With the festival season now in full swing, an enthusiastic team of BA (Hons) Music Promotion students recently visited Camp Bestival in Dorset to work alongside legendary festival promoter, Rob Da Bank and his team. Taking place between July 31st and August 3rd in the idyllic setting of Lulworth Castle, the students were given an opportunity to use their skills and knowledge to work behind the scenes in challenging roles such as artist liaison, stage management, and event assistance.
Now in its 7th year, Camp Bestival – the ‘little sister’ of the popular Isle of Wight music festival, Bestival – played host to some massive acts including Basement Jaxx and Sinead O’Connor, as well as an array of comedy, theatre, poetry and attractions. Talking us through his experience of working at this diverse festival, 1st Year BA (Hons) Music Promotion student Scott Wallis said:
“It was an excellent experience being given the opportunity to see behind the scenes of a big festival and getting involved in various roles. I was personally given the responsibility of running a smaller stage within the festival, which involved liaising with the artists and acts for the stage, looking after them, and making sure that the running order remained on schedule.”
“In the afternoon, I would head up to the main stage, where I was given numerous roles over the three days including; preparing and organising the main stage artist’s riders, setting up dressing rooms, and running drinks and riders around the site to numerous green rooms. I also had the opportunity to work in artist accreditation, where I was responsible for booking in acts upon arrival and ensuring they get to where they need to go.”
He continues: “Although it was very hard work at times with long hours and some exhausting tasks, at no point did it ever feel a chore. I got to work with a great bunch of people and it was a cool working environment. It was an incredible experience and also very surreal working with some big names like Johnny Marr, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. The weekend was a great insight into this wonderful industry.”
This work experience opportunity continues a long tradition of Southampton Solent University’s great relationship with festival promoter Rob Da Bank, who has in the past been a regular guest speaker for our annual, student organised music industries conference, SMILEfest.