FestEVOL Gardens will be taking place at the Invisible Wind Factory this year, home of the Kazimier team. We sat down with organiser Revo Ziganda to talk the history of the festival, the Kazimier and what’s in store for this years edition. We also have the stage splits and set times for this years bash below.
1. FestEVOL lineups are insanely good, even the opening acts are always top notch. How long does it take to put the lineup together, and after all these years do you still get the same buzz when it comes together?
Yeah, putting the line up together is one of the best bits, when we did the Kazimier shows it would take a couple of weeks to put everything together but we’ve upped our game with the levels of talent these past two years so it takes about 6 weeks to chase everyone down and get the confirmations. There’s still a self satisfying buzz when you complete the line up but it really comes when you see peoples reactions to them.
2. The Kazimier always felt like the perfect venue for FestEVOL, how do you think the invisible wind factory will compare?
It’s a venue created by the same hands but it’s very different, vastly greater in size and you can vary the configurations of the rooms whereas the Kaz was always the same static set up. I think we kind of outgrew the Kazimier in the end and IWF allows us to do so much more and attract bigger artists but I feel when you see the same faces from the Kaz years it puts you at ease, you’re still in familiar territory with the guys at IWF.
3. What advice would you give to bands starting out, who aspire to play FestEVOL one day?
Work hard on the music, make it as good as you possibly can. Usually the best records are made when an artist is recording for themselves rather than trying to tailor something for a certain audience. The bands on the bill from Merseyside have all played Evol shows in recent years and have worked hard for the shows so when you get a chance to return the favour and elevate from the norm and offer something different you try and do it as best you can.
4. I used to put on gigs as a hobby and when I brought people along who would never normally go and watch live music, many of them enjoyed it – including a neighbour in her 70s who liked one of the bands so much she insisted on me taking her to see them again. It seems to me a lot of people are missing out on awesome events taking place on their own doorstep – what do you think could be done to get more people to step out their comfort zone and come to gigs and festivals?
To be honest if I knew that… I’ve been trying for a long time, it’s hard when most people are only interested in Kings Of Leon or Ed Sherran and then only seem to pick up on bands when they’re massive but we work our shows hard, deliver great artwork, push the music on our socials, work alongside the bands on their campaigns and build line ups around them that work with other like minded groups. Believe me tonnes of people are missing out on great stuff in the small venues and often it’s the best time to watch a band before their management polish the shit out of them and make them radio friendly. There are bands playing massive shows now but the shows aren’t as good as the first time they played places like Shipping Forecast or The Magnet.
5. If there were no budget limit or other constraining factors, and could book any act, who would you book to headline FestEVOL, and why?
I’d like to bring Thee Oh Sees back for a FestEvol, totally self indulgent from me as they’re a band that tear it up live and on record and have been so productive over the years. Honestly, if you’ve never heard or seen this band try and check them out as you will be converted very quickly. Other than that if we’re talking big dough then it’s Interpol and Public Enemy that I really love…
Get your tickets here from Dice with no booking fee.
https://dice.fm/event/festevol-gardens-2017-30th-apr-invisible-wind-factory-liverpool-tickets
