2 Promoters, 1 Pod

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...

There weren’t too many clashes at 2000trees that raised an eyebrow, but the ones that did raised an army!   What kind of cruel world forces you to choose between Bob Vylan and Palm Reader? Are they being serious about Gaslight Anthem and Better Lovers? Surely Sean McGowan and The Sleeping Souls is a twisted joke and you’re misreading Frank Turner clashing with Lonely The Brave, right? Right?   The...

The humble catering rider, which surely started life as a simple hot meal for touring band members, has morphed beyond all recognition to a sprawling wishlist, often with no rhyme or reason. Seasoned headline acts can ask for so little while fresh-faced tour supports demand so much, but what MUST be provided and who decides where to draw the line? Like most things in this industry... it's com...

One viral photo of Gojira's merch list prices - including an £80 hoodie - sparked a row that refuses to die and lifted the lid on the murky world of merch concessions at venues and festivals. But is it as black and white as greedy venues or promoters dipping their hands into the pockets of hard working bands, or is there a more nuanced conversation to be had about what services are provided i...

As the old saying goes, you learn from your mistakes, but that doesn't make those mistakes any easier to deal with! From bogged down loos, stages with no stage managers, the importance of building a team and what weather you can survive and what weather you can't... Gav and James relive some horrors from down the years. And what do we want to see in a band's press pack?  We go again...

In the second of our monthly Q&A bonus pods, we try to get through as many burning questions as possible. Our biggest triumphs and screw ups? How has Brexit impacted attracting bands? What happens to our festivals if one of us is hit by a bus? Have we ever been held to ransom by a greedy band? And why didn't Opeth play their full set length at ATG last year? We answer them all. We go agai...

The ArcTanGent stage times are out and everyone has been colour coding their digital day plans and having a social media rant about the decisions they've been forced to make. But what does the man responsible for the clashes, which can make or break your weekend, have to say for himself? How did Clown Core and Author & Punisher find themselves pitted against each other? Is Torpor at 11am...

Green Lung, Creeper, Brutus, Malevolence, Zeal & Ardor, Bob Vylan, Dinosaur Pile Up, Bleed From Within, Boston Manor... all names we hope to see headline our festivals in the future. But what does it take to get there and why does the path to the top of the bill seem so clear at 2000trees, yet so complicated at ATG and Damnation?  Gav and James also have a bash at booking a stage for the other...

21 UK festivals have been cancelled or postponed so far this year with up to 100 at risk without Government support, according to the The Association of Independent Festivals. It's grim reading, so how are ArcTanGent, Damnation and 2000trees coping in this brutal landscape and what can be done to help the situation? Gav and James have a plan and it involves you! We go again, every Thursday mo...

Bob Vylan to Din of Celestial Birds, Idles to Amenra... have our festivals helped "break" bands to a larger audience in their scenes and if so, is that important to us or a byproduct of the job? Gav and James get in about it.  We go again, every Thursday morning.

After a month or so of agent bashing, it was only a matter of time before someone stepped up to put us back in our place. And that someone is the brilliant Mr Tom Taaffe, the man behind the bookings of the likes of Every Time I Die, Pallbearer, Spanish Love Songs, Deafheaven, While She Sleeps, Beartooth and Elder at our festivals. What's his take on the ballache of billing and A-Z line-up pos...

The mailbox is full and the questions keep coming in, so here's an episode dedicated to all your curiosities. Do festival promoters talk to each other about band fees?  Have we ever got into a bidding war over a band we wanted?  What other festival would we like to book?  What are the marketing challenges in 2024? We answer them all, and plenty more, in the usual candid fashion.  We go again,...

Ten years of increased offers, multiple snubs, endless fan demands and with almost all hope lost... Mogwai finally agreed to play the final night of the 10th anniversary of ATG. It had to be part of the masterplan, right?  Or a chance phone call, "going big" with an offer over text and the dilemma of having no headline slots left. Turns out landing the dream band is never straight forwar...

Booking bands is the Wild West of music promotion, where cash, gamesmanship, ego and relationships clash in the process of sealing a deal. But it isn't as simple a just working out a fee. There's hotels, flights, catering, drum kits, video walls, billing and exclusivity to haggle over... and don't forget that nudity clause! Then, even if that's all agreed, it might not stay tha...

2,000 Trees, Damnation and ArcTanGent have carved themselves out solid reputations on the UK festival scene but not without almost two decades of graft, good fortune and the odd costly mistake, or twenty, along the way. Thankfully we fell into those traps so you don't have to. We go again, every Thursday morning.

The right headliner can make or break your year, whether the rest of the line-up is excellent or not. But it's not as easy as just throwing heaps of cash at your favourite band to land the booking you need. With more events to choose from, competitive festival exclusive deals, fees going through the roof and bands booking further and further in advance, it can be a nervous time trying to get...