Bloodstock boss Adam Gregory says nothing is decided at the festival without the input of the fans.
The 2016 edition of the Catton Park event draws to a close tonight (Sunday) with a headline appearance from Slayer, following Twisted Sister on Friday and Mastodon on Saturday.
And the diversity on those headliners came about, like everything else at Bloodstock, following consultation with the audience.
Twisted Sister played an afternoon slot on the second stage at Download in 2014, but the fact they are on their farewell tour and that this was their last appearance in the UK meant they were given top billing at Bloodstock.
Gregory tells TeamRock: “This is a metal festival by the fans, for the fans, and the reason we took a chance on giving Mastodon their first UK headline slot and having Twisted Sister up there was because that’s what the fans told us they wanted.
“We don’t hide away in an office. I’ve been walking around the site so much that my feet are killing me! I want every fan to have the kind of experience I would want to have a festival and I want them to have a good experience at every touch point at Bloodstock.
“We scour the message boards and we run exit questionnaires to get the feedback that we then take into our thinking for the next year’s festival.
“The problem with the festival scene, I find, is that festivals are afraid to take a chance in general. We’re not. Twisted Sister were incredible, Mastodon did brilliantly and tonight Slayer will take things to another level.”
- Bloodstock 2016: Day Two Review
- Bloodstock 2016: Day One Review
- Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier embraces diversity in metal
- Twisted Sister's Dee Snider calls for unity in metal
Fans at Bloodstock have been vocal in their praise for Gojira’s Saturday performance on the Ronnie James Dio stage, with many commenting that they could have pulled off a headline slot.
Gregory agrees and says he’s already considering talking to the French metal outfit about it.
He says: “Gojira, they are headliners of the future. We will have that conversation with those guys. We want to help pull through newer bands, especially if the fans are telling us they want that.
“To have older leading lights like Twisted Sister one night and Gojira, future headliners, the next day was great. Everyone that watched those sets was impressed.”
As for tonight’s headliners, Gregory says: “We last had Slayer here not long after Jeff Hanneman died so it was a played down set out of respect to Jeff.
“This time they’ve got a huge pyro set and it’s going to be at a completely new level.”
The promoter also says there are plans to bring site-wide wi-fi to Bloodstock in 2017 and that he has two bands already signed up, but he can’t yet say who for contractual reasons.
