In the build-up to the first ever BLUDFEST, singer YUNGBLUD visited the site at The National Bowl, Milton Keynes, to get a sense of what the day would look like. To mark the occasion, and to fuel the growing excitement for the festival, KB Event surprised him with one of its trailers, wrapped in a special BLUDFEST design, which was then parked by the main stage during the event.
“This whole idea came about following a conversation with YUNGBLUD’s management,” stated Leanne McPherson, Company Secretary at KB Event, who was on site to present the vehicle. “It’s such a brilliant idea for a festival and the ethos at its heart – breaking with traditions, delivering in a responsible way, and committing to inclusivity and diversity – which aligns with that of KB Event.”
YUNGBLUD announced BLUDFEST in response to his own growing discontent that the current price of live music event tickets places them out of the reach of most music fans. For BLUDFEST, all tickets were capped at £49.50. In addition to low ticket prices, BLUDFEST partnered with Tickets For Good to provide free tickets for people with low incomes. “If we want the next generation to enjoy the festivals we enjoyed, someone has to fight for it and decided to do this on a big scale,” reflected Tommas Arnby, Co-Manager for the artist – who thought that the event would make a real statement to the live events industry.
Along with the need to make music more accessible, the alignment of principles between YUNGBLUD and KB Event extend to their take on sustainability. “KB Event feels very strongly about sustainability,” stated McPherson, highlighting some of the incentives the company offers to customers – specifically with HVO/Sustainable fuel, which offers a great alternative to traditional diesel productions.
“For those tours choosing to use HVO (which is stored separately on site and sourced via a European network on the road), we keep a running log of what is used. Subsequently, at the end of a tour we can offer productions a sustainable fuel certificate to prove that they worked off 100% sustainable fuel.”
The topic of sustainability is one that KB does not shy away from, as can be seen in the company’s Sustainability Policy, which can be found on its website. It’s a service that was provided to the YUNGBLUD production for their last tour. “It was a big push for us when we moved into arenas,” stated Adam Wood, discussing the production’s sustainable efforts. “This was heavily led by YUNGBLUD himself and involved us looking into everything including the fuel we were using.”
As well as being presented with the custom-wrapped vehicle, the artist was given a crash course in driving the vehicle – surely making him one of the few singers to get behind the wheel of one of the trucks responsible for getting his production from show to show, night after night.
