Isle of Wight Festival

The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England.[1] It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.[2][3]

Isle of Wight Festival

Main stage of the Isle of Wight Festival in 2014
GenreRock, pop
Dates15–18 June 2023
Location(s)Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight, England
Years active1968–1970
2002–2019
2021–present
Websiteisleofwightfestival.com

The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early festivals and the unexpectedly high attendance levels led, in 1971, to Parliament adding a section to the Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971 preventing overnight open-air gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special licence from the council. The event was revived in 2002.[4]

Original festival

The original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers (Ron and Ray Foulk) under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited and their younger brother Bill Foulk. The venues were Ford Farm (near Godshill), Wootton and Afton Down (near Freshwater) respectively.[5] The 1969 event featured Bob Dylan and the Band. This was Dylan's first paid performance since his motor cycle accident some three years earlier, and was held at a time when many still wondered if he would ever perform again. Followers from across the world trekked to the Isle of Wight for the performance. Estimates of 150,000–250,000 attended. The 1969 festival opened on Friday 29 August—eleven days after the close of Woodstock. Dylan was living in Woodstock, New York, at the time and it was widely believed that he would perform there, after the event had been "put in his own backyard". As it happened, Dylan left for the Isle of Wight on 15 August—the day the Woodstock festival began.

The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early festivals; indeed it was said at the time to be one of the largest human gatherings in the world, with estimates of over 600,000, surpassing the attendance at Woodstock. Included in the line-up of over fifty performers were Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, The Doors, The Who, Lighthouse, Ten Years After, Terry Reid, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Joni Mitchell, The Moody Blues, Melanie, Donovan, Gilberto Gil, Free, Chicago, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Leonard Cohen, Jethro Tull, Taste (Irish band) and Tiny Tim. The unexpectedly high attendance levels led, in 1971, to Parliament adding a section to the Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971 preventing overnight open-air gatherings of more than 5,000 people on the island without a special licence from the council.[6]

The 1970 festival was filmed by a film crew under director Murray Lerner, who at that point had just directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary Festival of the Newport Folk Festival. The footage passed to Lerner in settlement of legal fees after a dispute with the Foulk brothers in which each side claimed against the other for breach of contract. Lerner distilled material from the festival into the film Message to Love (released on video in the US as Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival: The Movie[7]) released theatrically in 1996 and subsequently on DVD. In addition to this film, Lerner has created full-length films focused on performances by individual artists at the 1970 festival. To date there have been individual films of Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Moody Blues, Free, Taste (Irish band), Leonard Cohen, Jethro Tull, The Doors and Joni Mitchell. Dave Roe (ex Liverpool Collegiate) produced all the psychedelic artwork for posters and advertising material.

1968

The first festival was held at Hells Field, Ford farm, near Godshill, on 31 August and 1 September 1968, and was attended by about 10,000 people.[8] Jefferson Airplane headlined, with Arthur Brown, The Move, Smile, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, Plastic Penny, Fairport Convention, and The Pretty Things also performing.[9]

1969
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 1969

This took place on 30 and 31 August 1969 at Wootton, with an estimated attendance of 150,000.[8] The line-up included Bob Dylan, The Band, The Nice, The Pretty Things, Marsha Hunt, The Who, Third Ear Band, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Fat Mattress, Joe Cocker. Many celebrities of the day also attended the Festival, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, George Harrison with Pattie Boyd, Ringo Starr with Maureen Starkey, Keith Richards and Jane Fonda.[10]

1970
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 1970

This event was held between 26 and 30 August 1970 at Afton Down. Attendance has been estimated by the Guinness Book of Records to have been 600,000 or even 700,000.[11] However promoter Ray Foulk has said he believes it to have been half of that.[8] It was widely reported on, due to its line-up and extremely high attendance. Acts included Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Chicago, The Doors, Lighthouse, The Who (whose set produced a live album), Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Supertramp, The Moody Blues, Joan Baez, Free, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Kris Kristofferson, Donovan, Ralph McTell, John Sebastian, Terry Reid, Taste (Irish band), and Shawn Phillips.

