The News Review:
- Newport Folk Festival expands well beyond folk this year
- The festivals that could be washed away by a summer of rain
- Edinburgh International Film Festival gets a new date
Newport Folk Festival expands well beyond folk this year
San Francisco Chronicle – Jun 12, 2008
tmpl –>(06-12) 14:12 PDT (AP) –Trey Anastasio probably wouldn’t be confused with a folk act even if the former frontman for the jam band Phish stepped on stage solo with an acoustic guitar. The same goes for the Black Crowes whose bluesy guitar-driven rock would easily drown out the average acoustic troubadour. But both acts are on the bill for the upcoming Newport Folk Festival which this year features a genre-bending mix of marquee performers that draw big crowds but don’t fit snugly under the traditional folk umbrella. The lineup is a way for the venerable festival to stay relevant amid a glut of summertime concerts while deepening the audience base for a tradition-rich event best known for the year Bob Dylan swapped his acoustic guitar for an electric one. “If you just keep putting up the same lineup year after year that’s safe you start narrowing and your audience gets smaller and smaller” said Jay Sweet an associate producer with the festival’s new production company The Festival Network.
The festivals that could be washed away by a summer of rain
Telegraph.co.uk – Jun 12, 2008
No longer a countercultural happening it’s a gigantic three-day rock gig featuring heritage acts alongside contemporary chart-toppers. Sold out for some time it marks the opening of a three-month season of outdoor music events with camping. Festivals are increasingly regarded as part of the British summer experience for all ages. From the City exec paying £460 for the “weekend VIP experience” to see Eric Clapton at Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park to the surf dude planning to dance to Groove Armada after a day on the waves at Cornwall’s Rip Curl Boardmasters there’s something for everyone.
Edinburgh International Film Festival gets a new date
Hollywood Reporter – Jun 12, 2008
Accessing this information requires a subscription to HollywoodReporter. Edinburgh International Film Festival gets a new date June 12 2008 The gamble not taken lightly by the organizers of the world’s longest continuously running film festival has been to transfer the event from its traditional August slot to June. EIFF managing director Ginnie Atkinson says the new June time slot which means this year’s 62nd edition comes just 10 months after the previous year’s event should be regarded as a healthy piece of evolution. There have already been a couple of developments that are being touted by organizers and filmmakers as votes of confidence in the new position on the calendar. Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television home video to digital media.