LONDON, UK (Top40 Charts/ HMV/ MAMA Group) - HMV in partnership with its live music division, MAMA Group, are delighted to announce the phase-1 line-up and venue details of their hmv Next Big Thing annual music festival, which, with the valued support of Ted Baker and Gaymers Cider and media partners Time Out and Xfm, aims to showcase and celebrate the very best new and emerging talent drawn from all genres across the music spectrum tipped to make it big or to breakthrough in 2011.
The second hmv Next Big Thing festival will run for over a week between 4th - 13th February 2011 at six HMV/MAMA-owned venues in London: the Borderline, Camden Barfly, Heaven, the Jazz Cafe, the Relentless Garage and Upstairs at the Relentless Garage, while, in an exciting development, it will also be staged outside of the Capital for the first time with gigs at Birmingham's hmvInstitute and at the hmv Picturehouse in Edinburgh.
Each venue will host up to three acts per night and, in keeping with the remit of introducing new music to as many people as possible, entry to the gigs and label nights will be for the bargain price of a flat �10 (incl. booking fee), whoever the artist and whichever the venue.
After last year's successful launch, which saw some eighty breakthrough artists perform live, including the likes of Ellie Goulding, Professor Green, Marina and the Diamonds, Paloma Faith, Eliza Doolittle and You Me At Six, the hmv Next Big Thing festival is growing in size, with the promoters expecting to showcase well over one hundred new acts this time around, including many people's tips for major breakthrough success in 2011 - Clare Maguire, Fenech-Soler, Dutch Uncles and Lauren Pritchard.
Tickets are again priced just �10 (no booking fee), and will go on general sale at 9.00am, Friday, 3rd December, with 3 ways to buy: Online at www.hmvnextbigthing.com; by phone to the hmvtickets call centre on 0843 221 0100 or in person at hmvtickets box offices at selected HMV stores nationwide.
Such has been the impact of the hmv Next Big Thing that organisers are also looking to extend the brand to the outdoor Summer festivals circuit, and HMV can announce that there will be an hmv Next Big Thing stage for new artists at The Great Escape 2011 festival in Brighton next year (12 - 14 May).
The 2011 hmv Next Big Thing will officially kick off on 4th February with a Ted Baker presents.... club-night at the Relentless Garage and Upstairs at the Relentless Garage - underlining the fashion brand's enthusiastic support of music and cutting-edge new artists. "Ted's always on the lookout for fresh new talent," says Craig Smith, Brand Communication Director at Ted Baker. "As no ordinary designer label, we like to engage with audiences in extraordinary ways, and that's why we're proud to support the up-and-coming musicians taking part in HMV's Next Big Thing."
Gaymers cider are also supporting the hmv Next Big Thing for the first time, and a number of the gigs and dance nights across the duration of the festival will be billed Gaymers Hotspots - special nights presented by Gaymers cider to showcase the very best in high energy music experiences. Victoria Walker, Brand Marketing Gaymers cider says: "Gaymers cider is the number one live music cider and is proud to support the hmv Next Big Thing. This event will give music lovers a sneak preview of the hottest acts of the summer. Some of the acts performing at hmv Next Big Thing you'll no doubt later find on festival bills over the summer and there's something very special about saying you've seen them months before the masses. We'll look forward to seeing you there and checking out some new music talent over a pint of Gaymers cider."
Over fifty artists have already been confirmed out of the 100-plus acts that the festival promoters are looking to book (see separate listing), and more acts will be announced shortly. Alongside the gigs there will also be some very cool label nights, featuring the likes of Deconstruction, Communion, Transgressive, Moshi Moshi, Memphis Industries, Mute and Blow Up.
The hmv Next Big Thing festival will additionally be recorded for broadcast as exclusive added-value content for the entertainment retailer's hmv.com, hmvdigital.com and purehmv offers - tying-in as ';bundle' deals with record labels to support future album releases by the featured new artists.
Each year-end the record industry and music media is increasingly gripped by feverish speculation around which new artists are likely to make it big in the twelve months that follow. In the past, the gig-going public has been frustrated in having to wait months before catching a glimpse of these new-stars-in-the-making, but the hmv Next Big Thing has changed all this by providing an early platform for fans to see these fresh new faces perform live - in great locations and at highly accessible prices.
HMV and MAMA have always supported new and breakthrough artists, recognising that they represent the future lifeblood of the Music Industry, but the hmv Next Big Thing takes this encouragement to a new level, especially as artists can also expect promotional support instore, online and digitally for their new releases as part of the initiative.
Artist Clare Maguire, tipped by HMV and other Industry commentators to be the ';next big thing' of 2011, comments: "Growing up in Birmingham I was constantly in record stores, getting lost in music and fuelling my dreams of making my own record one day. HMV was one of the key places where I got my musical and visual inspiration from at that time, so it's fantastic to be given this platform from them now to play to new faces and potential fans. My music means everything to me and I hope this show and the other gigs they are putting on for Next Big Thing will trigger someone in the crowd to start their own musical journey, in same way all the music I first heard there created belief in me."
Simon Fox, CEO HMV, comments: "The success of the inaugural hmv Next Big Thing earlier this year, which gave timely support to the likes of Ellie Goulding and Marina and the Diamonds as they launched their careers, has helped to lay the foundations of an even bigger and more exciting event for 2011, which I trust has now established itself as an annual event that marks the beginning of the festival season. We're also delighted to have on board two such engaging brands as Ted Baker and Gaymers cider, which, alongside our media partners at Time Out and Xfm, share our passion for music and new talent."
Jason Legg, hmvlive Manager and co-promoter of the hmv Next Big Thing, comments: "Predicting which new acts will breakthrough as we approach each new year has become a bit of a national past-time, so we're really pleased to be giving fans an early opportunity to see some of these fresh new faces that they will have heard so much about - and not just in London, but also in Birmingham and Edinburgh. Our aim is to further extend the scope of the hmv Next Big Thing as we open new venues around the country, and to take the brand to other festivals in time. HMV has always done its best to support new talent, and now that we have access to our own venues we feel the hmv Next Big Thing is a great way to take this engagement to a new level - not only does it represent a great opportunity for artists and labels, but, just as importantly, it has already established itself as a great platform for fans to engage with new talent at an early stage in their careers."
