Future headliners

[kingcrawler]

3 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Ha well although I’m never gonna live that down, or The Killers the festival before that… Fred Again is a completely different deal what with him being an electronic act which they haven’t had headline since Chemical Brothers way back in 2000. The Other Stage is MADE for those kinds of sets so as big as he gets, I really do think that’s as far as he’ll go. WH this year, Other ‘25… do you really think he’s gonna maintain this hype he has now for another couple of years beyond that to get the big gig, or that the festival would really consider him? ‘Cause I don’t. 

I could be wrong but I feel like you were against the idea of Billie doing it as you thought she’d go for higher paying offers rather than her not being big enough. 

I’m starting to think Fred might be an Other headliner this year to be honest. Sam Smith and The Prodigy make a lot of sense as two of them and he’d draw a big crowd as a dance option up against Axl and the lads. Going beyond that and keeping up the hype to levels where he’s booked to headline would be unheard of for dance acts in recent years but who knows.

[FloorFiller]

1 minute ago, kingcrawler said:

I could be wrong but I feel like you were against the idea of Billie doing it as you thought she’d go for higher paying offers rather than her not being big enough. 

I’m starting to think Fred might be an Other headliner this year to be honest. Sam Smith and The Prodigy make a lot of sense as two of them and he’d draw a big crowd as a dance option up against Axl and the lads. Going beyond that and keeping up the hype to levels where he’s booked to headline would be unheard of for dance acts in recent years but who knows.

Yeah Fred going straight to Other headliner is becoming more and more of a realistic possibility as time goes on, but I still think he’s gonna be on WH myself. He’ll draw a big crowd wherever he goes, but up against a Pyramid headliner + whoever’s on Other and I don’t see it being a problem, and I think they will’ve already had the Other headliners pencilled in before realising just how big Fred had gotten. I mean, is he really bigger than Disclosure where in 2014? Neither his albums or singles have charted as well, thus far, anyway.

[chazwwe]

As long as Fred doesn't clash with Elton I'll be happy. Him against GnR with Sam Smith on the other makes the most sense to mem

[Matt42]

23 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Ha well although I’m never gonna live that down, or The Killers the festival before that…

We’ve all been there 

[Matt42]

24 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

do you really think he’s gonna maintain this hype he has now for another couple of years beyond that to get the big gig, or that the festival would really consider him? ‘Cause I don’t. 

Tbh yes because he’s hitting this sweet niche spot that dance acts really struggle with.

You either go super commercial/poppy and become memeably bad / questionably a dance act (Calvin Harris / Swedish House Mafia).

Or you stick to underground sounds and there’s a glass ceiling to how big you can be. (bicep/et al).

Fred pricks my ears up because he might actually carve out the third route - Commercial in the sense that your music appeals like pop music does… but still retains the underground sound so you don’t lose the headz.

It’s academic at the moment but very interesting.

[Leyrulion]

10 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Yeah Fred going straight to Other headliner is becoming more and more of a realistic possibility as time goes on, but I still think he’s gonna be on WH myself. He’ll draw a big crowd wherever he goes, but up against a Pyramid headliner + whoever’s on Other and I don’t see it being a problem, and I think they will’ve already had the Other headliners pencilled in before realising just how big Fred had gotten. I mean, is he really bigger than Disclosure where in 2014? Neither his albums or singles have charted as well, thus far, anyway.

Watch them put him on the park stage now. 🙄

[Matt42]

I hope people understand what I mean by this comparison. It might be a bit too out there..

But I think what’s happening with Fred Again is exactly how Billie Eilish became a headliner and Lana / Lorde never did.

Selling music to the masses that people can easily digest while following very much in the footsteps of others that came before you that never made it to the top. Sometimes it takes the third or fourth or fifth person to do the same thing to reach a size big enough to headline. Fred seems to be succeeding already where others got stuck.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Matt42

[nikkic]

37 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Can you point me to where I said they couldn’t? Thanks

You know what you’re doing by always referencing “oldies” and “Facebook Mums”. 
 

[FloorFiller]

1 minute ago, Matt42 said:

Tbh yes because he’s hitting this sweet niche spot that dance acts really struggle with.

