Centre stage for the show that would not die – interview with returning Folklore Festival organiser

The Folklore Festival is back with a bang, says organiser Warren Le Sueur – and it’s learned from past mistakes.

IN a year when events-led tourism could bring more people to the Island than ever before, a music festival that fell by the wayside following its debut in 2012 is making a return.

Despite a star-studded line-up consisting of Van Morrison, Ray Davies and The Kinks, the inaugural airing three years ago of Jersey’s Folklore Festival at the People’s Park failed to capture Islanders’ imaginations.

But now Liverpool-born Warren Le Sueur, half of the duo behind Folklore, is overseeing the final tweaks ahead of its return next month.

The 45-year-old, who with his business partner Warren Holt has brought the Island Jersey Live, is the first to admit that mistakes were made when the show debuted in 2012.

• British rock band James – best known for hits such as ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s a Star’ and ‘Laid’ – will headline the festival

• They will be supported by Reef, who penned the 90s hit ‘Place Your Hands’

• Jersey’s own singer-songwriters Nerina Pallot, Lloyd Yates and Tadgh Daly will also be on the bill

• Completing the line-up will be legendary band The Doors’ tribute act The Doors Alive

• Nine-piece group Gentleman’s Dub Club and Dreadzone will also perform

And as a result of poor ticket sales, the pair chose to shelve the event to avoid risking the future of Jersey Live.

But three years on, the two Warrens have decided that now is the time for it to make a return – in a new home at the foot of Val de la Mare reservoir.

‘There was a lot of goodwill at Folklore the first time round, but we felt it was just too risky to carry it on at the time and put Jersey Live in jeopardy,’ said Mr Le Sueur.

‘But since then, we have noticed a change.

‘Jersey Live sold out last year and people do genuinely feel more positive.

‘We made mistakes for Folklore but we have learned from them.

‘We had an expensive line-up for an event that people knew nothing of in a location that not everyone agreed with.

‘That forced us to put out a ticket price that was unappealing.

‘For me, The Kinks, Ray Davies and Van Morrison were amazing, but people thought it was just too expensive.’

Folklore, which will be held on Sunday 14 June, is another welcome addition to an impressive roster of events due to be held in the Island in 2015.

From Folklore and Jersey Live to the new Connections: Jersey Festival of Words and the Island Games, Jersey, according to Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham, could be set for its best ever year for events-led tourism.

And Mr Le Sueur agrees that events can play a huge role in attracting tourists.

‘Our secondary target audience is Guernsey, and why not target that market?,’ he said.

‘There are thousands of people there and there is certainly an appetite.

‘We had more than 1,500 people from Guernsey at Jersey Live last year, and for Folklore I think we have sold 100 tickets to people from Guernsey, but that is really picking up now.’

But for Mr Le Sueur, the benefit of events such as Jersey Live and Folklore have a huge hidden impact on the local economy and the retail sector.

‘It is not just guys or girls. It’s kids, it’s everyone who goes out and buys in the shops. The retailers will testify to that,’ he added.

The DJ, who moved to Jersey from Liverpool in 1991, was full of praise for the support he has received from Senator Farnham and the Economic Development Department since the first Jersey Live in 2004.

But he believes that for events like Jersey Live in particular to truly contribute to the tourism industry, there is only one option for growth.

‘That is to introduce camping,’ he said.

The idea was nearly introduced for the first-time in 2011, but the initiative was pulled at the 11th hour due to a lack of demand among festival-goers.

‘From a growth perspective, and for events like ours to have a chance to attract more visitors, it needs to be seriously looked at.

‘It won’t be tin-pot, it will be managed according to official guidelines and regulations and it would benefit locals and ease their choice about attending because getting back home safely can be difficult.

‘It is hard getting away from Jersey Live,whether it is booking an expensive taxi or getting a lift off family or friends.’

Mr Le Sueur criticised the price of taxis and cabs in the Island and said although he did not condone Islanders using illegal taxi services through a Facebook group, he said they were helping to keep Jersey’s night-time economy alive.

He added: ‘The Isle of Wight shares a similar identity to us in the sense that it is an Island.

‘Sixty-five thousand people attend the Isle of Wight festival and only 15,000 of them are locals.

‘I am not saying we could bring 50,000 people in, but we could bring a lot more if we were allowed camping.

‘On site we could house 12,500, but there are potential other sites we could move to if we outgrew our home at the Royal Jersey Showground, which we love.

‘And we have a great relationship with the parish officials and local residents. We would move only if growth meant we had to.’

After 12 years in the events business in Jersey, Mr Le Sueur has worked with a countless rocks stars and musicians, but he said that in real life they are often not as ‘rock’n’roll’ as people might expect. He said some of the big names, such as Ed Sheeran, the Prodigy, Kasabian and the Kooks, have been a pleasure to work with and there have certainly been no TVs thrown from hotel windows.

And as for acts that have slipped through the net over the years, there have been a few famous stars who have left him disappointed.

‘Stereophonics are one we are always trying for,’ he said. ‘We always try for Florence and the Machine, too, and at Folklore this year we missed out on The Wailers, as in Bob Marley and The Wailers. We were going to bring them over but unfortunately the dates didn’t fit.

‘We have learned not to get too attached to one artiste that we want on the bill because you can get dropped.’

But a fortnight before Folklore’s return, Mr Le Sueur assured music fans that this time the event was here to stay.

‘Folklore is going to be a great addition to the festival scene and we are definitely in it for the long haul,’ he said. ‘We are going to make this a great relaunch and there is great anticipation among locals.

‘I think the line-up is eclectic and alternative enough from Jersey Live.’

In 2013, Folklore Festival organisers had to cancel their second annual event, citing a lack of support from the States

The Tourism Development Fund advisory panel said that they wanted to support the alternative music festival but may have been taking a ‘risk’ had they backed it.

They claimed that the festival organisers did not give adequate financial information to a panel considering their application for a £100,000 grant.

Event planners said that they had to cancel because they had a lack of States support and because they could not get permission in time to hold it at their desired location in St Peter.

Village John Refault, the Constable of St Peter, said that the parish did not support plans to place the festival ‘in the heart of the village’.

He said: ‘They wanted to have the festival behind Manor Farm, Route de Manoir. It was going to be in the heart of the village where residents are and we were uncomfortable with that. ‘We would have been happy if it had been proposed to be at the Val de la Mare site where the Grass Roots festival was. There are fewer residents there and so there would have been much less disturbance.

‘At Manor Farm they already have disturbance with the Airport and we didn’t want any more disturbance to the parishioners.’

Regarding the lack of States backing, Peter Funk, chairman of the Tourism Development Fund advisory panel, said: ‘It appeared to the panel that the grant could be at risk and the organisers were asked for further information.

‘We were hoping to be supportive of this event but we did not have adequate financial information in which to make a positive decision on their grant.’

He added: ‘The Tourism Development Fund has been set up to support tourism and the Island’s economy. The States have provided a considerable fund for grants and we are encouraging applications from all sectors including the private sector. Understandably the process of reviewing applications and the due diligence involved is rigorous and thorough as it must be in any public body.’

The panel received an application from Folklore Festival organisers in autumn last year, asking for £100,000, of which £50,000 of the requested grant would be paid back to the States in 2015 and 2016.