ATC Live founder and MD Alex Bruford has given IQ the inside track on Fontaines D.C.’s live progress ahead of their biggest run of shows to date.

The Irish post-punk band, who release their fourth album Romance on 23 August, have a packed summer in store, with slots at festivals including Sideways (Finland), Hurricane & Southside (Germany), Fuji Rock (Japan), Sziget (Hungary), Pukkelpop (Belgium), Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds (UK), among others.

They will then visit the US & Canada in the autumn, followed by a European tour in November/December, stopping at venues such as the WiZink Center in Madrid, Verti Music Hall in Berlin, two shows at Alexandra Palace in London, a three-night stand at The Factory in Manchester and arena dates in Cardiff, Nottingham, Leeds and Glasgow.

The outing will then conclude in their native Dublin, Ireland, with two concerts at 3Arena on 6 & 7 December.

In the following Q&A, Bruford, their agent, talks IQ through the story so far…

“Working with Fontaines D.C. has been a joy, primarily because of the bands remarkable drive, determination and prolific output”

How have you managed the band’s growth on the live scene up to this point? 

“Working with Fontaines D.C. has been a joy, primarily because of the bands remarkable drive, determination and prolific output. The band released their first three albums in the space of three years – Dogrel in 2019, A Hero’s Death in 2020 and SkintyFia in 2022. Each album pushed the band forward musically and creatively, and the momentum they were able to build with this pace of releasing has been crucial to their growth live.

“Managing the growth has come down to long term planning, building of multiple territories simultaneously, reacting quickly when necessary and working with promoter partners who are as dedicated to ensuring the band achieve their goals as we are. In particular, Dan Roberts at Metropolis Music in the UK has been instrumental to the UK touring success.

“It’s not all been plain sailing – on the first album campaign the band’s career acceleration was so fast that there were too many demands on the band members, and we all had to learn what pace of touring worked best for them. Now we have a good balance and a fantastic production team, led by PM Marcus Haughton, who takes care of the band globally. Marcus and myself work closely together from the inception of tour plans to ensure all routings are as strategic and logistically efficient as they can be, whilst ensuring the necessary rest is built in for the guys to be at their best on the road.”

What is the strategy around the coming campaign? 

“Working closely with the band’s management, Ian McAndrew, Emma Greengrass and Trevor Dietz, and Cerys Vaughan at ATC Live, we started working on the strategy for the Romance campaign two years ago. 

“The band’s last show in Europe was 2022 so it feels like the right time to hit the stage again. The first shows back will be at select festivals in the summer of 2024 that don’t clash with our November headline tour plans, allowing us to announce the tour in April 2024 around the release of the new single Starburster.

“We’ll headline the Park Stage at Glastonbury and then release the album with XL records on 23 August, the day before the band hit the main stage at Reading & Leeds, two key media moments.

“We’ve added headline shows in markets we won’t get to on the album tour around the 2024 festivals”

“We’ve added headline shows in markets we won’t get to on the album tour around the 2024 festivals, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Slovenia, reaching more fans and further building the band’s touring footprint. The 2024 headline run will be the band’s biggest shows to date, and a springboard to extensive UK and European touring in summer 2025.

“The strategy laid out relied on one key factor – the band delivering the new record on time to release the first single in April and album by the end of August. Whilst we never want to put pressure on the creative process, the fact is that artists that can deliver music on time and in a planned window have a huge advantage over those that can’t.

“In the interim period [vocalist] Grian Chatten released an acclaimed solo record, which received much support at press and radio. Grian had the option to tour the record, but made the wise decision to focus on writing and recording the next Fontaines D.C. album, a decision which is paying dividends now.

“Knowing that we could rely on the band to make the timeline work enabled us to secure the best nights of the week for every key show – so we went up with Friday and Saturday in London, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Manchester and Friday and Saturday in Dublin, crucial to the success of the tour launch. They hit the target, delivering their best record to date and on schedule.”

“Demand has exceeded expectations by some way – it’s clear that the band have made a major step forward”

There is a “reduced price ticket” option for certain tour dates, what was the thinking behind that?

