“ The sales last year showed that everyone wanted to get out there .” – Georgie Donnelly
Reginald D . Hunter live at Latitude
Adam Buxton .
Says Donnelly “ Comedy has been a strong sector for a long time . Covid or the economic crisis hasn ’ t dampened that . I think it ’ s fully recovered [ from the pandemic ]. The sales last year showed that everyone wanted to get out there . Artists from all genres , including comedians , wanted to get back out on the road and we didn ’ t see it struggling sales wise . There ’ s definitely a hunger from audiences , as well , to attend shows .”
As for the launch of JFL in the UK , Donnelly says it began as an idea by Emma Bownes , The O2 ’ s VP venue programming , who wanted to host a cross-campus event similar to the established European country festival C2C : Country to Country .
She says one of JFL ’ s most popular projects is the Receipts Podcast – a live version of the popular podcast hosted by journalist Tolani ( Tolly ) Shoneye , PA Audrey Indome , and songwriter Milena Sanchez .
“ This reflects how well digital and podcast artists are doing at the moment . Traditional comedy is still doing well but I ’ m finding that podcast tours are really popular . It ’ s such a direct way to let fans know you ’ re on tour , and audiences feel this intimacy with the artists , perhaps more than traditional art forms .”
Donnelly says she noticed last year that audiences wanted more diversity : “ 95 % of the shows that I did were artists from a range of diverse backgrounds – whether that ’ s gender , race or sexuality , there ’ s strong representation and that ’ s what the audiences want .”
Cass Randolph , director of 57 Festivals , which runs Greenwich Comedy Festival along with Bristol and Brighton Comedy Gardens , shares the view that podcasting has had a major impact on the scene , particularly after its success during the pandemic .
Balancing acts Randolph ’ s brother and 57 Festivals co-director Will Briggs , says he first noticed comedy coming to
Cass Randolph and Will Briggs
the forefront at festivals during the early days of Latitude : “ I noticed that the comedy tent was rammed in the day and they had high profile people on . I think that changed people ’ s perceptions of comedy at festivals . It ’ s a really strong draw for them , rather than it just acting as a sideshow .”
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