Gedge A Late Present For PrimaveraPro

David Gedge, singer of British band The Wedding Present, is a late recruitment as a panelist appearing at this year’s PrimaveraPro in Barcelona, Spain.

He’ll appear on the second day and join other artists including Buffy Saint-Marie, Tom Robinson and Basque ska-punk icon Fermín Muguruza to discuss “the role of the artist in the music industry.”

In Gedge’s case it’s a tricky question, as his act appears to have done as much as it can to avoid the mainstream industry.

In 1987 it shunned various offers from indies and multinationals to release George Best, its best-known album, on its own label.

Also at Barcelona’s Hotel Diagonal Zero May 30 to June 1 will be a fan forum where festivalgoers can express their opinions.

Chris Smith from WOMAD, Kem Lalot from French festival Les Eurockennes de Belfort, Stacey Wilhelm (SXSW) and Luke Bainbridge from The Guardian will be among those tasked with hearing from the fans.

The Spanish music business conference, now in its fifth year, has grown from two to three days to accommodate the 30 or so sessions.

PrimaveraPro runs in parallel with Primavera Sound, the major Spanish festival on the other side of the road in the 35,000-capacity Parc del Fòrum. This year’s lineup includes Bjork, Justice, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie, and The xx.