“The band have always been keen to ensure there is an opportunity for those on lower incomes to come to the shows, and not be priced out, so we made sure some reduced price tickets were available for this purpose.”

What are your expectations for the group in 2024?

“Demand has exceeded expectations by some way – it’s clear that the band have made a major step forward. To sell out two Alexandra Palaces (20,000 tickets) in London and three Aviva Studios in Manchester (15,000) tickets in one weekend is phenomenal business.

“In addition, we sold out the band’s first arena show in Ireland at the 3 Arena Dublin in a day, with a second date immediately added. My expectation is that all 2024 headline shows in the UK and Europe will be sold out.”

How would you compare their live popularity in the UK & Ireland with the rest of Europe? 

“The UK and Ireland are the biggest markets for the band, but thanks to their hard work touring internationally many markets are a close second.  In Amsterdam we sold out one AFAS arena (6,000 tickets) and added a second the morning of onsale. We had strong starts at our first arena shows in Madrid, Brussels and Paris. In Rome we have already sold out our summer show at the iconic Auditorium Parco della Musica, and our two summer headline shows in Poland are sold out.

“Further afield, Australia is a strong market for the band, with a very successful tour around the Laneway Festivals in 2023, and the band will return to Japan to play Fuji Rock Festival this summer.”

“The number of markets we can play arenas will continue to grow”

What’s the plan for Fontaines D.C. from here? 

“The band are already an arena band, playing arenas in many markets on the 2024 tour. The number of markets we can play arenas will continue to grow. After the headlining their first festival at Green Man in 2021, we will see more festival headline shows.

“With four albums of material and extensive touring experience to draw on, the band will take the show to another level in 2024.  The exciting part of where we are at now is that we are only 1 single into the new album campaign, with a phenomenal record to come.  

“Fontaines D.C. are not here to tick off achievements, but to consistently challenge themselves and their audiences, which I have no doubt they will continue to do. We look forward to seeing where that takes us!”

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ATC Live acts are off to a strong start in this year’s European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep), making up half of the top ten most-booked artists so far.

A total of 58 acts from 23 different countries have secured 94 festival slots through the Eurosonic Noorderslag-run programme this year.

Squid and Black Country, New Road – who are both repped by ATC outside of the US – top the charts with six shows a piece, followed by fellow ATC-repped act Georgia with five.

In the US, the acts are represented by Paradigm, Ground Control and Partisan Arts respectively.

A total of 58 acts from 23 different countries have secured 94 festival slots through the Eurosonic Noorderslag-run programme this year

Altin Gün (four shows) and Los Bitchos (two shows) are the other ATC artists to make it into the top ten. Altin Gün are booked by Paradigm in North America.

Italian electronic trio Meduza (Spin Artist Agency in North and South America; CAA in RoW), Greek-Sudanese singer Marina Satti and Fonés (Dionysiac Tour in Europe), Muthoni Drummer Queen, Arlo Parks (UTA) and Inhaler (WME in North America; 13 Artists RoW) make up the remainder of the Etep top ten.

Dublin post-punk band Fontaines DC topped the 2019 Etep charts, with appearances at 14 festivals. The band is represented by ATC in Europe and Paradigm in the US.

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Dublin post-punk band Fontaines DC are the most-booked act of this year’s European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep), followed by UK acts Black Midi and Flohio.

The ATC Live-repped Dubliners have amassed 14 festival slots in total, five more than their closest competitors, but falling short of the record 19 bookings set by indie pop band Superorganism in 2018.

Since Etep 2019 kicked off at Eurosonic Noorderslag in January, 164 acts have played 361 shows at the 130 participating festivals.

Five of the top ten most-booked acts of the 2019 season are British, with London rock band Black Midi and MC Flohio in joint second place with nine festivals each; songwriter and producer Elderbrook playing eight shows; and indie rock group Sea Girls and Brighton quartet Penelope Isles finishing the year with seven a piece.

