"This Feeling are the best in the business when it comes to finding new artists and propelling them upwards. It's a pleasure to support what they do, it's incredibly important that we support new music and the next generation of headliners here at the Isle of Wight Festival."
John Giddings, Isle of Wight Festival
This Feeling’s epic 10th anniversary line-up!
The Isle of Wight Festival kicks off this Thursday, and with it, a 10-year anniversary of This Feeling’s now legendary stage at the event. This Feeling Supremo Mikey Jonns spoke this week of his delight at the achievement.
“I’ll never forget walking towards the This Feeling tent and just going ‘Wow,’” he recalls. “I still get that sense of awe, wonder and pride now.”
Having slogged it out on the grassroots circuit, giving rise to countless bands along the way, the stage is a pay-off for artist and promoter alike. Financially, festival slots traditionally result in a loss for the promoter, but culturally – and most crucially – spiritually, these appearances become an unquantifiable jewel in the crown of many an unsigned band. Quite simply, This Feeling’s work in the industry is priceless.
Opportunity Rocks
“The big thing about This Feeling – and the thing I am most proud about – is giving people a chance,” says Jonns. “Unless you have an agent of connected manager, it’s very difficult to play major festivals. Over the last 10 years, we’ve given well over 500 acts a major festival slot – with the vast majority of them having no agent.”
Band of the moment cutting their teeth on This Feeling’s stage
Jonns went on to speak of his pride at This Feeling’s biggest success to date. “Probably the biggest and best example is The K’s, who progressed from low down on our stage, to headlining it and then opening on the main stage, all without and agent. And just look at them now, they’re the huge band we believed very early on they could be.”
Anyone lucky enough to have seen them, would be hard pushed to dispute Jonns’ eye (and ear) for new talent as being up there with the best in the business. In retrospect, the roots of the now-beloved festival still carry a certain aura that resonates from its very first year. A celebration of new music, and a launchpad for its future stars, all packed into one unforgettable weekend.
“Incredible” is the word he uses to describe it. “We had Dave McCabe's new band and Jez and Andy Doves’ side project Black Rivers headlining, plus loads of great new bands including The Sherlocks, Slow Readers Club, Trampolene and Findlay, who all played their first ever festival.”
Believe in Music and Working Hard
When asked about the first band to ever take the stage, Jonns’ response is immediate. “Bully Bones, a band from Isle of Wight who are still going now. I think it's important there's support for local acts and the local scene.”
Mikey Jonns on Zone Island!
The local scene is everything to This Feeling. Giving bands a shot in their hometowns, helping them build real audiences before moving on to support slots and later headline tours may sound like a business model, but it is so much more than that. This Feeling is a public service.
He continues: “We’ve not changed in terms of how we work, and as long as I am in this industry, I won’t change. There’s no deals done, or shortcuts.” This Feeling’s founder went on to open up on the non-negotiables within his ethos. “I believe in music and working hard. Impress at your local grassroots music venue, keep releasing good tunes, keep grafting, and there’s a good probability we will give your band that all important chance...”
A Rare Launchpad for Young Dreamers
John Giddings, the Isle of Wight boss, deserves credit too. Bands on the This Feeling stage one year often graduate to the bigger festival stages the next. There is an unbreakable community spirit among the bands, writers, photographers, DJs, and PR people, all of whom recognise that the link from top to bottom in the industry is broken.
Front of stage, they’ll be in the first few rows singing. Backstage, there’s a family spirit (a boozy one, granted, but a fiercely loyal one. It’s created a place where rising bands and big names coexist as one.
“Bands like The K's, The Clause, The Kairos and The Lilacs – who are all playing the big stages at IOW now – make a beeline to This Feeling as soon as they've finished. I think that's great. They've not forgotten where they've come from, and where the zone is! Crouchy turning up was great, although he had to stand at the back!” Jonns laughs.
“Rick Witter, Jamie Webster, Blossoms – they've all popped in to see mates’ bands, or just come to hang out.”
Over a decade, and across multiple festivals, This Feeling has become the glue that holds the industry together. Fans, writers, bands, photographers, pluggers, PRs and labels alike. This Feeling is the unspoken bond that unites anyone who has ever uttered the words “this band should be bigger.” Thanks to This Feeling, we get to see it happen.