Revived festival details

The event was revived in 2002 at Seaclose Park, a recreation ground on the outskirts of Newport. It has been held annually since that year, progressively extending itself northwards beyond Seaclose Park along the fields of the eastern Medina valley. Many artists have performed since its revival including The Rolling Stones, Blondie, Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams, Paolo Nutini, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Prodigy, Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Boy George, Sex Pistols, Rod Stewart, Calvin Harris, Stereophonics, Yungblud, Pulp, Faithless, Donovan, Ray Davies, Robert Plant, Queen + Adam Lambert, David Bowie, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Manic Street Preachers, The Who, The High Kings, Placebo, R.E.M., Travis, Coldplay, The Zombies, Pearl Jam, The Proclaimers, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, The Police, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Nile Rodgers and Chic, The Stone Roses, Fleetwood Mac, Madness, Lewis Capaldi, Paloma Faith, Kings of Leon and Rick Astley. Bowie's 13 June 2004 concert would prove to be his last live performance in the UK following emergency angioplasty in Hamburg after a concert in Germany twelve days later which eventually saw him retire from touring.[12] It was sponsored by Nokia from 2004 to 2006. The promoters of the event now are Solo Promoters Ltd.

There was no festival in 2020.

2002
Main article: Rock Island 2002

Held 3 June 2002

2003
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2003

Held 14–15 June 2003

2004
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2004

Held 11–13 June 2004

2005
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2005

Held 10–12 June 2005

2006
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2006

Held 9–11 June 2006

2007
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2007

Held 8–10 June 2007

2008
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2008

Held 13–15 June 2008

2009
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2009

Held 12–14 June 2009

2010
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2010

Held 11–13 June 2010[16]

2011
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2011

Held 10–12 June 2011[16]

2012
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2012

Held 22–24 June 2012

2013

Held 14–16 June 2013

2014

Held 12–15 June 2014

2015

Held 11–14 June 2015

2016

Held 9–12 June 2016

2017

Held 8–11 June 2017

2018

Held 21–24 June 2018

2019
Main article: Isle of Wight Festival 2019

Held 13–16 June 2019

2020

The 2020 event, which had been scheduled for 11–15 June, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

On 12–14 June 2020, Absolute Radio and Sky Arts both held virtual festivals, broadcasting selected acts from the festival's archives, including exclusive footage from the 1970 edition.[19][20]

2021

The 2021 event was originally scheduled to take place on 17–20 June,[21] it was postponed to 16–19 September, the first time that it took place in the autumn.[22]

Sky Arts broadcast sets from the show each night of the festival from 7pm with Becky Hill, Kaiser Chiefs and Razorlight's sets shown alongside the headliners.[24][25][26]

2022

The 2022 event took place on 16–19 June.

2023

The 2023 event took place on 15–18 June.

Awards
List of awards and nominations received by the Isle of Wight Festival
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
2007 UK Festival Awards Best Major Festival — Won [27]
Outstanding Contribution to UK Festivals John Giddings Won
2009 ILMC 21 Arthur Awards Liggers' Favourite Festival — Won [28]
2015 UK Festival Awards Best Family Festival — Won [29]
Headline Performance of the Year Fleetwood Mac Won
Isle of Wight Visitor Attraction Association Awards Best Activity/Event — Won [30]
Festival Baby Awards Best Festival — Won
2016 Family Traveller Awards Best Family Festival — Won [31]
ILMC 28 Arthur Awards Liggers' Favourite Festival —Nominated
Live Music Business Awards Best Festival — Won [32]
Red Funnel Isle of Wight Awards Best Event to Lie Back & Soak Up the Sounds — Won [33]
2017 ILMC 29 Arthur Awards Liggers' Favourite Festival —Nominated
Red Funnel Isle of Wight Awards Best Event to Lie Back & Soak Up the Sounds — Won [34]
2018 Red Funnel Isle of Wight Awards Best Event to Lie Back & Soak Up the Sounds — Won [35]
Audio Production Awards Best New Producer Nick Harris Won [36]
Event Production Awards Music Event of the Year — Won [37]
ILMC 30 Arthur Awards Liggers' Favourite Festival —Nominated
Music Week Awards Festival of the Year —Nominated [38]
Radio Academy Awards Best Coverage of an Event Absolute RadioNominated [39]
Best New Presenter James BayNominated
Best Factual Storytelling —Nominated
Q Awards Best Festival/Event —Nominated [40]
UK Festival Awards Best Festival Production —Nominated [41]
Best Major Festival —Nominated
Line-Up of the Year —Nominated
2019 Broadcast Awards Best Music Programme —Nominated [42]
Event Production Awards Music Event of the Year —Nominated [43]
Live Music Business Awards Best Festival Performance Biffy ClyroNominated [44]
Music Week Awards Festival of the Year —Nominated [45]
Q Awards Q Best Festival/Event —Nominated [46]
2020 Pollstar Awards International Music Festival of the Year —Nominated [47]

