There was a 25,000 sellout crowd at Gothenburg Slottsparken Aug. 14-15, about 2,000 per day more than attended the four-day Hultsfred Festival (July 8-11).
Adding a day at Way Out West could be a possibility but the Swedish newspapers are already hailing it as the country’s “best and most interesting festival.” Broquist is understandably reluctant to try to fix something that clearly isn’t broken.
“We have sold out without a major headliner and by booking acts that we love and hope the audience will love,” Broquist told Pollstar.
Trying to compete with the 40,000 per day crowds at Peace & Love Festival in Borlänge or the 33,000 per day Sweden Rock brings to Solvesborg would mean radically changing the site configuration and booking policy, he said.
“We could make more room in some places and add perhaps 1,000 or 2,000 more, but growing beyond that would mean changing a site that’s compact without being overcrowded,” he said. “There are only three stages and it doesn’t take more than five minutes to get from one to another.”
The acts helping Luger, a Live Nation subsidiary, pull a full house to Gothenburg Slottsparken included Arctic Monkeys, Antony & the Johnsons with the Gothenburg Symphonic Orchestra, Basement Jaxx, Lily Allen, Robyn, Vampire Weekend, My Bloody Valentine and Glasvegas.
Luger’s last summer festival for 2009 will be the 10,000-capacity Popaganda in Stockholm Aug. 28-29. Lykke Li, MGMT, and Johnossi are among the headliners.