Event Industry News travelled down to Ragley Hall, Alcester, during the two-day build of the music festival to speak to everyone involved, including the festival organiser, Antonio Socci and Novum AV’s head of audio, Matt Hawkeswood.
Born from a passion for live music, Swingtime in the Gardens is the first festival that Antonio has designed, planned and hosted himself, and incorporated all the styles of music and themes that he has enjoyed over the years.
Lifting inspiration from other festivals, Antonio wanted to first discover what made other live music events successful before committing to a firm structure and continued making adaptations to the plan even during the days prior to the gates opening.
Antonio enlisted the expertise of Novum AV, an event production company, to secure staging, lighting and sound for the one-day festival.
Saving costs for both Antonio and Novum AV, the production company made conscious decisions to use their time and equipment economically. Their new acquisition of Outline equipment means they are using less energy and transporting less equipment which allows them to cut costs for themselves as well as for Antonio.
Antonio plans to organise a second edition of Swingtime in the Gardens for next year. With ambitions to make the festival a larger event, he is making it a two-day event and adding camping.