You either go super commercial/poppy and become memeably bad / questionably a dance act (Calvin Harris / Swedish House Mafia).

Or you stick to underground sounds and there’s a glass ceiling to how big you can be. (bicep/et al).

Fred pricks my ears up because he might actually carve out the third route - Commercial in the sense that your music appeals like pop music does… but still retains the underground sound so you don’t lose the headz.

It’s academic at the moment but very interesting.

He’s definitely losing the headz already imo. I like some of his music but it’s not exactly groundbreaking stuff and is all rather commercialised garage/house. If anything, if he maintains the trajectory he’s currently on people will be fucking sick of him in a couple of years time and I’m sure the opinion of him on here will change to be more negative as he goes more noticeably commercial, peaking with that Other headline slot. 

Obviously the festival has gone in new directions with headliners over the past fifteen or so years to get with the times with hip hop and pop headliners, but I can’t see them giving the top spot to an all-out electronic headliner when there’s an already existing stage at the site to cater to those huge electronic acts already.

[Matt42]

2 minutes ago, nikkic said:

You know what you’re doing by always referencing “oldies” and “Facebook Mums”. 
 

Evidence please thanks. Not really fair to accuse me of something if you don’t have a quote 🙂 ta.

2 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

He’s definitely losing the headz already imo. I like some of his music but it’s not exactly groundbreaking stuff and is all rather commercialised garage/house. If anything, if he maintains the trajectory he’s currently on people will be fucking sick of him in a couple of years time and I’m sure the opinion of him on here will change to be more negative as he goes more noticeably commercial, peaking with that Other headline slot. 

Obviously the festival has gone in new directions with headliners over the past fifteen or so years to get with the times with hip hop and pop headliners, but I can’t see them giving the top spot to an all-out electronic headliner when there’s an already existing stage at the site to cater to those huge electronic acts already.

I can’t see any of this effecting festival bookings or reducing his crowd though. Especially if people start feeling nostalgic for his debut tracks. Heck I’m even surprised we are experiencing a bit of a Skrillex revival.

[dreams_burn_down]

Bicep paid their dues in the trenches for years and built up a huge amount of goodwill. Even Disclosure had a couple of underground hits before they hit the mainstream. I think Fred will very quickly become a byword for anaemic, watered-down dance music, similarly to Jamie xx before him.

[Andre91]

Fred again’s scene moves on too fast for him to continue to be relevant enough over an extended period of time to wind up headlining. 

[chazwwe]

9 minutes ago, Andre91 said:

Fred again’s scene moves on too fast for him to continue to be relevant enough over an extended period of time to wind up headlining. 

Completely agree. I think it'd be cool for it to happen but I think he's gonna be someone that returns to the Other stage every other album.

[Leyrulion]

Just now, dreams_burn_down said:

Bicep paid their dues in the trenches for years and built up a huge amount of goodwill. Even Disclosure had a couple of underground hits before they hit the mainstream. I think Fred will very quickly become a byword for anaemic, watered-down dance music, similarly to Jamie xx before him.

His newer stuff doesn't hit the same spot for me as the first album did. 

If he was playing I'm not convinced I'd be there (having seen him 3 times already) and enjoying each one a little less. 

[snoochie1981]

He feels like he is currently on a similar trajectory that Jamie XX was on in 2015-16 ie the hype/buzz around him. I think Fred will need to avoid the mistake Jamie made and up his live act if he wants to go to the next level

[BenG92]

Jamie XX had a good album in 2015 and it's been a downward spiral ever since. Fred's only getting better IMO, but then again I'm very much a tourist in that scene. I think Bicep and Fred are heads and tails better than Jamie.

[Riggins]

21 hours ago, Matt42 said:

This thread is about bump up headliners I think, or first time / new headliners. Not for acts on the way down.

They've never done it before have they? Original line up back, world tour sold out in a frenzy, biggest act of their genre, endless bangers. Would be quality imo

[gfa]

22 hours ago, jannybruck said:

I'm already personally completely sick of reading and hearing about Fred everywhere (even as someone that adores electronic music), but I don't remember an artist in the entire history of this forum where someone has been mentioned on literally every page of multiple threads for months on end like he has. It's just a completely wild and ridiculous level of hype I've not seen before, regardless of what I think of the tunes.

