Christopher BarrettLive Nation-owned promoter Cuffe and Taylor is not only planning to launch the new 35,000-capacity Blackweir Live show series in Cardiff’s Blackweir Fields next year but also Chelmsford City Live (cap. 30,000); a four-day festival at Chelmsford City Racecourse in July that will feature headliners including Justin Timberlake and Olly Murs.
Against a challenging backdrop for the festival industry, we ask Peter Taylor why he believes 2025 is the right time to launch two large outdoor show series.
Do you have any reservations about launching the events in what has proven to be a tough market in the past year or so?
By selecting the best artists to work at the right size venue I believe there is a very strong appetite. A number of the shows we’ve announced for 2025 have already added roll dates. We consider a number of things and try and price tickets realistically.
How will you differentiate the events from other show series, in what remains a crowded market?
The Cuffe and Taylor way has always been to ‘take the show to the people’. We try to create new business and markets. Like The Piece Hall in Halifax. We sold more than 185,000 tickets this year in this market, those tickets were bought by local people that wouldn’t have travelled for a show elsewhere, but because it’s on their doorstep they chose to come.
What demographics are they aimed at?
All our show series are always aimed to appeal to as broad a market as possible. We don’t have themed festivals following a particular genre of music, we work with artists with appeal and one night we may have a headliner targeting a teenage audience and the next it’s a rock night targeting a 50+ market. Variety is absolutely essential to keep customers engaged and wanting more.
How much of a focus will there be on sustainability?
Sustainability is the key focus for us as a business. We work in a lot of very beautiful and historic outdoor settings, so it’s our job to keep them like that for the next generation.
We are working on the expansion of grid connectivity across our sites. We already have several sites powered by the grid but our plan is to roll this out as much as possible over the coming years, and where we can’t, we will use battery power.
It’s been a pretty tough period for festivals with many closures largely due to costs having risen by around 30% since 2019. What’s the secret to staging a successful festival/event in the current market?
Taking a long-term view and developing long-term relationships with suppliers and partners. Many of our sites we work in partnership rather than merely hire the venue. That makes all the difference. We can invest in capital projects that reduce our year-on-year costs.