2 Promoters, 1 Pod

Five headliners for three nights with an unbelievable reunion coup on top?  2000trees dropped an atom bomb of a band announcement and it exploded over every self-respecting rock fan’s socials. Gav and James quickly reconvened for an instant reaction pod to the news the Kneecap, Pvris, Taking Back Sunday, Coheed & Cambria, Alexisonfire AND Million Dead will invade Upcote Farm in 2025. But nothi...

Gav and James dive back into the virtual mailbag to address the most pressing concerns of the listeners.  Would we allow an artist to "curate" our festivals? What's our thoughts on oversold shows? And why did James have the police at his door earlier this year? More importantly, is Gav really going to slag off the mighty Black Sabbath? First though, can we all just take a moment to...

The Damnation clashfinder is out and Gav is ready to take his licks as the fans demand to know what idiot clashed Dragged Into Sunlight with Ahab and why? But before the slot by slot lines-ups of A Night of Salvation and Damnation can be explained there's some Trees headliner news, a change of ArcTanGent's Wednesday plans and another late cancellation for Gav to contend with. And is it a...

Let's get down to business. And who better than to pour over the industry spreadsheets, receipts and album charts than Mr Andy Farrow, manager of the likes of Opeth, Devin Townsend, Paradise Lost and Katatonia? The Northern Music Company boss talks promoting to publishing, The Wildhearts to Oceansize and the chances of ever seeing Strapping Young Lad again. Get your pen and paper ready, this...

The first wave of bands have been announced for 2025, and it's a tsunami worth diving into. Karnivool, Melvins, Rolo Tomassi, Kylesa, Between the Buried and Me playing Colors, The Fall of Troy playing Doppelgänger and not just one, but two We Lost The Sea sets, including "the greatest post rock album ever"... Departure Songs. Plenty to get swept away by but first, what's the is...

When you're up to your eyes in it on show day a friendly tour manager can save your mood but an aggressive tour manager can ruin it. But what is a tour manager, why are they so important to bands and why do their roles and attitudes vary so wildly? Gav and James do their level best to describe the role before sharing their experiences of dealing with the good, the bad and the downright ridicu...

You've made your offer for the band, it's been accepted and even the ballache of billing the poster might have been settled... but now what? There's a series of hurdles to deal with before your prized booking ever sets foot on your stage; press and promo, backline, production, hotels and ground transport and did you remember there's no onion or garlic allowed in the hot meal? G...

Gav and James commit 90 minutes to catching up with as many questions as they can to clear the backlog... and fail miserably. Slam Dunk taking a gender balancing beating from the BBC, the pressures of Damnation mounting, a film review no one asked for and an unprompted Deftones discography chat take centre stage instead. Oh, and there's some questions from listeners to finish the pod off.  We...

Our first (and hopefully last) Friday pod after a Spanish drama that required an Emergency Passport. Gav and James tackle the hot topic of Oasis' "dynamic pricing" PR disaster before getting stuck into Damnation planning and your questions. We also pick our very first 'Super Sub' to play their part in next week's pod. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy. We go again,...

It's exactly six months from the release of episode one and we're in the mood to celebrate but first we have to savour the delights of another spectacular edition of ArcTanGent. Best sets of the weekend, how surreal the live pod was and the benefits of Bossk's bus.  And Gav has a wee rant about "wet wipe Karens" who find any reason to complain about everything from tall pe...

Gav and James took the stage in a PACKED Elephant In The Bar Room Stage at ArcTanGent for their second live outing, only for the "curse of Johannes" to strike just as they were warming up. But it takes more than a full power outage to stop this pod. And if the show keeps growing at this rate, it might just become a "real job". We go again, every Thursday morning.

As we near the end of a summer of chaos, James prays the wi-fi holds up from a campervan in Fernhill Farm to tackle the most pressing of fan questions. What is our favourite Metallica record? Are payment plans and risky business strategy? What's the story with noise curfews and would James rather cancel Trees or ATG if he had to? We answer them all in our fifth Q&A session. We go again, e...

