Indietracks Festival: Time to say goodbye
The creators and organisers of Indietracks Festival are very sad to say that they will be bringing the festival to a close. The festival has had over a decade of wonderful memories, and so it’s heartbreaking to let you know that 2019’s festival was their final event.
The Indietracks team realise that the festival was very special to many people, and this isn’t a decision that they've taken lightly. They would like to say thanks so much to everyone who has attended and supported Indietracks – the festival has successfully raised funds for the Midland Railway Trust each year. However, despite significant effort from all concerned the event has sadly proved unsustainable, principally due to the ongoing ramifications of the pandemic.
Indietracks organisers were so excited about the line-up for 2020 and were devastated to have to cancel, and they're especially sorry to all those artists that were booked and who didn’t get the opportunity to play when the pandemic hit. They are so grateful to all the artists and bands, workshop organisers, volunteers, merch tent holders and press people who played a part in Indietracks and – most importantly – to all of you who bought tickets, downloaded compilations and came along and enjoyed our events.
The festival would also like to thank the team at Midland Railway – Butterley, including the trustees, managers, staff and volunteers. There are too many people to mention everyone by name, but they would like to give a special shout out to Andrea Hett and her late husband John, who, along with Stuart, Emma and Daniel from the earlier team, were amazing when the festival started up. They were not only willing (and brave!) to back a brand new music festival, but also worked incredibly hard and were integral to the whole design of the festival.
Big thanks also to Ian, Marianthi, Emma and Alice who were essential members of the team for such a long time, and to Claire for all her amazing artwork in recent years. Also a massive thank you to Matt from Xcite Audio who has not only provided the excellent stages and sound, but also been a huge supporter and adviser to the festival from the very early days.
Indietracks was pretty unique. At times it felt really magical, and the team are sure everyone will have different favourite memories. The pure joy of Allo’ Darlin headlining in 2014, the Helen Love glitter explosion, the epic Pains of Being Pure At Heart, the Tuts crowdsurfing in wedding dresses, the spectacular Go! Team, the spellbinding Cate Le Bon, and singing along to the Just Joans and the Lovely Eggs.
Indietracks festival was a place you would find established international names, alongside unknown bands that might not even have heard of themselves yet! There are so many beautiful memories to treasure, including the Martha and the Spook School double header, and the closing KKB show in 2019. The beautiful sets in the ever-crowded church; the noisy chaos from the indoor stage; the queue for the train stage; the can crushing; the owls; the bright orange cider; Gopal’s curry shack; campsite discos and Travelodge after-parties. The team will miss everything. Maybe not the rain, but everything else.
There are so many fantastic artists, festivals, promoters and record labels out there. And Indietracks encourages you all to get involved, be supportive and create something new! Put on a gig, arrange a festival, form a band, start a label, share something with the world that needs sharing.
The festival team will support you however they can, even if it’s just sharing something on social media or offering advice (bearing in mind they made as many mistakes as they got things right - in their words!).
The festival encourages you to drop them a message and they will try and help. Otherwise, it’s over to you now – go for it!