Access All Areas Backstage

The AAA Backstage podcast series explores the life and times of leading figures in the live events industry.

Recorded during the Access All Areas Leaders Summit, the interview finds Christopher Barrett asking Rebecca Kane Burton to discuss the key issues currently impacting the industry, and reflect on a career that has seen her lead companies through challenging and pivotal times.

Whether it was running The O2 arena during the 2012 Olympics, launching Covid-safe concerts while CEO of LW Theatres or opening the UK’s biggest arena, Co-op Live, Rebecca Kane Bu...

Meet the man behind festivals including BST Hyde Park, All Points East, Lido, Forwards, Roundhay Festival and Rock en Seine.

While enjoying some much-needed shade under the ancient oaks backstage at BST, Access All Areas’ Chris Barrett caught up with Jim King to discuss his eventful career path. 

Jim got his first taste of promoting events at school. Now CEO UK & European Festivals at AEG Presents, he is one of the international industry’s leading players.

After meeting James Barton in a Liverpool record shop, Jim played an integral part in the rise of cl...

A stunning mix of beautiful mountain scenery, fresh snow, some crazy skiing and brilliant comedy from the likes of Jason Byrne, Paul Smith, Deirdre O'Kane, Emmanuel Sonubi and Al Murray – Altitude Festival really is in a league of its own.

In between the knockout standup comedy and knockdown slope descents, we recorded an episode of the AAA Backstage Podcast with promoter Brett Vincent and the event's co-founder, comedian, Marcus Brigstocke. 

Among the many topics covered were the logistics of staging the Clown Hill ski and snowboard race involving both fans and comedians, getting huge stars suc...

Geoff Ellis’ decision to let Oasis join the bill at Glasgow’s tiny King Tut’s venue in 1993 led to the then unknown Manchester band being signed to Creation Records by Alan McGee. Last year, Ellis promoted Oasis’ three sold-out nights at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium. It was a full-circle moment for the experienced  promoter, whose remarkable career is not short of highlights.

DF Concerts CEO, Geoff is the latest festival supremo to take the hot seat for another episode of the AAA Backstage podcast series, which explores what lies behind festivals and their instigators.

From making so...

The driving force behind some of the UK’s biggest and most successful festivals including Latitude, Reading & Leeds, Wireless and Wilderness, Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn is the latest festival supremo to take the seat for an AAA Backstage podcast interview.

The podcast series explores what lies behind festivals and their instigators, and this episode finds Melvin discussing his eventful decades of experience in the industry, from sleeping under the Reading Festival main stage to saving the event from bankruptcy. 

Recorded ahead of the Event Production Awards, the interview finds Access All Area’s Chris...

Isle of Wight Festival promoter and Solo Agency MD John Giddings is the latest festival supremo to be interviewed for the AAA Backstage podcast.

The podcast series explores what lies behind festivals and their instigators, and this episode finds Giddings on great form discussing pertinent industry-wide issues and reflecting on an eventful career path.

Recorded at the Access All Areas Conference & Awards at The O2, the interview finds Giddings opening up about everything from losing £500,000 on a single early edition of the event, meeting his now wife Caroline who went on to run the event w...

After co-founding ID&T in 1992, at the age of 21 from his parents’ house, Duncan Stutterheim was involved in the launch of some the world’s biggest dance events, including Thunderdome, Mysteryland, Sensation and Tomorrowland. Along the way he helped bring dance music to the masses, but what started him on that journey and how did he balance working in such a hedonistic environment with successfully building a business that he would later sell for $130 million – the highest bid in dance music history?

Duncan answers those questions, and many more, in the latest edition of the AAA Backstage podcas...

Notting Hill Carnival CEO Matthew Phillip takes us behind the scenes to discuss his life and times at the helm of one of the world’s most spectacular and popular carnivals. 

The AAA Backstage podcast series meets festival bosses to explore what lies behind the events and the people that run them. From driving floats at Notting Hill Carnival as a child to taking over as the vast event’s CEO, Matthew has been closely involved throughout his life in what has been the UK’s biggest and brightest street party since the mid 1960s. 

An explo...

Harvey Goldsmith CBE, the promoter of two of the world’s biggest music events, Live Aid in 1985 and Live 8 in 2005, takes the hot seat for an AAA Backstage podcast.

 A celebrated producer and promoter of concerts, festivals, charity events and television broadcasts, Goldsmith has worked with a huge number of major acts including The Who, Queen and Luciano Pavarotti. Among his latest projects is Earth Aid Live – a series of stadium concerts planned over one weekend in six countries with the aim of raising money to fight climate change and empower young people to make a positive diffe...

Recorded at The Warehouse Project venue Depot Mayfield in Manchester, this interview finds the nightclub’s co-founder and Parklife festival boss Sacha Lord opening up about everything from being shot at and petrol bombed, back in the days of ‘Madchester’, to projecting a huge protest film above the Tory Party Conference.

The series explores what lies behind festivals and their instigators, and this episode finds Sacha in fine form discussing pertinent industry-wide issues and reflecting on an eventful career path that has led the promoter to become the night time economy advisor for Greater Manchester. Among the many t...

The stunning home of the Black Deer Festival of Americana was the location for this edition of the AAA Backstage podcast, where we meet the event’s co-founder Gill Tee.

The series explores what lies behind festivals and their instigators. This conversation was recorded while sitting on the lawn outside Eridge Park, the home of the Marquess of Abergavenny, with magnificent views across the 3,500-acre deer park. We laughed, we cried... we discussed Gill's fascinating career path that led her to co-founding Black Deer with Deborah Shilling in 2018, the impact of losing her brother at such a yo...

Boomtown Fair co-founder Luke Mitchell takes us behind the scenes to discuss his life and times at the helm of one of the UK’s most spectacular and successful festivals. 

The AAA Backstage podcast series meets festival founders to explore what lies behind the events and their instigators. This conversation was recorded while sitting on a car bonnet with a panoramic view of the festival build at Matterley Estate in the South Downs National Park, where Boomtown has been staged since 2011. Luke charts his event organising experience, including the transition from staging massive raves to the inaugural Boo...

Secret Garden Party festival founder Freddie Fellowes takes us behind the scenes to discuss his life and times at the helm of the hugely influential event. 

AAA’s new podcast series goes backstage with festival founders to explore what lies behind the events and their instigators. This conversation was recorded face to face on location at Grange Farm in Cambridgeshire, where the festival has been staged since its inception in 2003. This episode covers everything from mass nudity and mud wrestling to accommodating royals, the challenges of remaining independent, re-launching after a five-year hiatus, and transforming the event int...