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Boxstock 2012!!

I know I know, we've only just got over 2011, but if we are to stand any chance on improving on this years fest, we need to start working on it tomorrow morning!

So, any thoughts? What did you like? What could have been better?

Needless to say, talks have already started, but we'd like to throw it wide open this time round - where do you want it? Who is going to run it? Who do you want to see?

Dont hold back guys....

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hayden A Butler on October 5, 2011 at 5:27am

Vanfest (here) hold an event every year in Worcestershire which is partly music-orientated with a large audience. This might be another out-reach event suitable for the HGMC and Boxstock.

Permalink Reply by Mark on October 5, 2011 at 9:01am

A few other random thoughts - not all directly relevant to Boxstock but possibly useful nonetheless.

- University campuses can be good venues for conference/festival type events. Many of them have the advantage of offering performance spaces plus other rooms plus cheap accommodation on the same site. The downside as regards Boxstock is that they're mostly only available for big events during the holiday months when students are away - ie. not October. So maybe not for Boxstock 2012 but worth bearing in mind for the future (especially if we could find one where there were people interested in some sort of co-promotion arrangement)

- Is Boxstock always going to be an October event? I guess that, because summer is the prime festival season, then an October date lowers the odds of unfortunate clashes. Is that the thinking?

- While I agree with what's been said about finding a location that results in fair journey distances for as many people as possible, we shouldn't forget the significance of London - eg. as a centre of the music and media industries and a place with a huge population and a lot of music fans. It doesn't have to mean a Boxstock-type event. It might well be a prime place for finding opportunities to piggyback some sort of HGMC presence onto another event. So Boxstock in Sheffield, or wherever the powers that be settle upon, but also something in London eventually (Maybe the London group is the place to discuss this further).

- When thinking about where CBGs/HGMC might find opportunities we need to think outside the box a bit. Blues festivals are obviously opportunities (Upton was great), but if we just think in terns of blues then we're limiting ourselves. Improvised musical instruments have never been confined to blues, there's pictorial evidence of their early use in jazz and folk at the very least (and probably many other forms too). I say again that it has to be worth at least some investigation to see if there's any opportunity to have a presence at the Cambridge Folk Festival, which is a major event with BBC coverage but is also the sort of affair where a building workshop would fit right in.

PS. Having had experience of organising substantial events in the past I can second what John says about the importance of planning as far in advance as possible.

Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on October 5, 2011 at 9:19pm

Some good points there Mark. The timing sort of came about because originally I wanted to do the 1st CBG fest before the summer, but in order to give enough notice, I postponed it to after the summer..hence October. It's not an absolutely fixed point, but it keeps it clear of clashes with summer events, and falls nicely between the end of the summer break and Christmas.

Other music events..almost any genre of music would provide a good platform..but obviously folk, country, indie and blues would work well. Once I've got my office straight, done the minutes of the AGM, I'll start trying to get my head in order.

Permalink Reply by Chris Tinker on October 10, 2011 at 6:24am