Wilsonic Revival Goes Boom

Efforts to revive Slovakia’s cash-strapped Wilsonic festival appear to have gone boom as there seems little likelihood it will go ahead this year.

The 5,000-capacity event in Bratislava was to make a comeback this year after missing 2010, but there are no acts listed on the website and the last announcement is the one saying that last year’s Wilsonic wouldn’t be happening.

Festival chief Tibor Holoda, who couldn’t be reached at press time, earlier told Pollstar the event scheduled for June 10-11 was in doubt.
Wilsonic is also part of the European Talent Exchange Programme, but the latest ETEP figures show it’s yet to select any acts for 2011.

The 11-year-old gathering with a reputation for catching emerging urban and electronic acts first hit trouble in 2009.

It switched to a new site at the city’s Incheba Exhibition Centre, but the loss of a key sponsor and lower than expected visitor figures meant the event took a financial hit.

The organisers’ bid to bring the festival back in 2010 fizzled out due to lack of money and it appears as if the same has happened to the 2011 revival.

Acts playing Wilsonic in the past include GusGus, Daddy G, Jazzanova, Matthew Herbert, Ricardo Villalobos, Thomas Brinkmann, Digital Mystikz, Jimmy Edgar, Foolk, and Innocent Sorcerers.