2024 Festival

[nathanh]

9 minutes ago, Benj said:

There is absolutely no chance AJ Tracey draws a bigger crowd than Blink at Reading festival

Do not get me wrong Blink will be a huge draw and those day tickets will FLY however for the general audience at Reading in recent years, AJ will also draw a big crowd that I think this forum underestimates

[CG31]

Yh Blink would be day trippers but most kids would go to AJ Tracey.

unless they managed to get Bicep in the dance tent, which would split it 3 ways and make it safe

Edited August 31, 2023 by CG31

[Andre91]

I wear bucket hats and football tops to festivals… 😔

[gblock]

45 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

I wear bucket hats and football tops to festivals… 😔

As long as you didn’t get the football top from Kavos you’re alright apparently 🤷‍♂️

Also this idea that a blink-182 crowd would be primarily 30+yr olds with skateboards is a bit misinformed, they’re still a relatively popular band among younger people that like guitar music, which isn’t as small a proportion of RandL attendees as some like to make out. Be an excellent booking imo

[stanh]

3 hours ago, nathanh said:

Think you have taken it the wrong way I thought Benj was trying to say O Rod v AJ Tracey

 

3 hours ago, Benj said:

No, O-Rod main, Aj Tracey tent

No chance blink are playing the tent 🤣

ffs hahaha, yea i completely misunderstood that, sorry. tbh, think aj tracey against blink in the tent would still be dangerously busy - as much as a lot of people will go and see blink and they’ll draw a decent crowd, and sell a good amount of day tickets (especially with a decent supporting lineup), there will be plenty of others (especially weekend ticket holders) who would much rather see (and know of) aj tracey. 

[Benj]

There we go then

MS-Blink / Scott / Rodrigo

Kasabian / Royal Blood / Yungblud

 

BT-Two Door/ Boy Genius/ AJ Tracey

 

FR-Beabadoobee/ Fever333/ Frank Turner

 

Dance- XXXXX/XXXXX/XXXXXX

[Andre91]

If YUNGBLUD is there, he subs Blink, surely. It makes all the sense in the world. 

[Benj]

25 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

If YUNGBLUD is there, he subs Blink, surely. It makes all the sense in the world. 

Surely there's loads of Yungblud-Rodrigo crossover too.

Kasabian would help get in the boomer day trippers in. Bad bar queue day Kasabian -> Blink though

[gfa]

44 minutes ago, Benj said:

 

There we go then

MS-Blink / Scott / Rodrigo

Kasabian / Royal Blood / Yungblud

 

BT-Two Door/ Boy Genius/ AJ Tracey

 

FR-Beabadoobee/ Fever333/ Frank Turner

 

Dance- XXXXX/XXXXX/XXXXXX

Why are you so insistent on putting AJ Tracey in the big tent just put him on the main stage ffs

Two Door and AJ Tracey are very general appeal with the crowd, they go down well on the main stage every year. They aren't acts that would do the tent in the old format, and i can't see why they logically would in this one. Its newer or more niche acts generally like (as you've put) Boygenius that would do it ... not acts that have played the main stage heaps of times every other festival

I guess Bastille did do it last time (2019) but not sure they are the same size draw as 2dcc / aj anyway. Year before that was Wolf Alice 2018 size, Diplo and Pendulum.

Feel like your just forcing what most of the audience would consider a fairly big clash for no reason whatsoever basically

The R1 tent provided an alternative, more interesting option to the headliner generally - not a festival favourite that do it every other year.

Edited September 1, 2023 by gfa

[gfa]

14 hours ago, Benj said:

There is absolutely no chance AJ Tracey draws a bigger crowd than Blink at Reading festival

If they were on both main stages at the same time i wouldn't be remotely shocked. You massively underestimate his popularity.

Its important to remember that acts don't need to be top of the lineup to get massive crowds, look at say Becky Hill's giant singalong crowd every other year

Edited September 1, 2023 by gfa

[Benj]

Just now, gfa said:

Why are you so insistent on putting AJ Tracey in the big tent just put him on the main stage ffs

Two Door and AJ Tracey are very general appeal with the crowd, they go down well on the main stage every year. They aren't acts that would do the tent in the old format, and i can't see why they logically would in this one. Its newer or more niche acts generally like (as you've put) Boygenius that would do it ... not acts that have played the main stage heaps of times every other festival

I guess Bastille did do it last time (2019) but not sure they are the same size draw as 2dcc / aj anyway. Year before that was Wolf Alice 2018 size, Diplo and Pendulum.

Feel like your just forcing what most of the audience would consider a fairly big clash for no reason whatsoever basically

That it the whole point.