ArcTanGent's 10th birthday bash is almost upon us and we're in the mood to party. Co-hosting from a campervan in Fernhill Farm, James talks us through the "holiday mode" site build, where Spiritualized appeared from at the 11th hour and some last-minute shuffles with band cancellations and replacements. And we're joined by the man, the myth, the bassist of Bossk, Mr Tom Be...

Gav and James dust off their old budget sheets and company accounts and crunch the numbers of running festivals over the past two decades. How is it possible that in 2024 James paid more for diesel than the ENTIRE bill for Damnation 2005?  And it costs how much to have bins emptied!?  We get in about pounds and pence.  We go again, every Thursday morning.

Fresh from a successful 2000trees festival, Gav and James hit us up with a breakdown of all things that went off over the weekend.  They talk Live Podcasts, Merch, Hot Sauce, Toilets and even a bit about bands! And in true form, they decide to do it on opposite sides of the world via an iPhone and Mexican Wi-Fi, We Go Again...or, Nosotros vamos de nuevo! We go again, every Thursday morning.

Gav and James break free from Zoom for the first live 2 Promoters, 1 Pod show at the brilliant 2000trees. And yes, there were towels. We go again, every Thursday morning.

Stand in boss, Bri, reports: They’ve tackled wi-fi dramas, festival set-up demands and even drink issues but they’ve still managed to record their thoughts for this week’s pod. You asked about gender equality, Biffy Clyro playing b-sides and their favourite bands of 2024. And they answered. Today the first 2 Promoters, 1 Pod live show happens at 2,000 Trees. If you can be there. Be there. Links fo...

Recorded over a five-day stretch with limited wi-fi at Upcote Farm, Gav and James persevere with a Plan B podcast tackling some follow-up topics raised by listeners and tales of trying to book Ed Sheeran for £75. And discuss Outbreak festival's successful return to BEC Arena, backed by an army of hardcore fans. It's our Frankenstein pod. We went again, and again, and again...  We go agai...

Why didn't AFI come back to Trees post-pandemic?  How big do you want your festivals to grow?  Why do you announce bands in waves? Is booking two sets overindulgence? We tell you, in the fourth of our monthly 2P1P Vs The People Q&As. We go again, every Thursday morning.

Fresh from selling out Ally Pally in hours and a successful tour Stateside, Frank Turner joins 2 Promoters, 1 Pod to declare his love for all things 2,000 Trees. But before he takes the stage for a SEVENTH time at Upcote Farm, he discusses what it takes to tackle America, his "woeful" attempt at being a promoter for Botch's first UK tour and gets James flustered with some exciting M...

Gav and James took a road trip to the big dog of UK metal festivals, Download, for an all too literal dirty weekend. Swamp conditions aside, we discuss the best and worst sets, our take on the Barclays sponsorship protests and what can go wrong when you take an innocent photo of Pantera's crowd from the top of a ferris wheel and post it on the internet. We go again, every Thursday morning.

This week's pod is James' emotional rollercoaster: from opening up about a serious health scare, being "pissed off" with a rival festival, to his passion for fence posts and playing invisible Minecraft... this one has it all. He also explains the challenges of turning a sheep field into a festival site where you can watch The Gaslight Anthem and invites YOU to get involved. We....

3 Promoters, 1 Pod!  Download's Kam Haq joins us to lift the curtain on the workings of the UK's biggest metal gathering. What's life like at the top of the ladder, all Champagne and cigars at Live Nation HQ? Or is it the same headaches and hassles with billing, booking headliners and clashes as the rest of us mere mortals suffer? We get in about it all and pick some must see bands...

We (drunkenly) go again!  Gav and James get the pints in and tackle some of the more light-hearted questions. Favourite food vendors at our festivals? What bands would we go back and see with a time machine?  Top three bands we've ever seen live? And why did Gav buy not one, but two tour buses?  Hiccup! We go again, every Thursday morning.

Not all events are booked the same.  Some promoters enjoy a professionally packaged tour arriving on their doorstep, others don't mind the challenge of luring over bands who rarely play and then there's Damnation, who want artists to dust off old records and perform them as a world exclusive sets in Manchester. Problem is, that's as time consuming, expensive and as difficult as it s...