Lynne Hampson of SOS Festival Interview
31st August 2016After a glorious announcement today with bands who will be making an appearance at SOS Festival 10 year anniversary event, we caught up with organiser Lynne Hampson for an impromptu interview about the festival.
Now that you have had time to let this years SOS Festival sink in, is there anything you would do differently next year?
I think SOS fest 2016 went off without any hitches so i don’t think I would change anything next time, apart from not wearing flip-flops all weekend as they totally wrecked my feet.
How did you find the new venue, after being relocated after the sad Demise of the original home which had housed SOS Festival for the previous 8 years?
The Longfield Suite was offered to us by the council after they discovered the Civic was being demolished. We did have other offers but the other venues were all 18+ only and we wanted to keep the festival family friendly. More and more young moshers attend each year and it’s a great way to introduce them to new bands and music.
Who was your favourite main stage band of the weekend and why?
We had some great main stage bands, my favourites were Absolva, Bigfoot, Hells Addiction and A Jokers Rage.
Who was your favourite acoustic act of the weekend and why?
The acoustic stage had some awesome talent this year too. Gemma Fox, and John Sloman blew me away.
5)Would you ever consider turning SOS Festival into an outdoor event?
There are a lot of outdoor festivals around at the moment and we are very happy keeping SOS fest as an indoor event. The main factor being NO MUD guarantee!
What do you think draws the crowds in to SOS Festival?
Different factors attract people year after year to SOS fest. A lot people are now long-standing friends and come year after year. The talent we hand-pick and are always of the highest caliber. The bands enjoy coming back too as they are treated exceptionally behind the scenes too, so they have a special experience and superb press attention.
In 10 years time where do you see SOS Festival?
Will we get to the 20th anniversary SOS fest?? We celebrate the 10th next year, so who knows!
Do you think it’s important to have the right crew when working behind the scenes of SOS Festival?
We do have a great crew working behind the scenes, and we couldn’t do it without them. The logistics and planning takes a full 12 months to arrange.
What do you have to take into consideration when organising a festival?
Avoid other events and stick to a budget.
You have just announced some fabulous bands for the 10 year anniversary event what else can we expect any hints as to who else you will be announcing?
I don’t think I can give any hints away, but there will be another announcement coming soon! We have announced 9 bands today for SOS fest 2017, with the utterly fabulous “Kill II This“, headlining our Friday night, and the sensational Screaming Eagles jetting over from Ireland for an exclusive show. Resin, Pythia, I Saw The World Burn, and Crowsaw are all newbies to SOS fest, Fahran, and a Jokers Rage return by popular demand.
I’m excited already, I just need to invest in a comfy pair of shoes!
Thankyou for your time, we are looking forward to SOS the big 10!
