Splendour, Dot To Dot and Beat The Streets are all hoping to scoop a national title at the 18th UK Festival Awards with fans able to vote online for their favourites before the 23 October deadline.
All three festivals are delivered by the Nottingham based live music company DHP Family which has seen significant growth in its festival portfolio having added Derbyshire’s Bearded Theory in 2022, which is also in the running for a number of awards.
This year Splendour marked its 15th edition with a huge line up over two days in Wollaton Park headlined by Madness and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. The festival has grown to be one of the city’s biggest summer events and is up for the Best Medium Festival.
One of the UK’s first metropolitan festivals, Dot To Dot has firmly established itself as the place for new music discovery across two editions in Nottingham and Bristol. As well as giving audiences the chance to discover the next generation, newer artists also have the opportunity to perform in front of engaged crowds. This year saw the multi-venue festival continue to showcase the very best emerging talent with Yard Act headlining on the late May bank holiday, after packing out the Bodega when performing lower down the bill the previous year. Up for Best Small Festival and Best Metropolitan Festival.
Legendary Nottingham folk-punk band Ferocious Dog were one of the acts playing for free at the charity festival Beat The Streets in January. Last year, Beat the Streets was honoured to receive the Sarah Nulty Community Impact Award at the UK Festival Awards for its vital work fundraising to tackle homelessness in Nottingham. Since launching in 2018, Beat the Streets has donated more than £400,000 to Framework, the charity working to support rough sleepers. Up for the Grassroots Award, this category is for festivals where organisers sacrifice their time, energy and finances in order to host an event that’s true to their ideals and free of commercial interests.
After last year’s fundraising total was announced, DHP Family’s MD George Akins said: “As a Nottingham based company, it means a lot to all of us that work here to continue to deliver a fantastic Beat the Streets festival each January as we know how vital the funds are to Framework and the people they support across the city.
“We hope to continue to use our expertise as music promoters and festival organisers to make a difference. We are extremely grateful to all the artists who give their time to play and each and every person that bought a ticket as together, we are helping to support something very worthwhile.”
Having added Bearded Theory to the portfolio in 2022, this year was DHP’s first opportunity to put its own stamp on it while maintaining its charm – the 2023 edition was a resounding success with a well-received line-up with real strength and depth featuring an eclectic mix of artists. Iconic acts such as New York’s Interpol, Primal Scream and Pretenders led the bill with Billy Bragg, Gogol Bordello, Gary Numan, Flogging Molly, Sleeper and Echo and the Bunnymen playing across three stages while newer talent included Alvvays, Coach Party, Pigs x 7, She Drew The Gun, Snapped Ankles and Viagra Boys.
Dot To Dot had another stellar year with a sold out Bristol leg and headline performance from Mercury nominated Yard Act.
2023 has been a year of significant growth for DHP Family as a festival promoter with a total of seven festivals delivered by a tight-knit team of around 25 people, programming more than 330 artists over 50 stages.
Shortlists will be announced on October 26 2023. Panel judges then collectively determine the winner, which will be announced at the UK Festival Awards on December 5 2023.
Vote for your favourites in the 2023 UK Festival Awards for a chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher. www.festivalawards.com
