Part 6. You are going to read extracts from an article about upcoming rock festivals.
For questions
89-98, choose from the sections (A-D). The extracts may be chosen more than once. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
A. Grovestock
Grove stock has taken on a completely new guise, having reinvented itself this year in an effort to
attract a more youthful audience, where, until now, of course, the lion’s share of attendees have always
been in the thirty-and-over age bracket. Indeed, it has, surprisingly, considering this is a venture into
the unknown for the festival, been able to attract a stellar line-up this year, one which is surely the envy
of many a similar festival around the country. This notwithstanding, however, the festival has failed to
capture the attention or the imagination of its intended audience. Moreover, traditional devotees have
turned their backs on the event in large numbers, feeling let down, underappreciated and ignored. On
the upside, this has prompted heavy discounting of tickets and some would say they are now a steal.
Therefore, I would argue that Groovestock 2.0 is very hard to dismiss if you’re without something to do
next weekend. It may be wanton in the atmosphere department if ticket uptake doesn’t improve., but
the impressive programme and the minimal wallet impact make it very hard to completely ignore –
the last-minute-whim option of the week.
B. Featherline Music Fest
Rather than try to reinvent the wheel, Featherline Music Fest has remained faithful to a tried and
tested formula despite declining attendances in recent years, and this approach appears to have paid
dividends because, if advance bookings are anything to go by, it is not just hardcore fans that will be
glamping in the muck at this year’s event, which looks set for a bumper turnout. Headlining the festival
are newcomers to the rock scene. Headaway. Music aficionados may be more familiar with them in
their former guise as unheralded punk outcasts, but their transition into the mainstream has been
nothing short of extraordinary as they have taken the rock scene by storm with a string of catchy
anthems this year. These local gals made good are supported by a strong line-up of somewhat
lesser-known bands, which, that said, between them, can boast a not inconsiderable repertoire of
sing-along hits of their own. Audience participation will be the order of the day. Expect the decibel
levels to be very high! The only downside is ticket prices are commensurate with the expected decibel
level … They are also vanishing rapidly, so don’t procrastinate or mull this one over too long.
C. Indie Fest
No festival does indie tock better than the eponymous Indie Fest. Not by any means to everyone’s
given that the line-up is totally unheralded, this, however, is, to hardcore fans, the bait that continues to
lure them back annually. The core fanbase of diehard indie lovers is what keeps the cogs turning; and
the fact that festival organizers have a deft yeye for talent, unearthing soon-to-be megabands as
though it were as simple as prizing a bottle open. The bottle that is Indie Fest, however, always
promises to be a chaotic melange of different flavors though (all rock true and true, of course), some
of which seriously fizz and provide just the breath of fresh air the industry needs, whilst others simply
fall flat. The attraction for fans, then, is in sampling all the flavors, and deciding which ones titillate
their musical senses and which ones ought to be spat back out and confined to anonymity and
performing on the pub circuit forever more. If you want to be where the talent gets found and found
out, look no further. Tickets are keenly priced, but they come at a premium compared to what you
would normally pay to see the likes of these bands on account of the festival’s reputation.
D. Retal
Given the line-up Retal can boast, it’s hard to fathom why this fusion festival hasn’t yet gone all
commercial and attempted to squeeze every last penny from its adoring fans. Yet pricing remains
reassuringly competitive, making this my pick of the weekend’s festivals. On the one hand. You’ll have
the soft, dulcet tones of the likes of Riddie Levellers serenading you with their sentimental ballads. On
the other, hard rockers Gory Danes will deliver you to a veritable headbanger’s utopia. Indeed, some of
the performers have very questionable merits for inclusion in the rock category at all, but then Retal
aims to live up to its billing as a fusion music festival, which it does with aplomb. Although the very
keenly price tickets have been disappearing faster than a speeding bullet, the farm Retal is hosted on
has a near limitless capacity so there remains, thankfully, a generous supply of additional bullets in
the armory as it were. If you are a true music devotee, then this is one shot in the arm you definitely
need. Fans love it because it has refused to sell out to Big Money. And given what it pays performers.
Retal punches far above its weight in attracting the might of the industry. Bands typically demanding
lucrative fees come here not because they want to, but because they have to. This is truly a dying
breed of festival.
According to the writer, which festival _______________ Your answers:
attracts an impressive line-up without offering big incentives to 89. _________________
performers?
charges more than the quality of the line-up should dictate? 90. _________________
is enjoying a turnaround in fortunes? 91. _________________
is very keenly priced on principle? 92. _________________
can no longer rely on a once loyal base of fans attending? 93. _________________
is almost at full capacity? 94. _________________
features music from a range of genres? 95. _________________
has a knack for identifying promising new performers? 96. _________________
is likely to produce a very intense atmosphere? 97. _________________
has an impressive list of performers but may lack the typical festival 98. _________________
buzz?
