Scotland’s Join Competition cancelled for 2024

The organisers of Scotland’s Join Competition have stated that the occasion won’t be held in 2024 now whereas they attempt to construct the “subsequent version” of the competition.

The competition first ran between 2007 and 2008 at Inveraray Fort in Argyll earlier than later being re-launched in 2022 on the Royal Highland Centre close to Edinburgh.

Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, boygenius and Raye all carried out ultimately yr’s occasion.
A press release on social media from organisers learn: “We’ve determined to take a break with Join Music Competition in 2024 to take the time to construct the subsequent version of the competition; to verify it thrives, evolves, and continues to supply fantastic experiences for followers.”

The announcement is available in a yr the place many different grassroots competition occasions have additionally been cancelled by organisers. December noticed Herefordshire’s Nozstock Hidden Valley announce that 2024 can be their closing incarnation after 26 years attributable to “hovering prices” and monetary threat”, whereas the fan favorite Shepton Mallet skating and music competition NASS announced that they wouldn’t be putting on an event this summer both because it was “simply not economically possible to proceed”.

Elsewhere, rising prices additionally cancelled Dumfries’ Doonhame Festival for 2024, Bluedot introduced a yr off for the land to “desperately” get well after being struck by heavy rain and cancellations final summer season, Nottingham’s Splendour has been canned for this yr attributable to planning delays from a financially-struggling metropolis council, and Barn On The Farm shared that it will be taking a fallow yr attributable to monetary constraints.

Standon Calling additionally just lately introduced its postponement attributable to a “very difficult local weather”. It got here after a few of final yr’s performers and caterers claimed they had been owed hundreds by the competition. 

A message from Join…🍃 pic.twitter.com/J4GKkagh8r

— Join (@ConnectFestSCO) February 23, 2024

John Rostron, CEO of the Affiliation Of Impartial Festivals (AIF), spoke to NME just lately and defined that dropping festivals was an indication of a rising downside across the UK and proof of the significance of occasions like this as a part of the expertise pipeline.

Rostron in contrast the plight of festivals with that of the UK’s grassroots music venues – which noticed the nation expertise its “worst yr” in 2023 and noticed 125 shut at a charge of about two per week. Whereas he stated festivals weren’t in fairly as dire straits, it nonetheless had points that wanted tending to.

“Music venues get a number of consideration, and that’s as a result of they’re in disaster – they’re preventing fires from all instructions,” he stated. “When there’s a fireplace, everybody runs to try to put it out – however that may be distracting as a result of elsewhere there as many impartial festivals as there are grassroots music venues within the UK. We don’t have the problems of possession and noise abatement that grassroots venues do. We’re not on hearth, however we do have an issue.”

He continued: “When a venue like Tub Moles closes, that’s clearly terrible. Everybody asks, ‘The place’s the subsequent Coldplay or Radiohead going to come back from?’ Properly, they happened 20 or 30 years in the past. Again then, Inexperienced Man and all these boutique festivals weren’t round or simply barely beginning.

“We must be speaking about the place the subsequent Moist Leg will likely be coming from as a result of they emerged from a really completely different surroundings throughout grassroots festivals and venues – in addition to a few of these issues that a number of the reside music sector appears to hate, like TikTok. Don’t dismiss the belongings you don’t like, they work they usually’re essential.”

Requested what wanted to be accomplished to forestall stated “hearth” devastating UK grassroots festivals, Rostron replied: “To the viewers, simply purchase your tickets early. Most individuals are shopping for on cost plans lately too, which is nice. The earlier you purchase, the much less cash they must spend on advertising to entice you. It could actually go into the content material of the occasion.

“The federal government, we’d like a decrease charge of VAT on ticket gross sales for 3 years. Then ultimately, it might stabilise.”