Another year, another summer heatwave. Climate change is definitely a thing, but at this point I’m not entirely sure the organisers of Bloodstock Open Air aren’t just getting out and pushing South Derbyshire a few thousand miles closer to the sun.
Welcome to Arrakis 2026.
Time for one of the highlights of my year, the rather excellent SOS festival. A festival envisioned 12 years ago by Lynne Hampson of Rocksector Records as an antidote to the plethora of family un-friendly festivals around at the time. Continue reading
The biggest underground metal festival in the world, Bloodstock Open Air kicks off today. Headlined by titans of metal like Judas Priest, Nightwish, and Gojira, the festival has grown over the years from a small cottage enterprise to a huge undertaking. One of the lynchpins of the operation is Vicky Hungerford, as one of the four directors of the festival. She is directly responsible for booking the bands on the fest and attracting world-class talent every year. Thus, she helps to shape rock and metal history in the process year in and year out. We chatted with Vicky by phone a few days ago to get her take on BOA 2018, the challenges of planning such a big festival, and much more.