Tom HallThe inaugural KITE festival – a three-day greenfield festival – has officially launched via Kickstarter, creating a community of ‘festival founders’ who will help shape and develop it.
The joint venture between Neapolitan Music, the founders of Love Supreme Jazz Festival alongside U-Live and Tortoise Media – which is the brainchild of ex-BBC News director James Harding and Katie Vanneck-Smith ex-president of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones – will take place 12-14 June.
KITE is billed as being for ‘curious, inquisitive and cultural minds’.
The release reads: “In an era where access to news and information is at everyone’s fingertips, debate and discussion are daily occurrences and people are increasingly aware of the world around them; KITE festival will champion this thirst for a greater understanding of the Zeitgeist. KITE will curate a festival programme that places equal weight on music, ideas, discussion and debate and will play host to a diverse range of musicians, artists, public figures, cultural icons and thought leaders, in a programme which is accessible for all ages.”
The launch is also intended to act as a ‘call-to-action’ for ‘festival founders’ with a passion for exploring ideas and music to help shape KITE and be part of its community. Founders will be able to meet one another and the KITE team at the festival, as well as access the best price tickets at any time for all future KITE festivals.
KITE will take place at Kirtlington Park in Oxfordshire. The Main Stage will host headline artists whilst the Second Stage will showcase ‘vital new voices and experimental outlooks’.
Conversations and comedy will bring big interviews, big ideas and comedy to The Big Top Tent, while The Bookshop will be a place for surprise signings and pop-up performances, and emerging artists will perform on The Bandstand from midday to sundown.
Finally, the ThinkIn Village will be a space for audiences to put their feet up, to engage, converse, learn, discover and celebrate ideas.
Ciro Romano, festival director (pictured), said: “We are very excited to develop a new festival that puts equal emphasis on both music and ideas. Alongside our founding community and the teams at U-Live and Tortoise we can deliver a festival that is perfect for the new decade. Across the board we see festivals dedicated to literature, politics, science but we couldn’t see anywhere that was programming music and debate on an equal footing. We will deliver a pioneering line-up with legendary and contemporary artists alongside world class public figures, thinkers and cultural icons.”