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© 2025 2 Promoters, 1 Pod
Description
ArcTanGent and Damnation organisers, James Scarlett and Gavin McInally, discuss the good, the bad and the downright ridiculous of promoting festivals.
109 Episodes
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"Hi there, you've reached Rob Scarlett at the 2000trees customer service desk, how may I assist you? "VIP camping was a hike to get to? The beers ran out? And what was with all the bloody wasps? "Well, if you have two hours and 11 minutes spare and the patience of a monk, I'd love to talk these issues over with you..." We go again, every Thursday morning.
We're back with a two-hour slab of 2 Promoters... The 11th ATG is over and it was one for the history books so let's pick over the bones. Did James know that Clown Core would have a video wall crammed with AI dicks? Was VIP oversold or was the festival quieter than usual? And what happens when someone ("Theo") is reported missing the day after the music stops? In true 2P1P fashion, we tear through it all. We go again, every Thursday morning.
Bri, this one is for you. *Please excuse the audio in the opening minute before the sound desk kicks in. We go again, every Thursday morning.
Despite the insane heat, everything at Trees was going just swimmingly until the final night when there was enough drama for an episode of Eastenders. Musicians passing out, letlive. forcing a show stop and an air ambulance causing absolute panic - for Gav at least - in the backstage bar. James relives the Saturday night madness from an organiser's point of view. And with Rob Scarlett unable to join the call from his holiday home (now planned for next week) Gav and James tackle those pesky...
Gav and James take the stage at 2000Trees for the second time, with even more heroes crammed into the sweltering tent on Saturday. How did the scorching sun impact the festival? How did James manage to stay in double denim? And how the hell did pigs invade the site? We most definitely went AGAIN! We go again, every Thursday morning.
Gav wakes up late and James has been hard at work prepping this week's episode (instead of putting up fencing at 2000trees). There's a bit of reflection on the whole Bob Vylan and Radar Festival fallout, the lads keep their tempers in check (just!) In happier news we have some chatter about the Xmas 2Promoters 1 Pod Live, tickets selling like mad and people inevitably asking for guestlists. We go again (only just!) We go again, every Thursday morning.
Pro-Israel lawyers successfully campaigned to have Bob Vylan cancelled from Radar Festival. As a result pro-Palestine bands started cancelling themselves as a show of solidarity. Confused? Us too. Full episode on Thursday. We go again, every Thursday morning.
Following their "Death to the IDF" chants at Glastonbury, punk duo Bob Vylan found themselves in the firing line of everyone from the US State Department to the perpetually applaud Keir Starmer. Unfortunately, Manchester's Radar Festival happened to be the next date on the UK tour schedule and the organisers were targeted by a campaign of hate before being forced to pull the show and carry the can in public. Co-organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith joins the pod to discuss the reasons behind th...
James, his fellow Trees organisers, trusted crew and a small army of 40 volunteers have descended on Upcote Farm in preparation for scores of bands and 15,000 music lovers who will follow suit in two weeks' time. But what exactly goes into prepping a massive outdoor festival? From who puts in the Sainsbury's order to feed and water the entire team on day one, to who clears the sticks from the forest, to counting power points and checking batteries in the power tools, James breaks down...
There's more poor musicians out there than rich ones and depressingly, even being a founding member of the incredible Rolo Tomassi isn't going to pay the bills. James Spence explains how he clawed his way out of the hospitality trade to make a career in the music business work, between booking bands, repping shows and touring. He also spills the beans on plans for Rolo's special 20th anniversary set at this year's ATG. But before all that we have Outbreak to discuss, Damnation's latest ann...
The gloves are off as OAPs Gav and James take on International Men of Talent, Sugar Horse, over their problematic clash at ATG. Shots have been fired, jokes have been missed and insults hurled... now it's time for our Super Subs to settle it. First though, is the new Turnstile album the worst thing ever uploaded to Spotify? Should we ditch Ghost for Creeper? And are Dimscûa the greatest thing to happen to UK metal this year? Maybe, yes and yes... We go again, every Thursday ...
Burzum, beans and budgeting... we're all over the gaff this week as Gav returns from Fortress Festival in Scarborough a shell of a man and James comes to terms with some difficult decisions with the ATG site plan as well as explaining some clashes. And is it the pit security's job to save fans from a hospital trip or do you crowdsurf at your own risk? P.S. There's also Kneecap. We go again, every Thursday morning.
The drinks are flowing as the mailbag is plundered for a good ol’ fashioned Q&A. Gav and James tackle secret sets, the latest Metallica tour, favourite festival memories, worst Machine Head records and of course, meal deals. Cheers. We go again, every Thursday morning.
Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Corrosion of Conformity and Napalm Death are FINALLY announce to top the festival bills... but it wasn't plain sailing. In fact, it was a series of sleepless nights aboard SS Nightmare which left Gav and James wondering whether "headliners" for events likes Damnation and ArcTanGent are really worth the effort at all? There's also James being accosted at the school gates about his views on Kneecap, a Dragged Into Sunlight boxset and two headline offers from Eyeso...
Irish punk Meryl Streek has bagged a unique hattrick of bookings at Trees, ATG and Damnation this year. But for one-man live revolt, who refuses to play the music industry game, how has he found himself being embraced by the those on its fringes, from the promoters and press to politically driven young students and crusty old grindcore fans? He discusses picking up the mic after 15 years behind the drumkit, winning over "Mr John Lydon" while touring with PiL and pissing people off in as can...
The settlements have been paid, the bank statements have been printed off and the spreadsheets collated. Exactly how much were Gav and James paid on their debut tour and how much of it did they spend, and on what exactly? The importance of merch sales, thinking outside the box to drum up extra income and keeping James as far away from hipster coffee shops as possible. £226 on taxis for three drunks and £20 so Gav can have a nap in Birmingham is just the tip of the spending spree. ...
It was supposed to a fun afternoon arguing over the 2,000trees clashfinder but Sharon Osbourne, Scotland’s First Minister and the pesky bloody Tories had other ideas…. so the spotlight is back on the Kneecap lads. But what about the promoters, like James, who have red hot Irish trio on their poster? Well, there’s death threats for a start. We go again, every Thursday morning.
Gav and James dive back into the virtual mailbag to tackle the most pressing issues of the day. Is Ghost's mobile phone ban a step too far? Have Kneecap become too hot to handle following their controversial Coachella sets? And how much money did we lose on the first years of our festivals? Throw in a some Watain and smelly animal carcasses, checking if bands are racist on ChatGPT and Elton John and you have yourself a belter of a Q&A. Let's go... We go again, every Thursday morn...
There's few things in the live music business quite like the circus of a band's contractual agreement with a festival. From sloppy copy and paste jobs to being told to sign off technical specs you haven't received and a shopping list of reasons why a band can cancel to a litany of clauses to say why a promoter can't, it's all a bit of a clown show which would be laughed at in any court of law. But as the promoter do you play the game like everyone else to appease the big agencies or is simp...
After a couple of weekends on tour, social media threw a wobbler to welcome Gav and James back with a bump as well as Brand New, Dragged Into Sunlight and poor old Clutch under the bus. We wade through the murky waters of cancel culture, questionable decision making and an unwillingness to be straight with ticket buyers before lightening the mood with some Burzum banter. Laughs galore. We go again, every Thursday morning.
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