AFO final agenda 2013

CONFERENCE15-17 November 2013

Eastwood Hall Conference Centre, Nottingham

www.festivalorganisers.org01629 827014

Contents

Sponsors

Welcome 3

Friday AFO Conference 4

Saturday AFO Conference 4

Sunday AFO Conference 9

Acoustic Breaks 11

Friday Showcase 12

Saturday Showcase 14

Guest Speakers 16

Conference Team: Lioux Heap, Joe Heap, Simon Care, Freya Oliver, Toby Richardson, Tash Daly, Steve Heap.

Conference Agenda design by Wallis Agency www.wallisagency.co.uk

Saturday Showcase

Conference Delegate Booking

Tech Supply

Legal Advice

Media Sponsor

Insurance, Student Bursary Scheme and Friday Showcase

Tech Supply

The AFO is very grateful for the support offered by our sponsors without whom

the Conference would not be possible.

Welcome

Welcome? Well of course you are! It is my pleasure, working with my colleagues in the AFO office, to put together this party every year.

Take this unique opportunity to put a name to that face you have been talking to for the last two or three years, meet new people in the events and festival industry, join in the seminars and discussions wherever you can. If you don’t feel brave enough to stand up and speak then talk to us via the registration desk, we will be glad to make notes of your comments, suggestions and ideas; even solve your problem.

Somebody recently told us that the economic climate was improving, that we were digging our way out of the depths. Not sure there is any great sign of this just yet, but to use the political phrase ‘green shoots are a’ coming’. I hope that is true for you in your area of the festival business. Certainly since 2008 a good many festivals have been barely holding their own, some going downhill and only one or two declaring sell outs and success. But I firmly believe that if we all hold our nerve and support each other and the industry that we work in, we will come out of this well.

I am encouraged by the publication of ‘Wish You Were Here’ put together by Visit Britain and UK Music in October 2013 from some research that took over a year. A first class read and some valuable information. It does suggest that the events industry is a very serious part of the UK music business and in turn the UK economy both locally and nationally, and we all should shout that from the rooftops (see www.visitbritain.org/wishyouwerehere).

So, what’s this all about?

Well, it is packed full of sessions on publicity and marketing 21st Century style.

Artists issues, getting the ‘green’, safety, funding and a new idea, the AFO

Exchange. The agenda is narrowed down to what you now see in these pages

from literally hundreds of ideas sent in by members and others to help us put

together the things you want to talk about and the topics you need some advice

on. Add to that some great music on Friday and Saturday evenings plus acoustic

sets and some street theatre and you have an exciting party before you. Let’s call

it ‘A Working Weekend’! And please do enjoy AFO Conference 2013.

Steve HeapAFO General Secretary

AFO Conference 2013

Friday 15 November

Time Event Venue

6pm Registration

8pm New Festivals Welcome Lawrence A chance for new (to AFO) festivals to say hello. Host - Steve Heap Gen. Sec. AFO

8.15pm A Festival Story... Lawrence with Rich Bryan, Bearded Theory Festival One of the Festival’s Directors, Rich gives us the story behind Derbyshire’s Bearded Theory and its meteoric rise during a time when many other Festivals have failed. Speaker - Rich Bryan Bearded Theory Festival Chair - Dave Watmore Crawley Festival

9pm Friday Showcase Chatterley Sponsored by La Playa See page 12

4

Saturday 16 November

Time Event Venue

9am Registration

10am Agendas, Notes and Systems Lawrence An introduction to help you understand your way around Conference. Chair - Joe Heap

5

Time Event Venue

10.10am Welcome - Raise the Profile Lawrence Steve Heap Gen. Sec. AFO

10.20am - One2Ones 4.50pm Sign up at Registration and then meet at the One2One meeting point just beyond the Lawrence Suite.