I think maybe in a couple of years if there's a couple more genuine crossover hits and Emily fancies a punt he'll be able to do it, maybe up with Sam Fender and Dua Lipa on their next albums as a new blood trio. Bicep to me feel like they will reach Other headline level and be totally happy with that.

this this this

22 hours ago, Matt42 said:

Bicep don’t make tunes that people can sing along to. Fred does.

Sorry to be so pessimistic but it makes a massive difference in what crowd you can draw in. Think it played a big part in Disclosures and the Chemical Brothers successes. 

But I’d say Fred is more poppy than all of them, which really leans in his favour. 

Huge part of it, hope bicep make it to Other eventually though

18 hours ago, Matt42 said:

Calling it now, Sam Fender will be the annual option that you can never rule out because he will tour every summer. A bit like the Killers, KOL, Muse, whatever. There won’t be a summer without him on the road.

Will definitely pull out at least once

16 hours ago, a6l6e6x said:

I think Fred could comfortably headline other now, against someone like gnr he’d draw a huge crowd. I think at this point having him on west holts has a potential to be a lot of overcrowding

be interested to see what his tour dates and venues are, I think he could comfortably do ally pally for 2 nights alongside similar sized venues across the uk

His shows are a seriously good time with great crowds and amazing vibes (besides the occasional overuse of filming on phones when he plays one of the big numbers) and the positivity in his music would go down a storm on a big stage at glasto

i was hoping he’d headline boomtown but feel like he’s already too big for it

This is exactly what he'd want to do - builds the hype ala Wet Leg purposely going on park

14 hours ago, snoochie1981 said:

He feels like he is currently on a similar trajectory that Jamie XX was on in 2015-16 ie the hype/buzz around him. I think Fred will need to avoid the mistake Jamie made and up his live act if he wants to go to the next level

His APE set was unbelievable. Literally whole crowd full of groups hugging eachother by the end for Billie - never seen anything like it.

[km9]

14 minutes ago, gfa said:

 

His APE set was unbelievable. Literally whole crowd full of groups hugging eachother by the end for Billie - never seen anything like it.

I think you'll find that was the mdma

[gfa]

55 minutes ago, km9 said:

I think you'll find that was the mdma

haha - seriously though his live show is solid at the moment. what i'm concerned about is how well it might scale to far bigger venues / festival crowd. With it is now the pit would be amazing but the rest of the crowd not so sure

[stanh]

4 hours ago, gfa said:

his live show is solid at the moment. what i'm concerned about is how well it might scale to far bigger venues / festival crowd.

Yeah I've seen him a couple times now (but pre Boiler Room), only thing I'd love is for him to up the production/light-show now, especially in time for the bigger shows he has coming up! 

[sadimmock]

On 1/8/2023 at 1:23 PM, Matt42 said:

I’d say Fred is absolutely everywhere right now in the same way. All the big artists trying to work with him. Selling out hype shows in Brixton in a flash. I’ve just not seen anything like this for a dance act in ages. I think you need to delve a bit more into his records and look and how popular he’s already become on a global scale.

Far from background music.

When they played a Fred again song at my work Christmas party (and I work with a bunch of oldies) I had a moment of realisation where I noticed exactly where this is going. If you were there you’d realise how mad that is.

What I’m trying to say is what happens when his next release is even bigger. With even bigger collabs and radio friendly songs. If this trend continues I can only see it going one way…

Thank you. I certainly don't think he's bad at all; I just don't get what makes him stand out. Anyway I will delve a little deeper and that information from your Christmas do is interesting. I guess I'm just a bit out of things at the moment (and not really going out in the run up to Christmas hasn't helped). Anyway let's see what happens next! 

[Florian Saucer Attack]

The National will one day headline the Pyramid.

[SwallowOrSleepOnTheWetSpot]

13 minutes ago, Florian Saucer Attack said:

The National will one day headline the Pyramid.

Haven't they plateau'd at this point?

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, Florian Saucer Attack said:

The National will one day headline the Pyramid.

No they won't.