Matt Blumberg launched the tribute festival, GlastonBarry, in 2013 as a way of doing something positive and joyful for his hometown of Barry, Wales.
But what started as a local festival of 500 people is today a three-day event attended by an audience of 18,000. “It started off as a community incentive, and a bit of fun, and it quickly grew into a monster. It’s bonkers,” the former primary school teacher said.
GlastonBarry – a play on Glastonbury – is one of more than 30 outdoor tribute festivals that have taken the UK by storm. Others include Glastonbudget, Tribfest, and Big Fake Festival, which showcase tribute acts such as Oasish, Antarctic Monkeys, Coldplace, Badness, the Fillers, Stereotonics and Blondied.
According to The Entertainment Agents Association [TEAA], tickets for tribute festivals have been “on the rise” over the past five years.
“These events have seen a significant growth in popularity, with some festivals having to move to larger venues due to increased popularity,” said Paul Winteridge, immediate past president of TEAA.
This week, Steps star Ian “H” Watkins wasforced to change the name of his Cowbridge tribute festival, Cowchella– where the likes of Harry Styled UK and Got to be Taylor Swift are due to perform – after organisers of the famous California event made an official complaint.
Watkins said he viewed it as a “massive compliment that they feel like our little festival is a little bit of a threat to their ginormous, juggernaut of a machine”.
Winteridge said the soaring costs of concerts were one of the reasons behind the popularity of tribute events, especially during a cost of living crisis. There was also a nostalgia factor, as well as the fact that theywere accessible for families.
At GlastonBarry, weekend tickets cost £65, making it great value for money, said Blumberg, who founded Mack Events with his cousin – a former aeronautical engineer. “We cram it with 22 acts in two days, and there’s literally something for everyone, from Eminem to Bad Manners.
“A lot of the acts we book, like Queen, Bob Marley or George Michael, are tributing people you’re never going to be able to see live again. We don’t take it seriously, we even encourage fancy dress. We get a lot of hen dos and stag dos, as well as families bringing their kids.”
Although tribute acts have been around since the 1960s, modern advances in lighting, stage makeup and sound technology means musicians can look more authentic now.
They can even become huge brands in their own right, like the Bootleg Beatles and Björn Again, who have been paying tribute to Abba longer than the original band were together.
“In the early days, we would get a lot of people saying: ‘Why would you want to go and see fake bands? Book some real acts’,” Blumberg said. “But that’s changing.
“Some of the bands we’ve had are honestly amazing, like Oasish. I’ve seen the real Oasis a few times, and Liam Gallagher stormed off stage and didn’t come back. They played their latest album rather than crowd favourites. Whereas the tribute acts get everyone singing along.”
Oasish formed in 2004 and were voted the UK’s official No 1 Oasis tribute band by TEAA. Paul Higginson, who plays Liam Gallagher, has been in tribute bands since 1999, when he performed as Kelly Jones in Stereotonics.
“We play about 80 to 90 gigs a year,” Higginson explained. “It’s become like breathing. As soon as the wig and parka go on, and I take the first step on to the stage, the shoulders go back, the chest comes out, and the chin goes up in the air. The swagger comes out all of a sudden.”
Higginson compared his performance to acting on any West End stage. “You play your role, you sing your lines. I never take the character home with me.”
The band were even asked to play at Wembley Stadium on the day of the 2013 FA Cup Final when Manchester City were playing Wigan. “We were in the hospitality bit. I’m stood there singing Wonderwall, and both Noel and Liam Gallagher were going up the escalator. They leaned over and started clapping and cheering.”
Higginson said the difficulty in securing tickets for the Oasis reunion concerts had driven ticket sales for his band. “We do get a lot of people saying: ‘We couldn’t get tickets to see Oasis, so we’ll go see Oasish instead.’”
When Ed Faulkner, a member of the Beautiful Couch (a Beautiful South tribute band) started Tribfest, one of the UK’s first tribute festivals, in 2007, it was a “massive gamble”.
“It didn’t help that that was the year of the floods in Hull, and we were up to our waists in water. We lost a lot of money. But I had a vision.”
Within a few years Faulkner’s dedication started to pay off. “We’ve seen a gradual increase in ticket sales over the years. We’re licensed for 5,000 people and we got about four and a half last year,” he said.
“We can keep control of things other festivals can’t, like toilets, showers, and security. We get a lot of families coming for that reason. They don’t go to Leeds any more, they come to ours, because there’s nobody setting fire to tents at the end of the weekend.”
If Glastonbury is the Waitrose of the music festival world, Faulkner added, “then we’re the Lidl. I suppose me and my daughter Dempsey [who helps organise the festival] are the Michael and Emily Eavis of the north.”
Faulkner also commended the quality of current tribute acts. “When people come to see them they’re just blown away. It’s like they’ve landed on the moon.
“I remember we had a Muse tribute band from Holland, who were used to playing little social clubs in and around Amsterdam, and the lead singer came off stage and went: ‘Wow, this is like our Olympic Games.’”