Festivals For All were lucky enough to grab an interview with Chris Grayson, Event Director of the upcoming Live Fest event at London’s O2 in July. Chris and his team are busy preparing for what is one of the largest indoor festivals in the UK, and FFA were keen to capture his views on the festival scene in general and what Live Fest can add to the mix.

Why Live Fest we asked; “Live Fest is born out of a passion for bringing live music to the masses, it has evolved from Live and Unsigned, the UK’s biggest music competition for unsigned and original acts. We realised as we travelled across the UK that people just want to get out and hear good quality live music and so the idea for Live Fest came about. “

So what makes it unique?  “Live Fest is London’s largest indoor festival, so there’s no mud, no portaloos and no sunburn! We wanted to create a festival that was affordable in the current climate so our tickets have an early bird price of just £25. That’s pretty incredible when you consider the line up which includes live performances and DJ sets from the likes of N-DUBZ, Tinchy Stryder, Roll Deep, Tempa T, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Funeral for a Friend, The Guillemots and many more.

What is the ethos driving the festival?  “We believe that festivals should be out of this world – so our mascot, Bob the Intergalactic alien, ensures that the acts are stratospheric, the atmosphere is galactic and the price is affordable.”

Why did you decide to hold Live Fest  at this prestigious venue FFA enquired;  “ We’re based at the O2 which is the world’s best live music venue, over 5 areas including the Proud2, IndigO2, The Inc Club and Union Square. There’s plenty of space, even more music and a great mix of restaurants and bars. We’ve even got a chill out space where you can relax with a massage!”

£25 for Earlybird tickets is really great value for a line up and venue of the calibre – how do you do it?  “Our ethos is around making Live Music accessible - music should be for everyone, not just the well off!”

“My biggest hope is that it’ll be the best festival of the summer, with people really enjoying themselves and wanting to come back next year!” Chris said “…and my biggest concern is that we’ll have more demand for tickets than we can meet!”  And the future….? “Loud music, great times and a little green alien called Bob!” Chris joked.

Live Fest has a great line up. FFA was keen to discover more and if Chris would reveal any particular favourites;  “We wanted to provide something that would appeal to everyone, so we have a mix of urban, rock and pop music. All of our acts are going to be amazing, but I’d recommend our festival goers to check out the break through stage – as there are some great acts in there. Look out for Pegasus Bridge and Paradise Point. Also if you get a chance go into the IndigO2 to see the fresh new artists. Of course N-Dubz are going to bring the house down! In fact scrap that – clone yourself and see it all!” said Chris with a smile. Any rumours FFA can reveal at the moment we prompted; “There may be an alien invasion...” Chris said straight faced. We’ve thought that for years in the FFA office so no news there, but Chris did promise that FFA would be one of the first to know of any new line-up additions. There is a full line-up announcement due imminently – So Watch This Space! (Same for the alien invasion obviously).

The conversation turned to the festival scene in general and FFA asked Chris why he thought the number of festivals is increasing year on year; “People want to feel a part of the music they hear on the radio, music is something that unites people and festivals provide a place to do this.“ What does the future hold for the scene?  “I think people have less money to spend and so are choosy over how to spend their well earned cash. Also running a festival is definitely a labour of love, if you’re not prepared to spend 24/7 on it, then it won’t work!  I think the festival scene is constantly improving as a rule, and this will continue. I definitely think that festivals will be bigger, better and an integral part of our culture!” he added.

Green issues are very much in vogue, and the industry is keen to be seen as environmentally aware. Where does Chris see this trend going & is Live Fest doing anything specifically we asked; “As we are an indoor event, our festival site is very clean and noise pollution is not an issue for neighbours or surrounding areas. The venue itself is very well connected by public transport, meaning less people have to bring cars, and we also have the Proud2 Routemaster service which provides late night transport to festival goers.”

One last thought to leave us with FFA asked; “N-Dubz are going on hiatus after the summer so this could be their last gig for a few years – Live Fest provides an ideal opportunity to catch ‘em whilst you can”. Fill Your Boots indeed!

Live Fest is held at the O2 in London on 23rd July 2011. Full details are available here:

http://www.festivalsforall.com/festival/live-fest