NOT long now until the Englefield long weekend of music – a great line-up of acts running over four days from July 19 to 22.
Friday, July 19: Madness, plus special guests Lightning Seeds and Old Time Sailors
Saturday, July 20: Pete Tong Ibiza Classics, plus special guests The Grid, Groove Armada (DJ Set)
Sunday, July 21: Elbow, plus special guests Villagers and Hamish Hawk
Monday July 22: Flackstock, who have been running shows there since 2022 when a group of Caroline Flack’s close friends and family organised a festival in her memory, raising funds for mental health charities. This year’s line-up includes Olly Murs, Shaznay Lewis, Tom Walker, Chesney Hawks, New Dad, Rebecca Ferguson, Gok Wan, Joe Wicks, Janette & Aliaz, Neev Spencer, Carrie-Oke with The Neptunes
The outdoor concerts in the spectacular English Heritage grounds of Englefield House has now become a firm staple in the music calendar under Heritage Live, who have been running shows there since 2022.
Anyone who’s been to these gigs over the years will tell you what a fantastic time they had, but it’s a huge undertaking for the organisers. We caught up with head of Heritage Live Giles Cooper, who’s a great person to tell us what to expect across the weekend and give us an insider’s view of these big weekends.
You have quite an eclectic mix of performers this year... where do you start when you think of the year ahead?
It’s always a tough one as we like to provide as wide a programme as possible. It mainly comes down to who is available and touring on a particular year.
We’ve got a good reputation with the agents and they are great at letting us know who is available for the forthcoming summer.
Then for us, it’s about creating a combination of artists to create as unique a bill as we can.
People have so many choices about where to go, but if they see a bill of artists that enables them to see a combination of their tastes, in a unique environment, then we’ve done the job.
Have you ever had any outrageous riders from acts performing? (You don’t have to say who!). Any ‘only blue M&Ms’?
We get quite a lot of demands for retro sweets like Flying Saucers, Fruit Salads, fizzy Cola Bottles, Boiled Rhubarb & Custards, Sherbert Dips, and Refresher Bars, to ice lollies like Cider Barrells, Funny Feat, Cola Quench & Nobbly Bobblies!
Some requests are a bit too bizarre to mention, but you can always be guaranteed that there will be an inspired combination of alcoholic beverages.
Obviously the named acts are the draw to your events, but the organisation behind them is significant. We’d be interested to know how many plumbers, electricians and the like you use... and how do you figure out how many portaloos you need?
We have well over 300 crew onsite and these include skilled tradesman like carpenters and plumbers, to sound and lighting technicians to site crew erecting fencing and structures, to event professionals that cover areas like health and safety and crowd management.
Most festivals adhere to the guidelines written in the Purple Guide, which details suggested numbers (based on the number of people attending), for everything from security staff to the number of toilets needed.
What would you say makes your events stand out?
Our shows are staged at some of the most beautiful locations in the country and when the weather is kind to us, what could be better than drinking a glass of wine on a summer’s evening, in stunning surroundings, watching and listening to your favourite artists?
What made you embark on this career?
I fell into promoting and staging shows after working for a lifetime (now 36 years) in the music industry.
There’s nothing better than standing at the back of an audience watching them having the time of their lives.
It feels a real privilege and honour to create memories for people which they’ll never ever forget.
In fact, it acts like a kind of drug, as the thrill is so great, that you want to keep doing more and more shows, recreating that amazing feeling of having achieved the creation of a great experience for people.
Heritage Live at Englefield House: Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics, Madness and Elbow. Tickets available at axs.com/uk
