All Tomorrow’s Parties axed after 14 years

British music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties has been axed after 14 years. The unique event, which is staged at a family holiday camp on the south coast of England and has no sponsorship backing, was launched in 1999 as an antidote to traditional rock festivals.
It began as an annual event but organisers later expanded its calendar, and at its peak in 2010 they staged five All Tomorrow’s Parties events in one year.
However, festival bosses announced on Friday (26Apr13) that a two-headed event in November (13), dubbed ‘End of an Era’, will be the final shows.
The closing weekends, which will take place from 22-24 November (13) and 29 November to 1 December (13), will include performances by veteran punk stars Television, U.S. band Dinosaur Jr., and reformed rockers LOOP.
All Tomorrow’s Parties founder Barry Hogan says in a statement, “When we started all this 14 years ago, we had no idea how a festival curated by a single artist and based in a family holiday camp would play out. It was a mad idea that somehow came to fruition helped by the fact that people were looking for something different from the overpriced conveyor belt corporate rock sponsor-fests that populate the British summer.
“Looking back we have so many great memories – where else would you find Iggy Pop, Matt Groening, Patti Smith or Nick Cave holed up in a basic chalet at a Pontins Holiday Camp? The support from the artists and festival-goers alike has been incredible but it’s time to move on and look towards the future…”