11th October 2021 (DJ Mag). Nightclubs in Northern Ireland will reopen on 31st October, following an Executive meeting on Thursday 7th October. Music venues in the country have been shuttered for well over 18 months, having locked down in March 2020. This means partygoers in cities such as Belfast and Derry will enjoy their first nightclub experience on Halloween, traditionally one of Northern Ireland's biggest dates for dance music. By Martin Guttridge-Hewitt 
Photo by Maurício Mascaro from Pexels

8th October 2021 (Access All Areas) Live Nation’s stock price closed at $101.03 (£74.35) yesterday, a new high and valuing the company at about $25.2bn (£18.55bn). The company’s all-time high stock price comes after a year of growth, with the concert and festival giant’s share price being up 78% from $56.83 (£41.82) at the same point last year, and up 212% on a pandemic low in March 2020. The continued rise in value of the world’s biggest live music promoter suggests growing confidence in the live music industry ahead of what is set to be an extremely busy year for major events. By Christopher Barrett

7th October 2021. After an absence of 2 years the touring festival ‘Halloween Returns’ has confirmed dates in 6 cities across the UK from 22nd October to 6th November 2021. The events will feature a unique blend of circus, carnival and chaos set to a huge soundtrack spanning rock, indie, bass, dnb, house and industrial techno performed by DJ’s and live bands. Festival-goers are known for creating their own incredible characters and costumes. Tickets are on sale now for anyone interested. 

6th October 2021. The long running festival celebrating Scotland's Celtic heritage returns in 2022 with dates scheduled for 20th January to 6th February 2022. With over 1,000 musicians plus talks, workshops, film screenings, theatre productions, ceilidhs, exhibitions, free events and late-night sessions the orgainsers are expecting 30,000 festival-goers to attend. Tickets are on sale now for anyone interested.

5th October 2021. A new festival just for families with a focus on the under 18s will launch next year scheduled for 22nd - 25th July 2022. Organised by Lindisfarne Festival activities will centre around music arts and crafts and they are currently looking for performance artists under the age of 18 too. The festival will take place in Lambton Park estate not far from Durham. Tickets are on sale now for anyone interested.

1st October 2021. The Terminal V festival scheduled for 30th - 31st October 2021 has been cancelled and moved to Easter next year. Organisers stated that were too many risks from the ongoing COVI9-19 situation in Scotland. The 2-day indoor festival was to feature Nina Kraviz, Amelie Lens and Sven Vath with 40,000 festival-goers. Tickets will be transferred to the new dates next year.

30th September 2021. Organisers of the popular Bristol music festival have confirmed a move to a larger venue next year after this year's event attracted over 50,000 festival-goers. The new venue is Ashton Court, home of the famous Balloon Fiesta, and will allow for additional and bigger stages with an expanded capacity. First release tickets are now on sale for the festival scheduled for June, as yet no headliners have been announced. 

29th September 2021. Organisers of the popular techno and street rave festival have confirmed that Platform 18 will go ahead in 2022. Platform 18 has been going since 2013 and takes place in a subway station car park beneath two bridges that has a raw, illicit feel that harks back to the earliest, purest days of raving. As yet no dates or headliners have been announced and tickets are yet to go on sale. 

28th September 2021. Organisers of the Cinch Presents Isle of Wight Festival have announced that early bird tickets for next year will go on sale from 30th September 2021. The festival is scheduled for 16th - 19th June 2022 and headliners confirmed include Lewis Capaldi, Lionel Richie, Kasabian, Pete Tong & the Heritage Orchestra presents Ibiza Classics conducted by Jules Buckley and Muse. 

27th September 2021. Organisers of the Lytham Festival have extended their deadline to buy discounted early bird tickets until 30th September 2021. The festival is scheduled for 10 days next year in June and July and will feature Diana Ross, Lewis Capaldi, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, The Strokes and Tears For Fears. 

23rd September 2021. A new EDM dance trance music festival has been announced for The Mill, Digbeth in Birmingham scheduled for 14th - 15th May 2022. Organisers said that festival-goers will experience the future of hard dance and trance clubbing. Headliners announced include Dave Pearce, Rob Tissera, BK, Andy Farley, Amber D, David Rust, Lisa pin up, CLK and Nicholson. Tickets are on sale now for anyone interested. 

22nd September 2021. Organisers of the Y Not Festival have announced their headliners for the return of the festival next year scheduled to take place on 28th - 31st July 2022 in Derbyshire. Headliners include the Courteeners, Blossoms, Jade Bird, Pale Waves, Nothing But Thieves and Sports Team with still more acts to be announced. Tickets are still available for anyone interested. 

21st September 2021. A new music festival has been announced by promoters FKP Scorpio scheduled for 3rd June 2022 taking place on the Victoria Embankment in Nottingham. The first headliner announced was Gerry Cinnamon and will be joined by the finest international, national and local artists organisers said. Tickets will go on sale from 24th September 2021. 

20th September 2021. A new family orientated music festival will launch next year. Organisers stated that the festival is about music, family, inclusivity, joy, and inspiration. The theme will have a 90's vibe with performances from big names and local bands along with dancing, local food and culture, comedy, the arts, equality, pride, camping, glamping, and safe activities for the kids. The new festival is scheduled for 5th - 7th August 2022. Tickets will go on sale at the end of September. 

19th September 2021. The hugely popular Dutch EDM festival has announced dates for next month and is scheduled for 13th - 17th October 2021. After much back-and-forth negotiations with authorities the organisers have finally come to an agreement that allows one of Europe's largest music festivals to go ahead with some restrictions remaining in place including limited operating hours. The Netherlands has seen ongoing protests from music fans with the “Unmute Us” initiative.

