Yungblud 'so excited' to bring Bludfest back to Milton Keynes
A rockstar said he was "so excited" to be bringing his "accessible and affordable" music and arts festival back to a county this summer.Bludfest, a festival founded by singer-songwriter Yungblud in 2024, will take place at the National Bowl, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, on 21 June.The 27-year-old said he created the event in response to the rising cost of festival and gig tickets, with 30,000 people attending last year for £50 each.This year tickets range from £65-125, but the Lovesick Lullaby singer told the BBC the event "was a lot bigger".
"We have a bigger second stage, a lot more rides, and we've just made things from last year twice as big," he said."It is really good to be coming back for a second year and I feel so lucky – I am so excited."
During last year's event some fans reported fainting while waiting for hours in slow-moving queues to get into the festival.AEG Presents, the festival's promoter, apologised to fans who experienced delays and said the wait was down to "heightened security measures"."It was a bit of a nightmare but we got through it, but we needed more gates open and the security got overwhelmed," said Yungblud."This year things are a lot more within my control and there will be a lot more gates open and it is really important for me to take security seriously."It's my festival, it's my name on it, and I really want to be in charge of it."
Yungblud said he wanted to create his own festival that was affordable and "would be really representative" of his fan base."It was everything I kind of expected and wanted really, it was so beautiful how much love was in the air and how much people were connecting," he told the BBC."I think people are afraid to go to gigs on their own, but the biggest thing I am proud of is that people form relationships and go adventures together at YungBlud gigs."In the midst of rising concert tickets, the artist wanted to offer a more affordable way to enjoy live music.Last year 51% of people in the UK said high prices had stopped them from going to gigs at least once in the last five years.Among 16 to 34-year-olds, two-thirds of concert-goers said they had reduced the number of shows they attended.
"A lot of artists are not in control of how much people are paying to go to their gigs and I wanted to encourage them to stand up for their fanbase," Yungblud said."I don't mind putting my head above the trench and getting shot at first."It is really liberating and cool to do something that you dream about and we are doing it for the right reasons."
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