Festival Boss Talks Sonisphere

Rock Sound talks festivals in a new interview with Sonisphere organiser Stuart Galbraith .

With Iron Maiden, Rammstein (pictured), Alice Cooper, Anthrax, Placebo, Bring Me The Horizon, Henry Rollins and more already announced it is clear that Sonisphere is going to be a highlight of the festival season this year.

Rock Sound grabbed a moment with Stuart Galbraith, the man behind the festival, to ask a few burning questions and get more information on bands, ticket sales and changes to the site...

What prompted the move from two to three days?
"We have added bands on Friday as that is what our customers told us they wanted. In 2009 the vast majority of customers were already at Sonisphere on the Friday night and ready to party, so adding bands on the Friday night made sense!"

The line-up seems to lean heavily towards the classic end of the spectrum, will Sonisphere still be showcasing newer bands in the tents and main stages too?
"As with Sonisphere last year, we are trying to put together as broad a range of rock as possible and yes, we will definitely be adding one or two stages showcasing new talent but we will announce this later in the year."

How excited are the organisers this year, will Sonisphere 2010 be the premier metal festival in the UK?
"I don’t think for us it's about being premier, it's just about being as good as we can possibly make it. We are building a very fast rock community around the Sonisphere and Facebook sites and the level of interest in Sonisphere after the success of 2009 has increased even more this year and we’re really pleased."

When will the next batch of bands be announced and are there any teasers about what fans can expect?
"We had two major announcements prior to Christmas and the next will be mid February."

How are ticket sales going, what is the target capacity for the festival in it's second year?
"Ticket sales are going very well, they’re certainly much increased on last year. We have a capacity of 50,000 people each day and we’re hoping to fill that."

What has changed after feedback from attendees of Sonisphere 2009? What new elements are being drawn into the festival experience?
"We held a focus group meeting with the forum customers who attended Sonisphere last year and while we’re not complacent, we have pretty much got everything as we want it and everyone is happy.We will be increasing camping capability, obviously we have added a third day and I believe that there will be some changes to the site layout after the feedback we received."

For the latest news head to www.sonispherefestivals.com.