5X: The digital answer to no-festival summer
Virtual arts event features 40-plus stages across the globe
Can you have summer in Canada without summer music festivals? It’s a question on people’s minds as the COVID-19 pandemic put the kibosh on events from coast to coast to coast.
Even with a complete overhaul of how we social-distance in groups, even by holding events outside four-walls-and-a-roof venues, the possibility of any kind of mass gathering to enjoy live music and arts is slim. As one event after the other throws in the towel in 2020, festival organizers explained their decisions and speculated on what the future may look like.
“Festivals are truly lifeblood for many artists, who can work from the beginning of June to that second or third week of September and make a major part of their whole annual income,” RPM Music Services’ Rob Pattee said.
“Even if the money isn’t the best, merchandise and CD sales are created live and are a big part of that which can’t be recreated online. We can look at new ways of doing things, like Holland Park becoming a drive-in venue or limiting small places’ audiences by half and charging a little more for tickets.”
Another problem heading into the top-earning time of the year is how to maintain momentum with postponements.
Artists booked to tour in support of an album that was released before the pandemic may have put all their eggs in one basket to promote the record. Festivals that have done similar advertising buys and advance ticket sales based around a specific lineup have boxes of glossy programs and custom T-shirts that are COVID-19 collector’s items at best and unsellable at worst.
Bass Coast Music Festival music director Andrea Graham, who also DJs under the stage name the Librarian, says everyone is talking about the logistics with such considerable uncertainty looking ahead: “Working with promoters, agents and everyone connected to touring to even predict how to move ahead and how to navigate this is really tricky,” Graham said.
“We book a lot of one-off artists from Europe, Australia, Africa, all over the world to try to create a unique lineup, and even if it was possible to have a gathering in the fall, would it be possible to do it again with those artists? We had cancellation insurance for all the other possibilities but not pandemics, so it’s a really tight place.”
But you can always depend on the creative sector to live up to its name. Faced with said unknown factors, the 5X Festival has embraced the disruption and come up with a completely unique digital-dominant event. Canada’s largest South Asian millennial festival for ages 16 to 35 is going virtual in 2020. As the media materials state: “We’re not postponing, not cancelling, we’re continuing.”
Partnering up with the popular Indian Stepathlon B2B engagement app to create a B2C (business to client) experience, 5X: Race to the Stage kicks off June 11. The virtual event features 40-plus stages across the globe, concerts, performances, fashion shows and art events from 60-plus creators as well as daily contests, challenges and swag to win as you “race” others on the app. The ultimate destination is the final weekend blowout on Sept. 19 and 20. Designed to get you engaged, active and inspired, the concept has 5X Festival executive director and DJ/producer Tarun Nayar smiling.
Inspired by a big campaign that Stepathlon did across India with Manchester City fans that drew in 45,000 downloads, 5X Festival committed to the new concept as soon as COVID-19 cancellations started rolling in. Registration runs from June 11 for five weeks.
“When the race/festival starts, you move throughout the virtual world using steps that are directly linked to the step counter on your iPhone or Android or you can log in and record other activities,” Nayar said.
“Daily, there are challenges and contests with some of the biggest South Asian influencers in the world providing ‘gratifications.’ There are also many stages along the way with unique events happening and exclusive merchandise to purchase leading up to the final weekend.”
Getting to the front of the line to reap benefits has always been the goal of those campers at festival gates. 5X: Race to the Stage delivers this digitally from places such as Birmingham, London’s Brick Lane and Nairobi as well as already established 5X Lower Mainland destinations. Freed from the cost of flying artists from around the world, Nayar says a world of potential has opened up.
He’s still keen on getting back to in-the-flesh festival block parties. But for now, something new is needed and this model is truly inspiring.