V Festival Countdown!

There’s just two weeks to go until some of the biggest names in the music industry arrive in Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in Staffordshire for one of the best weekends of the summer.

Over 180,000 visitors will travel to Chelmsford to help celebrate V Festival’s 18^th birthday in style with the support of over 70 performers across four stages.

Line-Up

International Queen of Pop, Beyoncé, will join Tennessee rockers, Kings of Leon, to headline the festival on 17^th and 18^th August.

Beyoncé, who will perform in Chelmsford on Saturday night, will be making her only European festival appearance at the festival and her first UK festival appearance since headlining Glastonbury in 2011.

Kings of Leon are no strangers to the V Festival stage, having headlined the festival in 2010. With undeniable festival anthems in their back catalogue, including ‘Sex On Fire’ and ‘Use Somebody’, the Followill brothers can always whip the crowd into a chorus.

Their sixth studio album titled ‘Mechanical Bull’ will be released at the end of September, so spectators can expect to hear many new tracks in their set, which will close V Festival in Chelmsford on Sunday night.

Beyoncé will be joined (on Saturday in Chelmsford and Sunday in Staffordshire) by Irish-trio The Script, ‘The Voice’ judge Jessie J and Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye.

Joining Kings of Leon are V-Festival-veterans Stereophonics, Scottish-sweetheart Emeli Sandé and DJ Calvin Harris.

Other returning artists on the bill include Essex-boy Olly Murs, who will complete his hat-trick of performances at the festival in his home-county, as well as Labrinth, Ellie Goulding and Scouting For Girls. They will be joined by V Festival newcomers Two Door Cinema Club, The Vaccines and X Factor-winner James Arthur.

Chart-favourites Rita Ora, Little Mix and Fun will also be appearing over the August bank-holiday weekend.

Bob Angus, one of three of the festival’s directors, has recently explained the process behind booking acts.

“We look at what’s currently out there and popular with the general public and try to get them, it’s as simple as that’.

“We ask ourselves who’s the hottest, most popular act right now, and we go after them.”

Craig Hayward, 22 from Folkestone, agreed with this. Having attended V Festival for the past 4 years, amongst many other festivals, he said: “It’s the best all-round festival on offer in the UK, simply because you get a bit of everything.”

“They always have a really good variety of acts from different genres, which attracts a variety of different people, which produces a great atmosphere.”

Price

So what price can you expect to pay to see some of the world’s top artists?

Prices start at £89 for a day ticket, but you would have to save £160 for a weekend ticket or £185 for a camping ticket.

Iona Rawson, 17 from Chelmsford, says she ‘would be silly not to go to V’ but is still shocked at the increase in ticket prices.

“The price has risen dramatically due to the celebrities performing and tickets are now ludicrously just under £200 when they used to be just over £100, but this is a price I can realistically be expected to pay for all musical events.”

“This year I look at is as I’m paying more for the camping experience than I am V Festival itself. By day it is a family event but by night it is party central.”

Despite any appreciation for the nightlife or line-up at V, a recurring issue is the price. Tickets may have sold out, but have organisers narrowed their demographic with a steep price that excludes a younger generation, particularly of students, who struggle to pay for a ticket?

Krina Patel, 18 from Essex, said: “Beyoncé is by far the greatest act V has ever managed to secure. But, I was a fool to think that I could afford a weekend ticket. I don’t actually earn enough to cover the cost of a ticket and still have enough money for university.”

Nevertheless, V Festival continues to sell-out each year and if world-class artists like Beyoncé are consistently topping the bill, people will manage to find the money to pay for their ticket to the most electrifying and exciting weekend of the summer.

Effect on local residents

Aside from the price of a V Festival ticket, This Festival Feeling have investigated further to find out the true price V Festival has on Chelmsford, and even more locally, Writtle, the small village where Hylands Park can be found.

Local residents, Margaret and Don Smith, live just a 10 minute walk from the V Festival site and are fed up with the annual event.

“We live on a private road that is usually quiet. The festival causes a lot of youths to come down our road and we don’t like the anti-social behaviour that follows, particularly as a result of alcohol and also the litter that they leave.”

For business owners however, it’s a slightly different story.

Barry Long, Landlord of the Rose & Crown Pub in Writtle, said: “V Festival is good for our village. Our pub and the shops get really busy and it definitely boosts revenue if you’ve had a bad start to the year.”

Anne Martin, landlady of the Sir Evelyn Wood pub, just a one minute walk from the V Festival site, says that she has ‘never had a hint of trouble’ over the V Festival weekend.

Just a stone’s throw from the site, the pub is a popular destination for many festival go-ers, with many punters returning each year.

Mrs Martin, who has been running the pub for more than 14 years said: “V Festival is wonderful for us. There is always such a wonderful atmosphere. We see people returning year after year and it’s lovely.”