Jon Payne Horsey Lightly Fynn - Legal & Licensing Issues

Paula Hawthorne and Katherine Linham La Playa Insurance Services - Your insurance questions answered

10.20 - Session A - Partnerships - Key to Success Lawrence 11.20am A fascinating look at a very different kind of event. How has this city-based, multi-venue event developed such strong partnerships that are central to the delivery and ethos of the event. Vital partnerships with stakeholders, volunteers and authority.

Speaker - Iain Simons Game City

Chair - Joan Crump Vivacity

10.20 - Session B - Don’t give Thieves the Opportunity Chatterley 111.20am With tent thefts on the rise and the increased risks from other criminal activity at your event, we look at ways of keeping your festival, your customers and their possessions safe.

Speaker - Darren Surgey Pre-crime Manager, Nottinghamshire Police

Chair - Dave Watmore Crawley Festival

10.20 - Session C - Getting more from Your Artists Chatterley 211.20am Are you missing a trick in your programming and could you be giving artists another opportunity that they would welcome?

Speakers - Joe Heap Towersey Festival Ray Cooper Artist Simon Care Moulton Village Festival David Agnew The Met, Bury

Chair - Dick Dixon Warwick Festival

11.20am Tea / Coffee Break See page 11 for Acoustic Breaks and Street Theatre.

6

AFO Conference 2013 Saturday 16 November continued

Skills Pairing & Knowledge Sharing Board - Put your skills or knowledge gap up on one side of the board and someone will match their skill or experience and together you solve the problem. Located near the Registration Desk.

Time Event Venue

11.45am - Session D - Finding a New Online Audience Lawrence12.45pm Is Facebook already old hat? Is Twitter where your new audience is getting social? Can a targeted YouTube campaign hold the key? Learn how to spend your money wisely in this flooded market.

Speakers - Ian Compton CMS Music Marino Fresch Eventbrite

Chair - Bev Langton Ray Langton Music

11.45am - Session E - Safety Advisory Groups (SAGs). Chatterley 112.45pm A necessary evil? Should all Local Authorities be singing from the same hymn sheet and do they? What is the actual purpose of these groups?

Speakers - Andy Grove and Carl Hagemann Local Authority Event Organisers Group Beverley Griffiths Head of Crowd and Public Safety Faculty, Emergency Planning College

Chair - Alan Surtees Shrewsbury Festival

11.45am - Session F - Programming Street Artists Chatterley 2 12.45pm at Festivals How to engage Street Artists to enhance your event. Where best to programme and what to expect.

Speakers - Lucy Frost National Association of Street Artists Bev Adams Independent Street Arts Network Mike Bettison Blaize

Chair - Ray Langton Ray Langton Music

12.45pm Lunch See page 11 for Acoustic Breaks and Street Theatre.

2 - 2.30pm Key Note Speech inc Q&A Lawrence A buoyant festival and events industry could revive the economy!

Speaker - Nic Howden Events industry journalist and ex-editor, Access All Areas.

Chair - Steve Heap

7

Time Event Venue

2.35 - Session G - The Changing Music Market and Lawrence 3.35pm its Effect on Live Events How will the dramatic changes in how music is being created, marketed and sold effect the live events industry? Will labels, managers, Distributors and artists be relying on ‘live’ even more than before and will they start to promote their own events?

Speakers - Tom Lewis A&R Director, Decca Records Joe Vesayaporn Music Glue Ben Savage Artist (The Willows) Tom Rose Reveal Records Isla Miskelly Gathering Festival

Chair - Joe Heap

2.35 - Session H - Powerful Thinking Chatterley 1 3.35pm Looking at power saving measures to make your event greener and more efficient. Generators, new technology in lighting and distribution can all make the difference. But will it work?

Speakers - Chris Johnson Powerful Thinking (and Shambala Festival) George Dickson Aggreko Events Team Mike Boden Temporary Power (Events)

Chair - Sue Torres Wicked Events

2.35 - Session I - A Leaflet on Every Corner Chatterley 2 3.35pm Targeted leafleting and On Street marketing may hold the key to a future for print. But will new legislation around flyering the streets become a real issue?

