Christopher BarrettOrchard Live, Wales’ largest independent concert promoter, has been put into voluntary liquidation by its directors, who have blamed the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis for its downfall.
The Cardiff-based operation, which staged Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Caldicot Castle (cap. 15,000) on 19 August, has worked in Wales with acts including Sam Fender, Diana Ross, George Ezra and Queens of the Stone Age.
Among the many landmark shows the promoter has worked on include the Welcome To Wales celebration concert at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium to mark the start of the 2010 Ryder Cup. Orchard also worked with the team at the stadium in January 2005 to stage Tsunami Relief Cardiff. The biggest charity concert held in the UK since Live Aid 20 years earlier, it raised around £1.25 million and featured acts including Eric Clapton and Manic Street Preachers.
A statement on the promoter’s website said the company has ceased trading as of midday on 31 August, and that an announcement regarding the company going into creditors voluntary liquidation will be made next week.
The company has issued a statement that said despite the the team’s best efforts, Orchard Live has been unable to recover from the consequences of the pandemic, and all possible strategies to avoid liquidation had been explored.
It said, “The past three years have been enormously challenging for the music industry, and there have been a number of casualties in the sector. We lost summer seasons in 2020 and 2021, and costs increased significantly for rescheduled shows in 2022. Despite some great successes, an oversupply of concerts, a slow public return to live events, the cost of living crisis, and increased competition from national promoters has not produced the required level of sales, leading to unsustainable losses.”
While sharing directors Alastair Wilson, Pablo Janczur and Matt Wordley, Orchard Live is understood to be a standalone business and separate from the Orchard Media and Event Group.
Orchard Media and Events Group issued the following statement: “We want to reassure the clients and suppliers of the Orchard Media and Events Group that this move will have absolutely no impact on them, and that it is very much business as usual for the Orchard agency, Orchard Labs, Orchard Connects and Rescape Innovation. Given the precarious nature of the music industry, we separated out Orchard Live five years ago before the pandemic, and with the catastrophic events of the past few years, this proved to be a very prescient decision.
“We are now doing all we can to help the Orchard Live team in the development of their future plans.”