aaamusic | On 19, Sep 2011

The UK Festival Awards 2011 needs YOUR vote!

Anthem of the Year, Best Breakthrough Artist, Fan’s Favourite Festival, Best Overseas Festival and Headline Performance of the Year winners to be decided by fans

Official Launch Party at Red Bull Studios in London

The public voting phase of the UK Festival Awards kicked off in true style at an Official Launch Party at the Red Bull Studios in London, with UK Festival Awards MD James Drury at the helm to formally ‘cut the ribbon’ on a limited fan voting period for the categories of Best Overseas Festival, Headline Performance Of the Year, Best Breakthrough Artist, Anthem of the Summer (shortlist compiled by Virtual Festivals readers) and new for 2011: Fan’s Favourite Festival. Winners will be announced at the UK Festival Awards ceremony at London’s Roundhouse on Tuesday, 15 November.

Music fans and festival-goers will now have their say on which festival has left them with lifelong memories and which artists had them singing all the way back to the campsite. From the major music festivals down to the smaller, niche boutique events, the show-stopping headliners to the hottest up-and-coming artists, to the songs that defined the 2011 summer festival season, winners of these categories will all be decided upon by a public vote.

Readers of Virtual Festivals have decided the shortlist for Anthem Of The Summer, which last year went to Florence & The Machine’s uber-hit ‘You Got The Love’. The nominees in this category define the soundtrack of the 2011 festival season – from the perfect pop of Jessie J’s ‘Price Tag’, the bangin’ beats of Chase & Status’ ‘Blind Faith’, long time crowd pleaser ‘Common People’ by Pulp to festival favourites by Ed Sheeran, Bombay Bicycle Club, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Foo Fighters, Noah and the Whale and Mercury winner PJ Harvey.

Last year saw Mumford & Sons take home the title of Best Breakthrough Artist, and this year’s shortlist features a highly competitive mix of hot new talent – from the new urban attitude of Katy B and Wretch 32, the fresh indie sounds of The Vaccines, Viva Brother and The Naked and Famous to the new breed of solo artists like Ed Sheeran, Anna Calvi and Ghostpoet to name just a few.

Headline Performance of the Year (awarded to AC/DC at Download last year) will be battled out by a wide range of artists who all left their audiences screaming for more this summer – from arena acts such as Muse (Reading / Leeds), Foo Fighters (Isle of Wight / T in the Park), Linkin Park (Download), U2 (Glastonbury), Coldplay (Glastonbury, T in the Park), Beyonce (Glastonbury) and Kayne West (The Big Chill) indie champions The National (Latitude), Pulp (Isle of Wight, Wireless, Glastonbury, Reading / Leeds) and White Lies (Beach Break Live), classic artists like The Eagles (Hop Farm), Rod Stewart (Hard Rock Calling) and Blondie (Kendal Calling, Camp Bestival) to dance heroes The Chemical Brothers (Wireless), Pendulum (Global Gathering, South West Four, Bestival) and Klaxons (Boardmasters).

Acclaimed overseas festivals such as Bonnaroo, Fuji Rocks, Hellfest, Oxegen, Lollapalooza and Primavera Sound will duke it out for Best Overseas Festival (won last year by Snowbombing), with fierce competition for Fan’s Favourite Festival, the shortlists of which a celebration of everything that is great about the UK festival market with all sizes and genres reflected.

Full nominations lists for these categories can be viewed on www.festivalawards.com <http://www.festivalawards.com> – voting opens on Friday, 16 September and will close Monday 10 October.

Other awards that will be presented at the UK Festival Awards ceremony on 15 November include the categories of Best Major / Medium / Small Festivals, Best Metropolitan Festival, Best New Festival, Best Toilets, Best Family Festival and Best Line-Up – these will be decided by a judging panel made up of journalists and reviewers who have scored each festival according to criteria set by the industry.

The following Awards are decided by UK Festival Awards’ panels of experts and media partners, and will be announced on the night: Agent of the Year, Concession of the Year, The Greener Festival Award, Best Sponsor Activation, The Extra-Festival Activity Award, Outstanding Contribution to Festival Production, Promoter of the Year and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

Festival Awards Ltd MD James Drury said: “Over 200 UK festivals are taking part in the Awards this year, which is the most we’ve ever had. It’s testament to the vibrancy of the British market, despite some challenging economic conditions. I can’t wait to find out who’s won!”

The UK Festival Awards were launched in 2004 and are a key staple of the live music and festival industry calendar. The Festival Awards Conference was first developed in 2008 following huge demand from the industry, and has established itself as a crucial business information tool and open forum for the UK festival industry, celebrated by leading promoters, festival directors and agents as an integral part of the business.

This year’s Festival Conference takes place the same day as the Awards, at the HMV Forum, with panel discussion topics including weather, social media commerce, consumer loyalty plus a Q&A with Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn.

Combined tickets for the UK Festival Awards and the UK Festival Conference are on sale now from www.theticketfactory.com/ukfa/online <http://www.theticketfactory.com/ukfa/online> .