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| Ibiza 123 Rocktronic Festival |
Sting, Elton John and Lenny Kravitz……mmmmmm. Not taking away from the musical talent of these artists, but would I pay to see them? As a 42 year old male, with a wide range of musical tastes (expect for Heavy Metal) I dont think so. Lenny Kravitz, maybe but Sting and Elton John, no. My parents are big Elton John fans, as are a lot of my Aunts and Uncles. I would however, consider going to see Sting as part of the Police lineup but not as a solo artist. Its an odd mix of live artists taking on some of the best electronic music DJ’s and contemporary acts in the world. Of the three day line up, the final day on July 3rd, which sees Lenny Kravitz take on DJ Luciano would be the most interesting gig of the festival, but I dont think I would pay €65 for the privilege.
The whole event is a good idea and the people behind the project deserve recognition for the concept of branding Ibiza as a music Island. But Ibiza is the preserve of the young and unfortunately this event will not appeal to many of the 18-30 agegroup that throng the Island during the summer season. It will be difficult for Ibiza Rocktronic 2012 to draw punters away from Ibiza Rocks, the young live music festival crowd that like their acts a little edgier and not so well rounded and plump. The €40 Ibiza Rocks ticket offers a much better musical and value option than the €65 a day ticket price attached to the Rocktronic event. Ibiza rocks also throws in a free after party and they know their market way better than Rocktronic seem to do. But the question is….. who are Rocktronic marketing this concept at??
The VIP element is nicely catered for at Rocktronic Ibiza and I feel its more of an event for the well heeled 40 plus market, who will be introduced to electronic music via a watered down, celebrity driven rock concert. There is nothing edgy or exciting about this festival, its smacks of power and money and commercially driven branding that is now so popular in Ibiza at present. Is San Antonio ready for Rocktronic Ibiza? For the last 15 years or so, many people would stick their noses up at the mere mention of San Antonio…”oh no Im not going there, its full of chavs, larger louts, fighting, puking and pissing on the streets, not my type of crowd thank you very much”. Now all of a sudden its the place to be, well a part of it is, the more civilised Sunset Strip.
This in my opinion is what Ibiza Rocktronic is trying to cash in on, a festival with the backdrop of the famous Ibiza Sunsets. Hopefully Cafe Mambo and Cafe Del Mar wont be affected too much by the music from its new next door neighbour. It will be interesting to see how Rocktronic handles the sunset. Both DJ Pippi and Alfredo should be able to play a classic sunset mix of more down tempo and chilled tunes and Im sure there will be some attempt by Sting and Elton John to croon at the setting of the Ibiza sun. A flamenco styled guitar solo by Lenny is the best sunset bet from the live artists.
Hopefully, I will be proven wrong and Ibiza Rocktronic will become an institution on the Ibiza scene. Its got the right concept and it would be an ideal festival for May or October when the local hotels and businesses would require an event of its stature to extend its summer season a little longer. In the spirit of Ibiza, credit is due to the promoters for trying something new but one would feel that a more contemporary line up would prove a bigger hit with the younger generation. Plus, I do not think San Antonio is ready for the VIP celebrity driven concept right now. Below is the video to one of my favourite tracks of the year so far from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs who are billed to appear at Rocktronic on July 3rd.
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