In 2017, Yungblud met the crowd with a raucous show at The Water Rats, a seedy club in London's Kings Cross that also hosted Bob Dylan's first UK live performance — as well as the first from Irish group The Pogues .
They've gone on to even bigger things and this weekend Yungblud will too. On August 11, the Doncaster-born artist will host the inaugural Bludfest, a 30,000-capacity one-day event at England's Milton Keynes Bowl. Previous performers at the venue include Queen, Green Day, Metallica, Foo Fighters and Michael Jackson.
The 27-year-old – real name Dominic Harrison – will be joined by a diverse bill including recent collaborator Lil Yachty, Soft Play (fka Slaves), Jazmin Bean, Lola Young and will have a slot from The Damned. The headline performance will mark his first full UK live performance in over a year. Harrison released his latest LP, Yungbludin 2022, which charted at No. 1 in the UK and peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard 200.
Across two stages and alongside fairground attractions, an art exhibition and a nod to Camden's favorite pub The Hawley Arms, Bludfest is a complete proposition. “I've said from the beginning that it can't be a concert wrapped in a festival, it has to be a whole world,” he says. Advertising sign. “When I talked to the team, it became clear that it was important that this piece was nailed down.”
Frustrated by the state of the live music industry, Harrison has also been vocal about keeping ticket prices affordable for his young, passionate fans. Along with British artists such as Paul Heaton and Tom Grennan they are trying to buck industry trends to raise entry costs for fans in an uncertain and costly landscape for touring artists. Entry ticket for the event is capped at £49.50, although he has teamed up with AEG to ensure a sound and stylish production on the night.
A week out from the big night, says Harrison Advertising sign on why ticket buying inspired Bludfest, tips from the Osbournes and his new label for album number four.
Why did it feel like now was the right time for Bludfest?
It's something I've wanted to do for years and this was the first opportunity between tours and albums to do something on this scale. I wanted to make a physical space where fans could all come together and realize how far this community has come. It had to be a statement piece as a lot of critics don't take me or the fans seriously so I'm like 'well look what we can do'.
Tried to keep ticket prices reasonable at £49.50 ($63). Where did this desire come from?
I was in the US last summer, and it was the first time I'd played auditoriums – our biggest venues in America yet – and it was the first time I'd experienced multi-layered venues and experiences. The floor and upper seats were completely full and there was this area right in the middle, about 500 seats that were empty and I had no control over their price. There were kids outside the venue who said they had to listen to the concert from outside because they couldn't afford to go inside. I was in pain when I heard this.
The global ticket market does not understand the real life of people. £250 for a ticket makes me sick. There's a tour that just came out – which I won't name – and I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?' It makes me very angry.
There is concern that young people in particular are being priced out of concerts by their favorite artists…
A lot of artists don't have as much control over their careers as you'd think, or don't care that much about anything other than the art – which is fine and works for some artists, but it's not me. The only explanation for where I am now, really, is my relationship with my fans. I wanted to do something possible in a world where music has become privileged.
Looking at what The Cure's Robert Smith did with Ticketmaster last year was so inspiring [Ticketmaster refunded what Smith called “unduly high” fees on tickets for the band’s U.S. arena tour in 2023.] This is an artist at the stage of his career where he's playing for original fans, but also for new, new fans, and he's still thinking about those people coming up. I don't want my shows to be filled only with people who can afford it.
How has the industry responded to you trying to do something different and less focused on profits?
I'm being pushed out of the “boardroom”. It's so easy for artists to sit in the pub and say “f–k the label, promoters and corporate system” and not do anything about it. I got some heat from people because Bludfest is co-promoted by AEG, but for me, the way to change the corporate system is not to make angry bets, but to go and change it from within. Most people on the ground floor at these labels or promoters just love the music as passionately as the fans do.
By getting something under my own control, I can get an insight into something I would never have come across and get an idea of the cost and challenge them as to why we are charging a higher amount than we need to. We already have plans to take Bludfest to Paris or Prague. Japan, Australia and America all want it, it's done amazingly well. We have such a strong core fanbase in all these places and we could really pull together a bit of a scene around that.
You're not the first to come up with the idea. Lollapalooza started as an outlet for Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell and your collaborator Ozzy Osbourne [star of the music video for Yungblud’s “The Funeral”] hosted Ozzfest for decades. Have you reached out for advice?
Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and longtime manager] it helped me so much. I told her that I don't feel like people don't take me seriously, and she replied, “We've felt like our whole king is alive, that's why we started Ozzfest.” He gave such positive feedback and advice to take care of people because they keep us here. They have been such an amazing family to me.
You've got an eclectic mix of artists on the bill from US rappers like Lil Yachty to punk legends The Damned. How did you decide who would be the right fit for Bludfest?
I didn't want it to be a genre-focused festival. I wanted to think of artists in their own lane and doing their own thing from across the stage, so I hit on Lola [Young] which I think is amazing, Jazmin [Bean] located in their own world, The Damned for the icon slot. I asked about the Placebo but they didn't make it, so maybe we'll get them next year. I've been talking to Robert Smith, The Smashing Pumpkins, and just all my contacts for suggestions, and they all love the idea.
I wanted them to be young, up-and-coming artists. I didn't want to call Tyler [Joseph] of Twenty One Pilots, or Oli [Sykes] from Bring Me The Horizon, I wanted it to feel like it's the first year and have a bit of bite and bite.
You just transferred labels to Island (UK) and Capitol (USA) for your upcoming record. How's the work coming?
My next album is a rock opera… it's mental! It's a new phase in my life and these labels are so classic, and this new album feels like it belongs on big names like that. The last few months have been much more creatively fruitful and inspiring. I really had a choice to stay in my comfort zone or I want to go to different places and experiment.
In the past I've stuck to the runway – to the point where even some of my earlier albums felt rushed – or I'd take outside ideas that would hurt the art because I was trying to satisfy someone else's idea of what Yungblud is rather than what's on my gut. But now I feel more excited than ever.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/concerts/yungblud-bludfest-tickets–festival-1235748007/
