FEBRUARY | AGENDA
Quote of the month:
“A window into the mind of a con artist, the
insiduous charm of the fraudster and how they can
capture our imaginations and our investment...”
Fyre Fraud directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nelson on Fyre
Festival’s Billy McFarland
Field Day announces 2019 line-up
Field Day has announced
the first wave of artists
for its 2019 edition, taking
place 7-8 June 2019 in
Meridian Water, North
London.
Skepta, Jorja Smith,
Diplo, Pusha T, Bonobo,
Earl Sweatshirt and many
more have been booked
for the festival, which is
moving to a new location
this year.
Its will now take place
in a series of linked indoor
warehouses, as opposed
to Brockwell Park in
South London.
Skepta will be
making his only festival
appearance of the
summer at Field Day,
and it will serve as a
homecoming gig as he
hails from Meridian Walk
Estate in Tottenham.
There will also be house
music courtesy of The
Black Madonna, Seth
Troxler, George Fitzgerald
and more. Printworks
will also be collaborating
on a specially-curated
stage showcasing the
most exciting acts in the
underground electronic
scene today.
Field Day co-founder
Tom Baker said: “This
really is a new and
exciting chapter for Field
Day. Our new home is
arguably one of the most
dynamic sites in the
country, with a line-up
that is typically eclectic
and diverse as ever before.
“I’m thrilled about the
return of Skepta, who
back in 2016 played to
one of the biggest crowds
we’ve ever had at Field
Day.
“Saturday’s headliner,
the brilliant Jorja Smith,
will be truly sensational,
and Diplo’s sets are just
absolute dance frenzied
seamless brilliance.
They’ll be alongside rising
artists Pip Blom, MorMor,
Boy Azooga and the
return of Deerhunter with
an excellent new album,
too.”
The art of balancing
creativity and commerce
Deborah Armstrong, founder of event design
company Strong & Co, has curated an awesome
EPS line-up
The need to balance creative with
commercial is something that
many of us in events can relate to.
As a Creator it’s important for me
to feel that I’m doing interesting,
high-quality work. As a Producer
I know that in order for that to
survive and thrive its vital to
balance the books.
Over the last 20 years, the
innovation and quality of creative
content within the UK event
industry has flourished, to the
great benefit of the entire Creative
Economy. At its best world-class
Creators are supported by great
Producers who understand that
investing in creativity results in
something that is not only magical
but also uniquely valuable to the
business of selling a show. On
the flip side we have probably all
seen the balance tipped to either
extreme with poor results for
people and projects.
So the question I’ll be putting is
not if the needs of creativity and
commercial can be harmoniously
balanced, but how. To assemble
the panel I sought people who
can inspire and teach from their
different vantage points, who will
share wins, losses and strategies
for success: Producers risking
all for the love of a gig; Creators
who have overcome all financial
and societal limitations; clients,
the people within brands and
Agencies that push further
internally in order to take creative
risks externally.
I’d like us all to walk away a
little wiser, so I feel fortunate that
such interesting and experienced
people have agreed to take part:
• The Producer - Vince Power’s
career spans almost 5 decades in
the event industry and includes
numerous festivals and venues,
including Astoria, The Mean
Fiddler, The Forum, The Jazz
Café, Reading, Leeds, Homelands,
Phoenix, The Fleadh, The Hop
Farm, Benicassim and The Feis.
• The Creator - Lyall Hakaraia
is a Creator with involvement
at both the loftiest and most
underground levels of creativity.
By day Lyall designs luxury
couture for stars such as Lady
Gaga in some of the worlds
blingiest productions. By night he
runs VFD, (aka Vogue Fabrics) an
originator and incubator of queer
arts and entertainment in Dalston,
East London.
• The Client – Sara Rhodes - one
of my earliest Clients back in the
noughties, she was one of the first
people to book “weird creative” like
us at Lost Vagueness at the time
when she was the Head of Events
at the Guardian and Observer
Newspaper Group. She is now
commercial events director at
News UK.
Name: The Art of Balancing Creativity and Commerce
A Conversation between Deborah Armstrong, Vince Power,
Sara Rhodes and Lyall Hakaraia.
Moderated by Deborah Armstrong, Director of Strong & Co.
Location: Event Production Show, Olympia
Date: 27 February 2019
Time: 11.30 – 12.15
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