My Chemical Toilet

Fflam, Lodestar, Rock The Rock - festival failures, cancellations and catastrophes

Untitled-2%20copy.jpg This year has been jam packed, like a pikey’s pockets in Primark, overflowing with festivals of all sizes. With a calendar as saturated as the summer’s flooded fields it was inevitable that some would sink.

This summer’s abysmal weather has resulted in a number of 2007 festival cancellations. For events like Cambridge’s self-proclaimed “new music” LodeStar festival, set to feature The Rakes and Idlewild, and Cheshire’s Acoustic Festival of Britain, due to play host to The Bluetones and The Saw Doctors, the rain stopped play leaving sites and access routes unfit for use.

Fflam fiasco drags on... and on...

If you're a Fflam ticket-holder I imagine you must be rather ticked off right now. The Welsh festival, which was due to take place this month but was postponed due to bad weather, still has no alternative date in place. This is despite reports that the organisers, Straight Music, would announce the new date this week.

It's hard to see how Straight Music are going to reverse the bad PR they've generated over the past month. While there's nothing they can do about the weather, this issue is the least talked-about element of the whole affair. After claims that the event was actually delayed due to problems policing the event, the delay in announcing a new date leaves ticketholders unable to make plans to attend.

Having to rearrange booking time off work, arranging travel / accommodation, etc will leave many people wishing they hadn't bothered purchasing tickets. It's a shame that the first festival of this kind to take place in Wales has turned into such a fiasco. So there.

Are you a Fflam ticketholder? Is the flack the organisers are receiving justified?

Festival organisers fan Fflam flames

Straight Music, organisers of Fflam, the Welsh festival officially postponed due to bad weather conditions, have reacted strongly to this story which claimed that a problem with policing the event was the true reason behind the cancellation.

A Fflam spokesman said: "There is no truth whatsoever about the policing being a contributory factor to the festival being postponed."

Somewhat downbeat Festivals round-up: Live Earth backlash, T in the Park spirits predictably undampened

- Is it just me, or does the tide seem to have turned against Live Earth somewhat? The Rio event was cancelled... then un-cancelled, amongst claims that it has been under-promoted

- Meanwhile Forbes is the latest publication to do the whole "Just How Green Is Live Earth?" thing... and Arctic Monkeys admit that their absence from the bill is because they would see their participation as hypocritical given their shows' production requirements. Unlike Madonna, presumably...

- And to top it all off, the New York event isn't even bloody in New York!

- T in the Park looks like getting off to a wet start, but guess what? It won't dampen anyone's spirits (I swear that is the 382nd time I've seen that cliche used in the last month). Police at the event are appealing to cokeheads to spurn their nose candy for ethical - as opposed to legal - reasons. Good luck with that, rozzers

- As we mentioned yesterday, Fflam has been postponed; now the organisers are indulging in a touch of damage limitation as they try and find new dates for the three-day event

Fflam postponed until end of summer

Fflam, the new music festival due to happen at Swansea's Singleton Park over the weekend of Friday 13th until Sunday 15th July - will not being going ahead on those dates.

A statement has just been issued by the organisers Straight Music, which reads as follows:-

"Due to consistently bad weather conditions over the last few weeks, we regret that the Fflam Festival has been postponed. This has been a hard, but well considered decision and we believe it is the best one for all concerned. Due to the bad weather, we have been delayed in putting the infrastructure in place and it is a big concern that the weather conditions will hugely dampen the experience we want to give all our festivalgoers. Postponing the festival will mean that we can give everyone the Fflam festival experience they deserve, bands, organisers and festivalgoers alike. We expect the new date to be at the end of the summer and are doing all we can do get everything reorganised as quickly and efficiently as possible so that we can confirm the date within the week. Full refunds will shortly be available from point of purchase for anyone who wishes to take this option, but we would like to reassure everyone that the festival WILL take place and encourage them to await further information on the new date before making this decision."

Festivals round-up: Oxegen survival guide, Guilfest movie, Live Earth debutants, T in the Park weather, new Latitude stage

So many fests, so little time. If you're going to any of the below events here are some nuggets to nibble on:

- "You know me, I'm all about saving lives." Bono? Sting? Nah - Ludacris, who appears on the US leg of Live Earth. Yes, that Ludacris

- It's a point more and more people seem to be making - Live Earth will need to clean up its own mess to be taken seriously as an environmentally conscious event.

- The Oxegen festival takes place this weekend in Co Kildare, Ireland. You know what that means, don't you? Survival Guide time

- There will be rain at T in the Park, you won't be surprised to hear. What may shock you is that you can also expect some sun, according to the met office. That's what happens if you get a Beach Boy in

Supergrass & The Bees complete Fflam’s flaming hot line-up!

It’s only three weeks to go until the festivities get underway at Singleton Park for the Fflam Festival!

With Supergrass and The Bees completing the line-up for Wales' first major music festival, this summer in Swansea is set to be an absolute scorcher. Supergrass and The Bees will join an array of bands (some great, some not so great) including Keane, Placebo, Manic Street Preachers, Feeder, Dirty Pretty Things, Biffy Clyro, Cold War Kids, The Cribs, Howling Bells and Enter Shikari plus many more.

Taking place from Friday 13th July to Sunday 15th July, Fflam will ignite a blazing trail to Swansea Bay for the very best in indie, rock and dance music. Supergrass have been added to the Sunday line-up to deliver the classic hits that everyone has come to love, while Dirty Pretty Things will show us just why they are regarded as such a formidable live band (and not in any way a third division indie band).

Fflam Festival hosts Keane, Buzzcocks and more

Fflam - the newest spangliest music festival in Wales is-a-happening at Swansea's Singleton Park over the weekend of Friday 13th until Sunday 15th July has announced some more acts. Alongside already confirmed acts of Friday headliner Keane, Saturday headliner Placebo and Sunday headliner Manic Street Preachers, you'll get Dirty Pretty Things, Buzzcocks, Biffy Clyro, Cold War Kids, Howling Bells, Fightstar, yourcodenameis:milo, Oceansize, Dropkick Murphys, Bloodhound Gang, New Model Army as well as Lost Vagueness bringing it's weirdness to the festival.

Previously confirmed are perennial festival scruffs The Levellers and The Feeling, The Ordinary Boys and the Hugh-less Stranglers. Tickets are on sale, priced at £100 for 3 days, or £40 for any day. Visit the Fflam Festival site for more details.

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