The Week in Light & Sound
- Details
Both Scottish singer-songwriter Capaldi and London rapper Dave are up for new artist of the year, and despite their relative infancy in the industry are also up for the big awards of best male solo artist, best album and song of the year, thanks to chart-topping debuts in the past 12 months.
The past 12 months have been very successful for both artists, with Dave's album Psychodrama winning the Mercury Prize, Capaldi topping the singles chart for seven weeks with Someone You Loved, and both playing bit sets at Glastonbury.
Male solo artists dominate this year's Awards, with the line-up for best album mirroring that for best male artist, with Capaldi and Dave up against Harry Styles, Michael Kiwanuka and Stormzy in both categories.
Charli XCX, FKA Twigs, Freya Ridings, Mabel and Mahalia are all nominated for best female artist, while Bastille, Bring Me The Horizon, Coldplay D Block Europe and Foals are up for best group.
Festival Report - Glastonbury Festival bosses must ensure toilets are cleaned more often and plan for hot weather better, licensees say. There is also concern that camping areas might be overcrowded, says Mendip District Council, which oversees the licensing of the world-famous event.
The issues are raised in a report on how the five-day 2019 festival, headlined by Stormzy, was run. But the report, which festival organisers have not commented on, notes it was "well planned and managed". Checks on security staff and food hygiene were also covered. Glastonbury is now the world's largest festival, but for the rest of the year Mendip council oversees a largely rural area with just 109,000 residents. Around 200,000 people attend the festival itself, dwarfing the local population.
In its "de-brief" report, the council said more needs to be done to ensure there is enough water for the crowds near the festival's stages, particularly when hot weather is forecast. Toilets should be cleaned more frequently and security staff need "more robust briefing" about what can be brought onto the festival site.
"Ongoing concerns" about how densely packed the camping areas of the festival site mean councillors have asked organisers to clarify how they measure the capacity of each area. Glastonbury 2020, which sold out in just over 30 minutes, will be held between 24-28 June.
Royal Patronage - The Duchess of Sussex is to continue as patron of the National Theatre, despite the announcement that she and Duke of Sussex are stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family.
“We very much look forward to continuing our work with her,” said a National Theatre spokeswoman. The Duchess of Sussex took on the role in January last year, taking over from the Queen, who had held the role for the past 45 years. It was among the first of the Duchess’ patronages to be announced.
Farewell - Neil Peart, the drummer for Canadian prog-rock group Rush, has died at the age of 67. The band said in a statement he died after an "incredibly brave" battle with brain cancer. Often credited with being one of the best drummers ever, Peart was known for performing on massive and elaborate drum kits with great speed, technical proficiency and stamina.
The group last toured in 2015 and played their final show in Los Angeles at the Forum. Peart announced his retirement from drumming and from Rush in December of the same year. A statement posted on the band's Twitter account said: "It is with broken hearts and the deepest sadness that we must share the terrible news that on Tuesday our friend, soul brother and band mate of over 45 years, Neil, has lost his incredibly brave three-and-a-half year battle with brain cancer (glioblastoma).”
(Jim Evans)
14 January 2020