Speakers - Patrick Walsh Sound Publicity Sophia Linehan Marketing & Communications Director, EFDSS

Chair - Dean Collier Priddy Festival

3.35pm Tea / Coffee Break See page 11 for Acoustic Breaks and Street Theatre.

4 - 5pm Session J - Paying to be Policed Lawrence Charging for Police attendance at your event is very real for some and it’s coming to us all!

Speaker - Jon Payne Horsey Lightly Fynn

Chair - Peter Chegwyn Wickham Festival

Time Event Venue

4 - 5pm Session K - Can you afford The Royal Mail? Chatterley 1 Is print dead? Does anyone do mail outs anymore and what are the alternatives? Looking at mass email, social media, PR and alternative ways to spend your marketing budget.

Speakers - Howard Buckley Arts Marketing Association Megan Farrow Farrow Creatives

Chair - Andy Stafford Chippenham Festival

4 - 5pm Session L - 12 - 17, the missing years Chatterley 2 How do we cater for youth (12 - 17 years) They are our future audience but are they interested in your festival today?

Speakers - Eddie Barcan Cambridge Folk Festival Andy Wall Ely Festival Laurel Swift Artist

Chair - Simon Care Moulton Village Festival

5.05 - My Festival Experience - The AFO Interview Lawrence 5.45pm An interview with Cornbury Festival (20’000 capacity) Director Hugh Phillimore looking at the ups and downs of his event and his take on the current state of the festival scene. Cornbury has a reputation for being a top-end festival with lots of variety describing itself as a ‘dynamic summer festival disguised as a country fayre’.

Guest - Hugh Phillimore Director, Cornbury Festival

Interviewer - Fergus McVey Charlbury Riverside Festival

5 - 6pm Agents Breakout Chatterley 1 A chance for all the agents at AFO Conference to chew the fat, share ideas, concerns and insights.

Led by one of our guest agents

6 - 6.30pm No Glass, No Problem - Wine Reception At EWS Try a FREE sample and talk about unbreakable and eco-friendly Trade Stand packaged wine at your event.

Paul Scaife Event Wine Solutions

8.30pm SHOWCASE Lawrencestart Sponsored by Proper Music. See page 14

8

AFO Conference 2013 Saturday 16 November continued

9

Sunday 17 November

Time Event Venue

10am Registration

10.30am Welcome Back Lawrence A catch up on what not to miss today!

Joe Heap

10.40 - Purple Guide Update Lawrence 10.50am After a lengthy and difficult process the new Purple Guide will soon (then see be available online. Re-written by industry experts and having been Round Table) put out to consultation we can find out what it all means.

Speakers - Eddie Grant Derby University Events Management and The Purple Guide Editing Group

Richard Limb President, National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) Introduction - Steve Heap

11.00am - Round Table Drop-ins Chatterley 11pm Come and ask that burning question, listen in to the advice being given and pick up some tips from the experts. Tables are -

Media Buying - Ian Compton CMS Music (until 12noon only) Come and find out about buying online, large scale poster campaigns, print advertising and more.

PRS for Music - Ian Edgley Business Support Manager (Live Events) PRS for Music A chance to ask your license questions and find out how and why you should be encouraging artists to fill in set list returns.

Purple Guide - Eddie Grant Derby University Richard Limb President, National Outdoor Events Association Find out more about the content and usage of this valuable online resource for event organisers.

Writing Funding Applications - Joan Crump Vivacity Joan has written countless successful bids to a variety of Funders and. for all manner of organisations and events. Come and get some tips and tricks.

10

Time Event Venue

11 - Session M - Supporting Young & Developing Lawrence 11.55am Artists Should they be paid? Can they afford not to play? Do we take advantage? Do they sell tickets?