See also

References
  1. "Isle of Wight Festival". festivalessentials.net. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  2. "History Isle of Wight Festival History | Red Funnel Isle of Wight Ferries". Redfunnel.co.uk. 1 September 1970. Archived from the original on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  3. Perrone, Pierre (24 April 2013). "Richie Havens: Folk singer and songwriter who became a hero of the counter-culture". The Independent. London.
  4. "Isle of Wight Festival History 1968–2013". Isleofwightfestival.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  5. "BBC Hampshire History – Isle of Wight Festival history". BBC. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
  6. Isle of Wight County Council Act 1971, c.lxxi, ss.5–6
  7. "Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival". 21 February 1997 – via IMDb.
  8. "2010 audio interview with Ray Foulk". Onthewight.com. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  9. Hinton, Brian (1995). Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festivals, 1968–70. Castle Communications. p. 21. ISBN 1-86074-147-9.
  10. "Isle of Wight Festival History – 1968 to today". Isle of Wight Guru. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  11. "The original Isle of Wight festivals – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  12. "David Bowie's agent says the musician has 'performed his last live show'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  13. "Nokia Isle of Wight Festival 2006". Isle of Wight Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
  14. "Isle of Wight Festival 2007". Isle of Wight Council. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
  15. "Isle of Wight Festival 2008". Isle of Wight Council. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
  16. Archived January 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  17. "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers to headline UK festival". BBC News. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  18. Brandle, Lars (27 March 2020). "Isle of Wight Festival 2020 Is Canceled Due to Coronavirus". Billboard. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  19. "Absolute Radio to host virtual Isle of Wight Festival featuring classic performances". Absolute Radio. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  20. Peacock, Tim (11 June 2020). "Virtual Isle Of Wight Festival To Be Televised This Coming Weekend". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  21. Jones, Damian (30 March 2020). "Isle Of Wight Festival announces new dates and ticket details for 2021". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  22. "Covid: Isle of Wight Festival pushed back another three months". BBC News. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  23. "Huge 2021 Line Up Announced". isleofwightfestival.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  24. Radio Times 11–17 September 2021 page 111
  25. Radio Times 18–24 September 2021 pages 57 and 67
  26. "TV Guide". Sky.com.
  27. "And the Winners Were…". European Festival Awards. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  28. "Arthurs Hall of Fame – ILMC". Ilmc.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  29. "The UKFA 2015 Winners | UK Festival Awards". Festivalawards.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  30. Island Echo (23 March 2016). "ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL WINS BEST EVENT IN VISITOR ATTRACTION AWARDS". Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  31. "2016 Winners – Family Traveller". familytraveller.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  32. "All the winners from the Live Music Business Awards". Musicweek.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  33. "My Isle of Wight 2016 Award Winners". Redfunnel.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  34. "Winners of 2017 My Isle of Wight Awards revealed | Media & PRl". Redfunnel.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  35. "MyIsleofWight 2018 Award Winners". Redfunnel.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  36. "2018 Audio Production Awards – shortlist". RadioToday. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  37. Media, Mash. "Event Production Awards 2020 – Winners 2018". eventproductionawards.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  38. "2018 Music Week Awards: And the nominees are..." Musicweek.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  39. "2018 ARIAS Nominees". Radio Academy. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  40. "Q Awards 2018 Shortlist Nominations Announced!". Q Magazine. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  41. "Shortlists 2018 | UK Festival Awards 2019". Archived from the original on 21 June 2019.
  42. "Broadcast Awards shortlist 2019 revealed". Broadcast. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  43. Wood, Stuart (15 March 2019). "Winners announced for the 2019 Event Production Awards!". Access All Areas. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  44. "Make Your Vote Count". awards.livemusicawards.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  45. "2019 Music Week Awards finalists revealed..." Musicweek.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  46. "Q Awards 2019 shortlist nominations announced". Recordoftheday.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  47. "31st Annual Pollstar Awards To Honor The Year's Best". Pollstar.com. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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