Bludfest: Does YUNGBLUD's own 'affordable' music festival have good intent?
Fed up with inflated, inaccessible ticket prices, English recording artist YUNGBLUD is launching his own budget-friendly music festival.
"Bludfest" is set to take place on 11 August in the Iconic Milton Keynes Bowl, which in the past has hosted the likes of David Bowie, and Green Day.
YUNGBLUD, real name Dom Harrison, thinks that currently festivals are "unrepresentative of people" - so he’s fixing the price point of Bludfest at ￡49.50 (approximately €58).
"It's like massive ticket charges, massive prices that most of the time aren't really going to the artist anyway," he said, speaking in a recent interview.
He adds music festivals are becoming inaccessible when really they should be about "having fun and making memories."
Joining him on the bill are recent collaborator Lil Yachty, duo Soft Play, Nessa Barrett, Lola Young and Jazmin Bean. The Damned are also playing, in an "icons" slot.
The festival is also offering a "Make a Friend" feature for fans attending alone. Solo ticket holders can either chat on a Discord channel before the event, or go to a dedicated tent on site and meet in person.
Responding to criticism
YUNGBLUD has recently responded to criticism surrounding his festival, with some online voices questioning its "overall authenticity" and underlying intent.
"It’s a one-day ticket for a sick festival – Reading and Leeds is ￡115, Wireless is ￡80, British Summertime is ￡150, and that’s just the fact of the matter," he stated in a video shared on X.
He's denied the idea that he'd be profiting "millions and millions" from the festival and explained that when discussing the suggested ticket price with his promoter, the response was "the economics don't work," suggesting that he is merely "barely breaking even" from the event.
“What you’ve got to take into account is that I have to pay each artist fairly, and that is already a problem – artists don’t get paid enough money. I have to pay them their fee, then I have to bring their crews over, then I have to bring their lighting over, and then I have to bring their stage design over, et cetera. Then I have to look after the food for them, look after the toilets for them, and then I have to look after the security for them."
Similar pricing debates arose at the end of last year when enigmatic UK music collective, SAULT, made up of the likes of producer Inflo, Little Simz, and Cleo Sol, released tickets for their debut live show starting at ￡99.
Many expressed outrage online, deeming the price excessive. However, others defended the collective, with one X user noting, "You’ve basically been allowed to listen to their music for free for the past 5 years, them people need to eat."
Another pointed out, “People talking about ‘inaccessible pricing’ have no clue about surviving as a musician lol and how much you get paid from streaming, literally [have] no clue at all."
As well as Bludfest, Yungblud is also working on a new record, his fourth. In the past he’s written about darkness and depression, but says this one has a more positive tone.
“I’ve sung about the things that really hurt me in the beginning. And this new album flips over and it’s about the light. It’s about wanting to be alive and wanting to be with my friends and thinking I can get through it because these people have given me some hope,” he said.
If you can't make "Bludfest", click here to find out about 12 other unforgettable European music events you don’t want to miss this year.
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