Speakers - Graham Smout GPS Music Maz O’Connor Artist Neil Pearson Artists’ Development & Programming Manager, EFDSS Stephen Brown Musicians’ Union Chair - Alan Surtees Shrewsbury Festival

11 - Session N - Access All Areas...for anyone, Chatterley 2 11.55am anywhere People with disabilities are good customers, they just need good treatment.

Speakers - Tanvi Vyas and Matilda Ibini Trailblazers

Chair - Sue Torres Wicked Events

11.55am Tea / Coffee Break

12.20 - Session O - So you need easy cash? Lawrence 1.15pm Come and find out ways to better exploit your commercial rights through sponsorship, pouring rights, sampling, advertising.

Speakers - Robert Jacobs Stonegate

Chair - Derek Schofield Editor, EDS

12.20 - Session P - AFO Exchange Chatterley 2 1.15pm Delegates are invited to join the discussion and look at the different ways we all do things with our aim of achieving pretty much the same thing. Why is your programme A5 when someone else’s is A6? Why do some have Tardis-like portaloos and others have cabins? Why do some traffic stewards ask us to drive with our hazard lights on, whilst other festivals ask you not to use them at all? An informal open discussion to cover anything we missed that you wanted to talk about.

1.20pm Conference Round Up Lawrence Host - Steve Heap

AFO Conference 2013 Sunday 17 November continued

Skills Pairing & Knowledge Sharing Board - Put your skills or knowledge gap up on one side of the board and someone will match their skill or experience and together you solve the problem. Located near the Registration Desk.

11

Acoustic Breaks and Street Theatre

Inlay Saturday 11.20am

Home-grown Americana. Appalachia are a fusion-string-band with an eclectic mix of songs and a good fun vibe - their mission - “to make you good folks smile” and they certainly do that. Offering up their own inspired take on American roots music, they mix blues, country, jazz, ragtime, bluegrass and unique originals into a potent brew that will move you… and make you move.

Agent: [email protected]

Acoustic breaks are just that. No staging or PA and short sets in coffee and lunch breaks. Catch more great music with a snack in hand.

The Drystones Saturday 1pm

Appalachia Saturday 3.35pm

“Touching and rather beautiful modern folk” from an engaging, collaborative four-piece group, Inlay produce rich and full-bodied compositions. This distinct blend of contemporary-folk is mixed with bags of energy to provide audiences with a great live performances.


The Drystones are a young (still doing their A levels) lively folk duo from Priddy playing violin, guitar and whistle, who have made a big splash since they formed in July 2011.


The National Association of Street Artists (NASA) present showcases of several acts throughout Saturday.Contact Lucy Frost - [email protected]

12

Friday Showcase 9pm (Chatterley)

Born of a Scottish mother and an English father, Ray Cooper grew up in England and started to play in bands when he was 16. Moving between rock, punk, pop and world music, and working as a singer, bass guitar player and cellist, he finally hooked up with Oysterband in 1988 and began a long exploration into his own roots. Now back working solo.


The Willows are a folk roots family band from Cambridge. Fronted by the breathtaking voice of Jade Rhiannon, supported by rich vocal harmonies and sensitive acoustic musicianship, the band draw inspiration from the Americana and British folk traditions in equal quantity. Debut album Beneath Our Humble Soil was released in February 2013, and has been championed by the likes of Mike Harding and Bob Harris.


Ray Cooper

The Willows

Sponsored by La Playa

MC - Ross McKinlay Bedlam Stage Manager - Nikki Hampson Shepley Spring Festival

13

Born in Glasgow in 1989, Will moved to the South Coast at the age of six and begun playing classical guitar under the tuition of Maurice Albin. He has since worked through graded examinations with Trinity and Guildhall, achieving merits and distinctions in all exams. He now presents that pedigree on stage, crossing all musical boundaries in a mesmerising performance.


Will McNicol

Nizlopi

Nizlopi are John Parker (double bass/beat box) and Luke Concannon (vocals/guitar), a duo who sound like a four piece, folk hip-hop band.

They are most widely known, for being the underground, independent act that topped the UK and Irish charts with ‘The JCB song’ in 2005.

