Performers and caterers claim to still be “owed thousands” by Standon Calling

6 February, 2024

Standon Calling Festival

Some performers and caterers have claimed that they’re still “owed thousands” by festival Standon Calling for work dating back to last summer.

The festival was held in Hertfordshire last July and tickets for this year’s festival are currently on sale.

In a new report by the BBC, one catering business claimed they had still not seen their takings from the event, totalling around £13,000.

“It’s really scary, that’s a huge loss, we paid a lot to be there and it’s been worrying that we might never get it back,” the vendor, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the BBC.

Another group of performers who appeared at the festival claimed they were owed £12,000. “We loved Standon Calling, it was our local festival, we loved working there, we want to keep working there,” they told the BBC.

Other people had been in touch with the BBC about not being paid, including performers. One, Ali Rose, who runs the Sounds Familiar Quiz, said she had been unable to get hold of festival organisers.

“The worst thing for me is the silence. If they had replied and explained that would be something, that’s what gets me more,” she explained.

There are several other performers who have also contacted the BBC to claim they too haven’t been paid.

Alex Trenchard, director of Standon Calling, apologised for the delay in a statement to the BBC. He said: “We apologise for the delay to a small number of payments from our 2023 festival. We are in the process of fulfilling these and contacting any remaining performers and suppliers.”

He added: “We constantly review all aspects of the event so we can be sure to deliver the top-class experience our loyal audience deserves.”

The festival is cashless, with attendees wearing wristbands that they can top up with money during the event. All foods, drinks and goods are paid for using this system on site.

Back in September, a compulsory strike-off notice was posted for Stanton Calling Limited, with an intention to remove it from Companies House. In that instance, it means trade must stop immediately, but four days after this, it was discontinued.

Recently, figures from the UK independent festival scene spoke to NME about why so many grassroots events have seen cancellations recently or are taking a fallow year in 2024.

While a number of the UK’s mid-to-large capacity festivals have shared their line-ups over recent weeks, a number of grassroots events have broken news to fans that they would no longer be going ahead. Last month saw Herefordshire’s Nozstock Hidden Valley announce that 2024 would be their final incarnation after 26 years due to “soaring costs” and financial risk”, while the fan favourite Shepton Mallet skating and music festival NASS announced that they wouldn’t be putting on an event this summer either as it was “just not economically feasible to continue”.

Elsewhere, rising costs also cancelled Dumfries’ Doonhame Festival for 2024, Bluedot announced a year off for the land to “desperately” recover after being struck by heavy rain and cancellations last summer, Nottingham’s Splendour has been canned for this year due to planning delays from a financially-struggling city council, and Barn On The Farm shared that it would be taking a fallow year due to financial constraints.

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