Power Hops On To Festival Market

Former Mean Fiddler chairman Vince Power is returning to the U.K. festival market with a July 6 open-air in Kent that will be headlined by Neil Young.

A Day at the Hop Farm, which will take place in Tonbridge, is his first U.K. festival in three years. He was kept out by the non-compete clause he signed when selling MFMG to a joint venture between Live Nation (then Clear Channel Entertainment) and Denis Desmond’s Gaiety Investments.

"I am happy to be returning to create a new independent festival in a far more competitive marketplace, which counteracts the current brand-saturated music scene – making the festival goers themselves the most important element of the event," Power said in a statement.

"My plan is to own and run more festivals across the U.K. and Europe in the future." he added.

Although the non-compete has kept him out of the U.K. marketplace, Power was able to team with Desmond to buy a share in Spain’s Benicassim Festival, one of mainland Europe’s favourite events for British festival-goers.

Power, who was made an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006, developed Mean Fiddler from a small country music venue in northwest London to a stock-listed venture with an impressive portfolio including the Reading and Leeds festivals and a handful of major London venues.

He’s since started Vince Power Music Group, which has London nightclubs and live music venues.