The ATC Live-repped Dubliners have amassed 14 festival slots in total, five more than their closest competitors

The Netherlands’ Pip Blom and Austria’s Mavi Phoenix also clocked up eight shows each, with Norwegian singer Girl in Red and Danish act Iris Gold reaching a tally of seven.

Music export offices from Denmark and Latvia will join forces with the programme next year, adding to export offices from Austria, Belgium, Catalonia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Etep is also aiming to expand outside of Europe, announcing Playtime festival in Mongolia as the first of 11 non-European participating festivals.

A full list of Etep 2019 results can be found here.

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As the European festival season comes to a close, Fontaines DC are still riding high on the Etep charts, with five more festival appearances than second-placed Black Midi.

The Irish five-piece, who have led Etep (European Talent Exchange Programme) results throughout 2019, head into the close of the summer with 14 shows to their name, with Britain’s Black Midi and Flohio tied for second place on nine each, and Elderbrook (UK), Pip Blom (NL) and Mavi Phoenix (AT) on eight apiece.

Since Etep 2019 kicked off at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in January, a total of 159 acts from 27 countries have played 371 festival shows at the programme’s 130 participating festivals.

Etep, funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe scheme, is now in its 17th year.

2019 saw Etep’s first shows in Russia and Hong Kong

Some firsts for the programme, which aims to support the circulation of music across European borders, in 2019 include Fontaines DC, Farveblind, Karpov not Kasparov and Say Yes Dog playing the first Russian Etep shows, at Stereoleto, in July, as well as the first ever Hong Kong Etep booking, Boy Azooga, at at Clockenflap in November.

The top Etep festivals by number of bookings, meanwhile, are the UK’s Great Escape (25), Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival (23) and Iceland Airwaves (16).

Fontaines DC, represented in Europe by Sarah Besnard at ATC Live, hold onto their first place despite a string of cancellations for health reasons earlier in the summer. They were previously on course to break the all-time Etep booking record set by Superorganism in 2018.

With just 17 Etep festivals to go, see the full end-of-summer 2019 Etep charts at etep.nl/etep-results.

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After becoming the first woman to reach the top of the Radar Station chart in April, US rapper Megan thee Stallion last month become the first to successfully defend her title, retaining her crown as the fastest-growing new artist in May.

Born in Houston, Texas, in 1995, Megan thee Stallion (aka Hot Girl Meg, real name Megan Pete) learned to rap from her mother, who performed under the name Holly-Wood. She released her debut single, ‘Like a Stallion’, in 2016, with her first EP, Make it Hot, following in 2017.

Pete (pictured) signed to the 300 Entertainment label, co-founded by YouTube head of music Lyor Cohen, late last year, and released her debut album, Fever, earlier this month.

In a positive review, the New York Times praised Fever as a welcome antidote to the largely male-dominated hip-hop scene. NYT reviewer Jon Caramanica writes:

There has long been a numbing calculus at work in hip-hop that has largely only afforded oxygen to one female rapper at a time, or at most, two. The internet has exploded that logic, thankfully — Megan Thee Stallion is part of a robust generation of women with wildly differing styles, though many of them share an affinity for sexual frankness. Megan Thee Stallion’s sex raps (“Pimpin,” “Sex Talk” and many more) are raw, luridly detailed and completely unfazed. (And largely in newspaper-unfriendly language.)

On “Fever,” there are only two guests, both men: Juicy J, a pioneer of hip-hop filth, and the up-and-comer DaBaby. Both provide verses that, had they appeared on their own albums, might have seemed unduly crass or cringey. But here, the ridiculous brags seem almost charming — they’re just trying to keep up.

Megan thee Stallion’s 2018 mixtape Tina Snow was streamed more than 11m times

The album also received an 8/10 rating from the notoriously hard-to-please Pitchfork, and has commercially outperformed Megan thee Stallion’s previous releases, including 2018 mixtape Tina Snow, which was streamed more than 11 million times across all platforms.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm. For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Irish five-piece Fontaines DC, who signed with ATC Live’s Sarah Besnard in Europe last September, held the #2 spot in May, climbing from no 68 the previous month.