It's what makes the tent so good, a proper way to end the night seeing something you REALLY want to see.

Otherwise you lash him on at 6pm at its an anti-climax.

Those who know, know. Good festival lineups have clashes. Its whats makes them good.

[Benj]

2 minutes ago, gfa said:

If they were on both main stages at the same time i wouldn't be remotely shocked. You massively underestimate his popularity.

Its important to remember that acts don't need to be top of the lineup to get massive crowds, look at say Becky Hill's giant singalong crowd every other year

AJ Tracey may well be too big to headliner the tent, Im not sure how big he is.

The point is he would be best played to his audience as a headliner. There is a reason headliners dont go on at 6pm...

[gfa]

6 minutes ago, Benj said:

That it the whole point.

It's what makes the tent so good, a proper way to end the night seeing something you REALLY want to see.

Otherwise you lash him on at 6pm at its an anti-climax.

Those who know, know. Good festival lineups have clashes. Its whats makes them good.

AJ Tracey and Two Door Cinema Club are hardly 'those who know, know' acts ffs

3 minutes ago, Benj said:

AJ Tracey may well be too big to headliner the tent, Im not sure how big he is.

The point is he would be best played to his audience as a headliner. There is a reason headliners dont go on at 6pm...

everyone has been trying to tell you this for about 3 pages...

[Andre91]

AJ Tracey is massive. He’s surely not too far behind Dave in terms of popularity. He will be playing the venues Dave plays on his next album without a doubt. His crowd was gargantuan last year and I was quite near he back and people were losing their sh*t knowing every word to every song. AJ Tracey will be the next British rapper to step up and headline the Main Stage imo. He is not, under any circumstances, playing anywhere but Main. 
 

Two Door are also way too big for the tent. They’re as solid an indie Main Stage sub as you can name. 

[Benj]

Just now, gfa said:

AJ Tracey and Two Door Cinema Club are hardly 'those who know, know' acts ffs

everyone has been trying to tell you this for about 3 pages...

Yup, Im not sure people are working off post 2020 experience and not understanding how a proper alternative option would draw much of the crowd away

He's drawn massive crowds when he last played -He was up against Luude in the Dance tent and Sueco in the FR...

When he played it 2021 - He was up against Dom Dolla in the Dance tent and Yonaka in the FR...

 

That said he may 4 years on be MUCH bigger than when planned to schedule him in that very slot against RATM, he's not released anything big in a long time so its hard to guage. If his next LP is massive then its obv not possible, if the kids suddenly decide he's a bit stale, it could even be massively flat against Rodrigo flying high on a well received LP...

 

 

[Benj]

5 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

AJ Tracey is massive. He’s surely not too far behind Dave in terms of popularity. He will be playing the venues Dave plays on his next album without a doubt. His crowd was gargantuan last year and I was quite near he back and people were losing their sh*t knowing every word to every song. AJ Tracey will be the next British rapper to step up and headline the Main Stage imo. He is not, under any circumstances, playing anywhere but Main. 

Fair play if people think he's gonna make that leap... 

Who is the next AJ Tracey/ Dave then who can fill that 2019 and 2020 Tent headliner next proper big UK rapper slot? Little Sims? (who I think you obv more smartly had already entertained for such a slot)

[Benj]

8 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

 

Two Door are also way too big for the tent. They’re as solid an indie Main Stage sub as you can name. 

They've played 3rd last few times they've played, that's Tent Headliner size, no chance they'd over fill it against a big main stage headliner in 2024

The Big Tent is BIG!

[gfa]

1 minute ago, Benj said:

They've played 3rd last few times they've played, that's Tent Headliner size, no chance they'd over fill it against a big main stage headliner in 2024

The Big Tent is BIG!

You've suggested two acts that are larger than almost all previous R1 tent headliners though is my point - they are clearly going to be rammed.

Two Door subbed MSE in 2021 ... you would never get that big of an act in the R1 tent normally

The tent may be big but your lineup is clearly too stacked to make sense regardless of how big of a crowd x act would get lol

 

AJ Tracey and Two Door are two obvious Main Stage acts - they frequently draw some of the biggest crowds of the weekend, why not put one of the rock bands that would get a sh*t crowd in there instead like say Don Broco or Sleep Token instead...

[On The Blend]

Am I being daft, but are Two Door really that big? It feels like they peaked about a decade ago.

[Benj]

24 minutes ago, gfa said:

You've suggested two acts that are larger than almost all previous R1 tent headliners though is my point - they are clearly going to be rammed.

