Fan Causes Paleo Problems

For the second year running, Switzerland’s Paleo Nyon Festival has had its bill leaked before the scheduled press conference, but this time the source got it wrong.

An unnamed 18-year-old music fan said to be from the Neuchâtel region checked Internet sites and artists’ tour schedules to second-guess the promoters and work out the billing, but he’s caused problems for festival booker Sébastien Vuignier by listing many acts that aren’t playing and excluding some that are.

"We’ve had other Swiss festivals complaining because they saw the false bill and believed we had acts which they have booked exclusively," Vuignier told Pollstar.

"We’ve had acts ringing up and asking why we are claiming to have them in the lineup when they’re not coming here this year, while some of the acts who are playing are asking why they’re not on the bill."

Vuignier began receiving calls from Swiss journalists March 24, shortly after the bill the teen had worked out began appearing on the Internet.

"It’s something the fans have been doing for years, working from tour plans and trying to decipher who we’ve booked. They compete to see who can be first with the list and who can get the most names right. I don’t think any harm was intended but the false bill did get widely published," Vuignier explained.

The real Paleo bill will be announced at an April 10 press conference at Nyon, and Vuignier isn’t giving away the identity of the acts until then.

"Another problem is that it may cause disappointment among fans who want to see an act that’s on the false list, and then that act turns out to be one of those that aren’t actually playing."

Last year the Paleo bill was leaked, allegedly by someone connected to the printer, and the press conference at Chateau Nyon was scrapped.

"For a booker it was an opportunity that I missed because it meant we didn’t meet the journalists and get together to talk about some of the smaller but still exciting acts further down the bill," Vuignier told Pollstar at the time.

Tickets for the six-day, 35,000-capacity event featuring Robert Plant, Gad Elmaleh, P!nk, The Young Gods, Tryo, Sanseverino, Renaud, Zazie, Laurent Voulzy, Lynda Lemay, Jean-Louis Murat , Rachid Taha, Malouma, Daby Touré, Idir, Tinariwen and Natacha Atlas sold out in three days.

This year’s Paelo-Nyon Festival is July 22-27.