In addition to their streaming success, the band are also closing in on the record for the all-time highest number of European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) festival bookings, with 18 so far in 2019, including Glastonbury, Roskilde and Trnsmt.

In third place are American rapcore act the Fever 333, whose debut album, Strength in Numb333rs, was released in January. A strong early-summer showing on streaming services sees them climb 29 places, from 32, in April.

See the full chart, along with links to artists’ Facebook pages and booking agency details, below.

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The latest European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) results show swift progress for Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C., with 18 festival slots booked including Glastonbury Festival, INmusic Festival, Trnsmt and Roskilde festival.

The results take into account 37 new confirmations over the past month, welcoming newcomers Penelope Isles and Sea Girls into the top ten most-booked artists. The same artists remain in the coveted top three chart positions, as Fontaines D.C. widen their lead from a three-show to eight-show difference.

With 18 festival slots already under their belt, Fontaines D.C. are shaping up to challenge last year’s top artist, UK eight-piece band Superorganism, who were booked at a record-breaking 19 Etep festivals. The Dublin-based band are represented by ATC Live in Europe and Paradigm in the United States.

Following Fontaines D.C. on the Etep chart are London-based artists Black Midi and Flohio, each with nine festival bookings under their belts. Austrian rapper Mavi Phoenix, Dutch quartet Pip Blom and British songwriter and producer Elderbrook remain hot on the heels with seven bookings each.

“As proven by Etep’s success, support programmes can work for the benefit of all involved parties – and without too much bureaucratic effort”

Now in its 17th year, Etep continues to support the booking of emerging acts at 129 festivals across Europe. Brighton-based showcase festival the Great Escape heads up the Etep festival chart, booking 25 acts through the programme. Iceland Airwaves and Hungary’s Sziget festival also feature a strong Etep representation, with 12 acts booked each.

In an interview with programme organisers, Rembert Stiewe, the director of boutique festival Orange Blossom Special, comments: “As proven by Etep’s success, support programmes can work for the benefit of all involved parties – and without too much bureaucratic effort.”

Etep, a Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS)-led initiative, has supported the early stages of successful careers for artists including Calvin Harris, Franz Ferdinand, the xx, Idles and Dua Lipa.

See the full chart below:

1. Fontaines D.C. (ie) – 18 shows
2. Black Midi (gb) – 9 shows
3. Flohio (gb) – 9 shows
4. Mavi Phoenix (at) – 7 shows
5. Pip Blom (nl) – 7 shows
6. Elderbrook (gb) – 7 shows
7. The Murder Capital (ie) – 6 shows
8. Octavian (gb) – 6 shows
9. Penelope Isles (gb) – 6 shows
10. SEA GIRLS (gb) – 6 shows

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Fontaines DC (Ie)

Agent: Sarah Besnard, ATC Live

Fontaines DC met as a quintet in Dublin, where, influenced and driven in equal measure by the rich history of their hometown’s counterculture, their response has been to make concise and immediately authentic indie-punk that has done anything but fall on deaf ears.

Following the release of a handful of singles in the past year, the band has played a number of shows across Europe, the Republic of Ireland and the UK, supporting the likes of the Horrors and Idles, as well as playing festival slots at the Great Escape, Off Festival, Primavera Pro, Electric Picnic and Cabaret Vert.

Fontaines DC’s debut album is expected to be out early 2019, via Partisan Records. In the meantime, they will be touring the UK this autumn with Shame.

John J. Presley (UK)

Agent: Amber McKenzie, ITB

John J. Presley grew up in Birmingham and, after some years in London, now resides in Brighton. With two hugely successful singles and an EP under his belt, he is gearing up for the release of his debut album this year, which is coming out through BMG and AWAL.

With his first few releases, Presley gained an army of fans – his first radio play coming from Zane Lowe as his ‘Next Hype’ track, with follow-up support from radio DJs Phil Taggart, Alice Levine, John Kennedy, Tom Robinson and hitting the Radio X, Virgin and Amazing Radio playlists.

The Guardian, Independent and Times have also noticed his work, which has helped catapult his reputation across the Channel to Europe where he’s also found support on national radio stations and huge festival billings.

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