Nevertheless, living and working so close to the site of one of the country’s most popular festivals will inevitably have some drawbacks, particularly for Anne, with the closure of her road. After much inconvenience, Mrs Martin complained to Essex County Council and managed to attain several passes to show to the officers who stand at the top of her road to allow local taxi firms to access the pub.

In recent years, Anne has found the festival to be slightly more ‘self-contained’, with many visitors utilising the food and drink stalls in the park and campsite instead of returning for a drink in the pub.

“If you’re being inconvenienced you want to join in. If this continues we may not get the financial benefit that the chaos is worth.”

“Even so, I do always look forward to it.”

Despite many expectations, a Tesco superstore situated just a 10-minute walk from the V Festival site say that they only get ‘a little bit busy’, perhaps as a result of the festival’s self-contained nature described by Landlady, Mrs Martin.

The Tesco store’s Duty Manager Darryl John said: “We get a flood of people in the morning for food, water and alcohol and also to use the toilets, but it’s nothing massive.”

Is it worth it?

Whilst some local residents may find the festival a nuisance, it seems that for just two days in the year, the advantages heavily outweigh the disadvantages. V Festival benefits the area financially and in terms of reputation, helping to put Chelmsford ‘on the map’. 

Richard Branson’s Virgin team and the V Festival organisers provide residents of all ages with an exciting date in their calendar, enticing some of the world’s biggest stars to the newly-crowned city of Chelmsford, compensating for the short-term noise and traffic disruptions. 

Album #2 on the way for Jessie

After releasing hit-after-hit from her first album 'Who You Are' throughout 2011, Jessie J is already keen to get back in the studio to start on her follow-up.

After spending two weeks at #1 with her latest single 'Domino', Jessica Cornish, as she is otherwise known, has expressed her desire to head back to the recording studio. After writing songs for many other artists such as Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus, Jessie had already written many of the songs that would appear on the Who You Are album and is therefore excited so write some fresh, new material.

Some of the tracks on the Who You Are album are said to have been written four to five years ago, so any new material is likely to be even more exciting and innovative.

Capital FM recently reported, when talking about fellow BRITs Critics Choice award winner Goulding, Cornish said she is "definitely going to get in the studio with Ellie." Jessie J also indicated an interest in working with other artists, saying she'd "love to work with Adele". After working with the rapper on her #1 single 'Price Tag', Jessie suggested interest in working with Devlin further, saying "Dev I'm definitely going to get back in the studio with."


Jessie J isn't the only Essex artist who has been considering high-profile collaborations recently. It has been rumoured that Pixie Lott is very keen to duet with Coldplay -- it sounds like big things are on the way for our Essex stars!

Essex Star Is A Hit for 2011

Essex girl, Jessie J, has been awarded with the prestigious BBC Sound of 2011. The BBC and Radio 1 are always looking out for the most promising new artists and the Sound of 2011 helps to find these artists for the upcoming year.

Jessica Cornish, who has already been awarded with the Critic's Choice Award at the upcoming Brit Awards, topped the list, with James Blake and The Vaccines taking second and third place. The list is chosen by experts in current and new music, with occupations that stretch from magazine editors to music critics, as well as radio presenters and respected bloggers.

In previous years, the 'BBC Sound of...' has been awarded to Ellie Goulding, Adele, Mika and Keane.

Having received this accolade, as well as the Critics Choice Award, there is no doubt that this Essex girl will have a successful 2011. Her album 'Who You Are' is sure to be one of 2011's biggest successes when it is released later in the year in June.

Watch this space for more Jessie J news - she is set to be one of biggest acts of the year!

Essex star is the Critics Choice!

Jessie J is a local singer and songwriter and has been gradually rising to stardom! This week, the fantastic singer, whose fullname is Jessica Cornish, was awarded the Critics Choice awards at the 2011 Brit Awards.

This prize has previously been awarded to artists such as Adele and Ellie Goulding, who have both been tremendously successful after receiving the accolade. The award is given to rising artists who are tipped to have great success within the following year and into the future, so it is a great honour for Jessie J to receive the prize.

Having worked with B.O.B, Christina Aguilera and Chris Brown, this Essex girl is used to the music world and has plenty of contacts to help her to succeed within the industry. She has also worked with Justin Timberlake and he has even said that he feels she is "the best singer in the world right now".

This isn't the first success that Jessie J has had - she also wrote hit single 'Party In The USA' for American teen star Miley Cyrus. This shows that Jessie J has the writing talent to create even more hits in the future!

And awards do not end here for Jessie J! She has been nominated on the Long-List for the BBC's Sound of 2011, whereby music experts at the BBC handpick a selection of inspiring artists who have a lot of talent and a unique sound to succeed in the upcoming year. As well as this, I'm sure that this Essex girl will go on to be a star in the future, and will receive many more awards to add to her collection!