They have a fierce reputation for their inspiring, moving, live shows often taking the show into the heart of the audience


14

Saturday Showcase 8.30pm (Lawrence)

Gren Bartley is a prolific and exceptional songwriter. He is constantly touring and forever writing. The critically acclaimed new album Winter Fires is yet another giant leap forward and is building further upon the success of 2012’s critically acclaimed Songs To Scythe Back The Overgrown.


Mairi Campbell is a Scottish singer/songwriter and musician, born and raised in Edinburgh. In 2011 she released a solo album to 1st class reviews. She now combines writing, performing and teaching. She was a tutor and singer of the year at Scottish Traditional Music Awards.


The Gren Bartley Band

Mairi Campbell

Sponsored by Proper Music

MC - Simon Care Moulton Village Festival Stage Manager - Toby Richardson

15

Gadarene blend obscure traditional English tunes, virtuoso acoustic musicians, combined with funky beats and loads of energy. Gadarene create a sophisticated and exciting performance, drawing on many diverse musical influences, yet making a sound that is all their own.


Gadarene

Fabian Holland

Fabian Holland is a remarkably fine singer, guitarist and songwriter.

Folk Radio UK was even more direct in its enthusiasm: “He’s not good, he’s bloody good! We can’t wait to hear more!”


Rusty Shackle

Rusty Shackle formed in early 2010 and their infectious pulse, style and musical genre - whilst potently contemporary - is difficult to pigeonhole and has been described by Plugged In magazine as the “Bombay Badboy of Folk” a reference to the hottest Pot Noodle on the market. This said, elements of folk, rock, bluegrass, Celtic rhythms and Delta blues are clearly discernible. Either way, feet tap to whatever the specific nuance.


Guest Speakers

Bev Adams Independent Street Arts Network

David AgnewThe Met, Bury

Eddie Barcan Cambridge Folk Festival

Mike Bettison Blaize

Mike Boden Temporary Power (Events)

Stephen BrownMusicians’ Union

Rich BryanBearded Theory Festival

Howard Buckley Arts Marketing Association

Simon Care Moulton Village Festival

Ian Compton CMS Music

Ray Cooper Artist

Joan Crump Vivacity

George Dickson Aggreko Events Team

Ian Edgley PRS for Music

Megan Farrow Farrow Creatives

Marino Fresch Eventbrite

Lucy Frost National Association of Street Artists

Sandra Graham Horsey Lightly Fynn

Eddie Grant Derby University Events Management and The Purple Guide Editing Group

Beverley Griffiths Emergency Planning College

Andy Grove Local Authority Event Organisers Group

Carl Hagemann Local Authority Event Organisers Group

Paula HawthorneLa Playa Insurance Services

Joe Heap Towersey Festival

Nic Howden Events industry journalist and ex-editor, Access All Areas.

Matilda Ibini Trailblazers

Robert Jacobs Stonegate

Chris Johnson Powerful Thinking (and Shambala Festival)

Tom Lewis Decca Records

Richard Limb National Outdoor Events Association

Sophia Linehan Marketing & Communications Director, EFDSS

Katherine Linham La Playa Insurance Services

Fergus McVey Charlbury Riverside Festival

Isla Miskelly Gathering Festival

Maz O’Connor Artist

Jon Payne Horsey Lightly Fynn

Neil Pearson EFDSS

Hugh Phillimore Cornbury Festival

Tom Rose Reveal Records

Ben Savage Artist (The Willows)

Iain Simons Game City

Graham Smout GPS Music

Darren Surgey Pre-crime Manager, Nottinghamshire Police

Laurel Swift Artist

Joe Vesayaporn Music Glue

Tanvi Vyas Trailblazers

Andy Wall Ely Festival

Patrick Walsh Sound Publicity

Thanks for supporting AFO, and please note the dates for Conference 2014 are 14-16 November

AFO final agenda 2013

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Transcript of AFO final agenda 2013