Two Door subbed MSE in 2021 ... you would never get that big of an act in the R1 tent normally

The tent may be big but your lineup is clearly too stacked to make sense regardless of how big of a crowd x act would get lol

 

AJ Tracey and Two Door are two obvious Main Stage acts - they frequently draw some of the biggest crowds of the weekend, why not put one of the rock bands that would get a sh*t crowd in there instead like say Don Broco or Sleep Token instead...

Subbing MSE is 3rd down (traditional tent headliner equivalent). They were up against Sonny Fodera and Holding Absence.

2017 they played 3rd down. 2016 they headlined the tent.

Are they much bigger in 2024 than they were those years?

 

The whole point of a Tent headliner is to provide a proper solid, exciting alternative, not some also ran crap that only a few would be interested in seeing over the headliner.

Its what the thinking was with the two main stages and that idea has been pretty much universally rejected by everyone who properly experienced both formats. 

Its a better festival when you have to make tough choices and see exciting sets...in the right venue...at the right time.

Just putting Two door on in the slot they play every 2-3 years as most people kinda like them is exactly why the festival has become so stale

Edit- I thought about Sleep Token as an exciting up and coming band but didnt think theyd be big enough🤣

Thats EXACTLY the kind of thing that NEEDS a big tent slot though, as opposed to 4pm on the Main stage.

Don Broco -> Sleep Token would be a decent run against a rappy/ dark fruity main stage alternative

 

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by Benj

[Benj]

11 minutes ago, On The Blend said:

Am I being daft, but are Two Door really that big? It feels like they peaked about a decade ago.

Exactly. People are thinking they're massive as they pull in a big crowd at 8pm at a festival, on a nice day, when there is literally no alternative that 98% of the crowd have heard of.

Where else were people gonna be? 🤣

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by Benj

[gfa]

7 minutes ago, Benj said:

Subbing MSE is 3rd down (traditional tent headliner equivalent). They were up against Sonny Fodera and Holding Absence.

2017 they played 3rd down. 2016 they headlined the tent.

Are they much bigger in 2024 than they were those years?

 

The whole point of a Tent headliner is to provide a proper solid, exciting alternative, not some also ran crap that only a few would be interested in seeing over the headliner.

Its what the thinking was with the two main stages and that idea has been pretty much universally rejected by everyone who properly experienced both formats. 

Its a better festival when you have to make tough choices and see exciting sets...in the right venue...at the right time.

Just putting Two door on in the slot they play every 2-3 years as most people kinda like them is exactly why the festival has become so stale

Probably onto something with that last point but its been like that for years and was still selling well until this year.

Two Door are just too big for the tent as well, when has the tent headliner done every mid sized festival headline slot in the country, sold 45k parks out etc? They weren't doing shows like that in 2016

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

AJ Tracey is massive. He’s surely not too far behind Dave in terms of popularity. He will be playing the venues Dave plays on his next album without a doubt. His crowd was gargantuan last year and I was quite near he back and people were losing their sh*t knowing every word to every song. AJ Tracey will be the next British rapper to step up and headline the Main Stage imo. He is not, under any circumstances, playing anywhere but Main. 
 

Two Door are also way too big for the tent. They’re as solid an indie Main Stage sub as you can name. 

Think that'll be Central Cee. AJ is v popular, but I have a feeling he's probably reached his peak. Central Cee is only getting bigger and hasn't actually released a debut album yet (although I suppose that's somewhat of a moot point as his two mixtapes could be considered albums really).

[Benj]

Just now, gfa said:

Probably onto something with that last point but its been like that for years and was still selling well until this year.

Two Door are just too big for the tent as well, when has the tent headliner done every mid sized festival headline slot in the country, sold 45k parks out etc? They weren't doing shows like that in 2016

Fair point that they may not want to reset themselves to that kind of level. The Big Tent is BIG though, as in HUGE, it's easily managed BMTH and QOTSA secret sets

Dunno if it can hold 40K but is not far off arena levels. Bastille made the move from playing above Two Door in 2017 to headlining the tent in 2019.   Two door played a slot above them in 21 than Bastille did in 22 though...

 

[Benj]

1 minute ago, SomeoneListeningIn said:

Think that'll be Central Cee. AJ is v popular, but I have a feeling he's probably reached his peak. Central Cee is only getting bigger and hasn't actually released a debut album yet (although I suppose that's somewhat of a moot point as his two mixtapes could be considered albums really).

Even Im not saying he should headline the Tent!

I too thought AJ Tracey had kind of peaked, Im clearly not in the know though! Blunt metric but Central Cee has 6x the monthly Spotify listeners to Tracey