Bloodstock Open air Festival 2011 was the greatest show on earth!!! It is no secret that I am a true heavy metal fan and go to many music festivals around the world. I have been sent to many festivals since 2004 to do various band interviews and review the event and I have to say, Bloodstock is untouchable. I attended Bloodstock 2011 as both a fan and as a journalist and I must say, I have never seen a festival of such magnitude ever!!! Bloodstock Open Air festival is great for the fans, people in the business and also very helpful for new bands looking for exposure. There are many elements that make Bloodstock a grade A festival and a festival that is a hard act to follow.
Bloodstock Open Air Festival is the UK’s largest independently family run music festival for the past 11 years. From the minute people step foot onto the festival ground, there is a very tight knit , welcoming family style vibe. I had the honour of meeting Ms Vicky Gregory and her brother Adam Gregory … the directors of the festival both of whom were extremely accommodating and friendly. The one strong quality about Bloodstock Open Air is that they really strive to help the bands that either have no record deal or already have a deal intact and need the exposure. Unlike other festivals, Bloodstock does not do the whole “pay to play” deal with these new artists. The pay to play is a policy that festivals have intact where the newer bands have their labels pay plenty of money just to be on the tour.. and if these bands are not on a label then they are out if luck because pay to play involves money in the 5 to six digit range. These days, it is important to support the bands of tomorrow and seeing a festival as big as Bloodstock so passionate about helping these bands out is very refreshing and sets a standard that others should meet. Although this is a business, it is important for the newer bands to have the exposure and opportunity to play big shows such as Bloodstock to keep the music scene alive with new music for everyone.
When I first arrived and parked, I was in shock to see a shuttle from the parking area that took us straight to the media tent and back ..definitely 10 thumbs up on that. Out of all of the festivals Ive been to, nobody has ever done that ..including Ozzfest (something I would never ever waste another day on after being at Bloodstock). The shuttle was for everyone and ran every few minutes. It made things a lot easier for fans and media people.
Once I arrived at the media tent, I got my credentials and sat down. The tent was set up very very well for interviews and even had a nice hospitality area. SInce this was my 1st Bloodstock, I decided to wander around for a few minutes before my interview with Devin Townsend.
There were many food stands with good food..not bad unhealthy overpriced crap …all of which were very reasonably priced. I enjoyed some Asian noodles and then had an ostrich patty later that night.
There were many stages there , clothing stands , Jagermeister and a mini amusement park with the crazy fun rides that I always like which really made Bloodstock very unusual…that was another 10 thumbs up!!!
There was something for everyone to do if you wanted to take a break from the music.
One of the nice things was the stages they had. The main one was the Ronnie James Dio stage where Immortal , Motorhead, Morbid Angel, Kreator, Finntroll, Tarot, Napalm Death , WASP and many others played. The New Blood Stage for new bands and another stage that caught my attention was the Sophie Lancaster Stage , where that was in dedication/memory of the Sophie Lancaster murder and to promote the S.O.P.H.I.E Fund (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sophie_Lancaster). There were lots of bands to see and over the next few weeks, I will be posting the interviews from many of the bands that I met and interviewed for Stay Heavy tv, but the stories that came from the younger bands who got here first chance were quite impressionable.
Overall, many other festival promoters can learn quite a few things from Bloodstock. It was one of the next weekends of my Summer and a great place to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.
Make sure to visit their website at www.bloodstock.uk.com and get your tickets for Bloodstock 2012..it is worth it!!