be interesting, but we’ll grow on solid foundations like we’ve always done. We’re not firing out 10 venues in a year just because we want to grow, we want to last 40 to 50 years and want everything we do to have longevity in.

“We believe in building blocks and that might take longer than if you’re working for a venture capitalist or for someone who’s put their money in and wants [quick] results. We don’t need to do that. We’re an independent family business; we don’t have any debt and our reputation has survived through these trying times.

“Being independent is tough when the finances are tough, but we’re in a fortunate position because we have good assets, good building blocks, and everything we do has incredible grounding. We made money through the pandemic and hit the ground running when we came out of it.”

“There are always concerns about how you can raise ticket prices when people have so many bills to pay”

Nevertheless, Akins acknowledges concerns over the knock-on effect of the cost of living crisis on the live business.

“There are recession fears on the horizon, of course, and there are always concerns about how you can raise ticket prices when people have so many bills to pay,” he says. “But inflation is ridiculous for artists – the cost of running PAs, lights and production has gone up so much and the effects of that have to transfer through to ticket price.

“Most venues are adding energy uplifts for their hires, so it’s been incredibly worrying to see how much more we’re going to have to charge for tickets. The hot tickets will always sell but you’ve got to be careful with the acts that tour annually – if you’ve seen them last year you might not want to see them next year and save some money – but we’ll have to see how that transpires.

“The slowdown is not apparent at the moment, but there’s a bit of trepidation and I think there’s going to be a real slowdown in buying tickets at some point this year.”

DHP bought into 15,000-cap alternative independent festival Bearded Theory in early 2022 and work in partnership with festival founders Richard Bryan and Stephen Blount on the event, which returns to Catton Hall, Derbyshire from 25-28 May with headliners Interpol and Primal Scream.

“We’d wanted a camping festival for some time and we were excited to get involved”

“We’d wanted a camping festival for some time and we were excited to get involved,” says Akins. “We’ve booked two-thirds of the lineup for this year now and have announced our first bunch of headliners, and it’s looking great. I’m really excited about that.”

DHP’s festival portfolio also includes multi-city new music festival Dot To Dot and 25,000-cap Nottingham festival Splendour, which reverted from one to two days in 2022 for the first time since its 2008 debut, with the two-day format set to stay.

Meanwhile, its charity festival Beat the Streets, set up in response to the growing number of rough sleepers, has donated £320,000 to housing association Framework since launching in 2018 and was honoured at last year’s UK Festival Awards. Beat the Streets returns to multiple venues in Nottingham on 29 January.

Elsewhere, the firm has upcoming tours with The Flaming Lips, Dropkick Murphys, Belle & Sebastian, Belinda Carlisle and Electric Callboy, among others, and has been busy nurturing a new crop of promoters.

“You’ve got Ben Ryles, who is based in Manchester and is booking Bearded Theory and is also promoting nationally,” adds Akins. “You’ve got Conrad [Rogan], Scott [Kennedy] and Josh [Ward] developing their rosters down in London, and then Anton [Lockwood] and me, the old stalwarts, doing what we do. It feels like we’re back to where we were and it’s exciting.”

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Multi-faceted UK promoter and venue operator DHP Family has linked up with alternative independent music festival Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering.

DHP, which runs Nottingham’s famed Rock City venue, will work in partnership with festival founders Richard Bryan and Stephen Blount on the event.

As a venue owner, festival organiser and national live promoter, Bearded Theory will complement DHP’s existing portfolio, which includes family festival Splendour and new music festival Dot To Dot.

“This is an exciting venture between two iconic music names that are a natural fit in terms of music heritage,” says DHP Family MD George Akins. “Richard and the Bearded Theory team have done a fantastic job with the festival, and we’re delighted to be continuing the story together over the coming years.”

Anton Lockwood, DHP’s director of live, adds: “We’re excited Bearded Theory is joining DHP Family. As the UK’s biggest national independent promoter, we value the ethos and spirit of the festival and respect its history. From within our great team, we will bring our knowledge, expertise and industry contacts to the festival.”

“Our festival future is secure, which is great news for all”

Situated on the borders of Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands, Bearded Theory returns from 26-29 May for its first edition since 2019. Topping the bill will be Flaming Lips, Patti Smith and Placebo, with other acts including Working Men’s Club, Nova Twins and Do Nothing.

Bryan and Blount will continue to be at the forefront of the festival’s delivery.

“We’re excited to be working with the team behind Rock City as this is without a doubt a great cultural fit for both parties,” says Bryan. “We have been looking at ways to improve the event without it losing its ethos, ethics and identity and to gain the support needed for it to continue to blossom, we are delighted to have found the answer with the Midlands favourite music family.”

Blount adds: “Our festival future is secure, which is great news for all of us involved behind the scenes and the many thousands of our loyal fans who return year after year.”

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