16th September 2021. The original Labyrinth Open Air festival planned for August is taking place on 18th September at the Tofte Manor in Bedfordshire. Headliners include Âme b2b Dixon, Alex Medina, DJ Holographic, Jennifer Cardini, Jimi Jules, Lola Haro, Nick Castle, Sofia Kourtesis, Terr, Trikk and TSHA. Tickets are still available for anyone interested. 

15th September 2021. The popular whisky festival takes place this Saturday 18th September 2021 in Aberdeen. There will be over 200 whiskies available to sample from some of the most celebrated names in the industry, plus an extensive programme of award-winning mixology, local food vendors, cutting edge musicians and live artists. Tickets are still available for anyone interested. 

14th September 2021. Orgainsers of the largest country music festivals in Europe have announced dates and venues for next year. C2C is scheduled for 11th - 13th March 2022 at London's O2 Arena, Dublin's 3Arena, and The SSE Hydro in Glasgow. Headliners include Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Luke Combs. Tickets will go on sale from Friday 17th September for anyone interested. 

13th September 2021. A new beer festival will take place at York Racecourse over 2 weekends scheduled for 21st - 23rd and 28th - 31st October 2021. Following the traditions of the first Oktoberfest staged in Munich the new Yorktoberfest brings beer, bratwurst and all things Bavarian to York Racecourse. A variety of ticket options are still available for anyone interested. 

12th September 2021 (iNews). The nighttime industry has expressed relief after Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed on Sunday that the Government no longer plans to impose vaccine passports on nightclubs in England from the end of September. Mr Javid told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that the Government “won’t be going ahead with plans for vaccine passports” – though he stressed they would “keep it in reserve as a potential option” for future. By Sam Tabahriti

9th September 2021. A new 2-day music festival has been announced for next year in Wolverhampton having earlier been cancelled from the original May 2021 dates. The new festival is being organised by the City of Wolverhampton Council and Toura Toura Festivals Ltd and is now scheduled for 28th - 29th May 2022. Headliners already confirmed are Happy Mondays, Ash, Friendly Fires, Black Grape, Idles, Echo and the Bunnymen, Cast and Galsvegas. Existing ticket holders will be rolled over to next year and new tickets are also on sale now. 

8th September 2021. The popular 4-day festival has been cancelled for their September 2021 dates. Organisers Vision Nine stated ‘’Despite our best efforts, and the incredible support we’ve had from our wider festival family including our artists, athletes, suppliers and partners, running NASS this year has become impossible. Whilst the government has announced an insurance scheme, it doesn’t cover us if guidelines around social distancing etc. change, it’s simply too big of a risk for us to try and go ahead.’’ Tickets will be automatically rolled over to NASS 2022 which will take place on 7 – 10 July. 

7th September 2021. A new 2-day mini comedy festival is coming to Leeds and Stockton on Tess scheduled for 22nd - 23rd October 2021. Organised by The Shoe Cake Comedy Club the two-venue event will feature headliners Bobby Mair, Tony Law, Ted Hanky, Vaun & John, Loyisa Gola, Troy Hawke, Danny Posthill, Ignacio Lopez and Fran Garrity plus many more. Tickets are on sale now for anyone interested. 

6th September 2021. The Event Umbrella, organisers of the 3-day food and drink festival in Canterbury have announced the cancellation of their event that was due to take place on 24th - 26th September 2021. Organisers cited a combination of coronavirus restrictions and the difficulty for overseas vendors being able to attend. The festival is scheduled for a return in 2022. 

5th September 2021. Organisers of the 3-day festival have announced headliners for the event taking place on 10th - 12h September 2021. The line-up includes Rag’n’Bone Man, Jack Savoretti, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Beverley Knight, Toploader, Shalamar and Soul II Soul. Limited tickets are still available for anyone interested. 

2nd September 2021. Having been postponed 3 times already the 2-day rock and punk festival finally returns this weekend split over two locations on 4th - 5th September 2021. Headliners include Don Broco, NOFX, Waterparks, State Champs, and Mayday Parade. Tickets are still available for anyone interested. 

1st September 2021. Organisers of the one day retro rock festival in Kent have announced cancellation of the event because of logistical issues related to COVID-19. The festival was due to take place on 4th September 2021 and headliners included Bananarama, ABC, Nick Kershaw, Howard Jones, Midge Ure, Go West, Chesney Hawkes and Sister Sledge. Ticket holders can choose roll over to 3rd September 2022 or select a sister Lets Rock festival still proceeding this year.

31st August 2021. A new 3-day music festival has been announced by Escape Records for next year. Organisers are aiming to attract 40,000 festival-goers to the new event planned for 3rd - 5th June 2022 taking place near Magram in the Welsh valleys. There will be 8 stages and the musical theme will be mixed genres with a promise of an international superstar line-up. For anyone interested registration is now open to receive early bird tickets when they go on sale.

30th August 2021. Organisers of the 3-day music festival scheduled for 3rd - 5th September 2021 still have limited tickets available. The festival will have strict COVID measures in place. Headliners include Gerry Cinnamon, Circa Waves, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Sam Fender, Shed Seven, Easy Life, The Orielles, Airways, Zuzu, The Coral, The Sherlocks, The Mysterines, The Wombats, Inhaler, Miles Kane, Tom Walker, The Lightning Seeds, Phoebe Green and Lauren Hibberd.

28th August 2021. Organisers of the 2-day music festival scheduled for 4th - 5th September 2021 will implement strict COVID-19 measures after a spate of cases at other recent large festivals. Orgainsers reiterated that to get into the festival requires an NHS lateral flow test on the day of the event with a negative result uploaded to the NHS website with a confirmation email, text, or pass on the NHS app. Or show they are fully vaccinated or have natural immunity on the NHS app. They are also encouraging mask wearing when queuing. The festival is sold out.