I was saddened this week to learn of the cancellation of the Red Rooster Festival which was due to take place at the end of May. I was a little late to the party on this one, only finally attending what is, for me, quite a local event in 2023 and 2024. But it did seem like it had hit upon a healthy niche of vintage R&B, Americana and more Roots leaning acts and furthermore, the attendances looked pretty healthy. Admittedly Red Rooster was one of the smaller festivals on the circuit, but I assumed their bottom line in terms of ticket sales was calculated and attainable. I think maybe they suffered because a percentage of the attendees booked late but, from the evidence I saw, they did generally book when the time came around. I have a friend who came along on one of the days but only made the decision to go that morning. But if you are the organizer and it is your money on the line if those tickets do not sell come opening day, then it has to be accepted that this is not a risk most us would, or could afford to, take. Therefore, I have no grounds to criticize the decision to cancel due to ticket sales and lack of funding. It is just a shame, that is all.

I do wonder if I was part of the problem and therefore, potentially, represent a wider, largely invisible demographic? You will notice I attended in 2023 and 2024 but not last year so what was the reason for that? Well, I am sorry to admit to non-sports fans that last year I held off committing to Red Rooster because my football team, Arsenal, looked like they might get to the Champions League Final, which just happened to be scheduled for the Saturday night of the festival. As it turned out, Arsenal did not make the final last year but by the time I knew that it was a bit too late to re-shuffle things to incorporate attending a festival instead. Well, this year, as some of you might know, Arsenal are once again in with a chance of making it to the most prestigious final in European football competition and once again too, the final is scheduled for what would have been the closing Saturday night of Red Rooster. So, as it was last year, I had held back from a festival on the basis that it might have meant my missing a sporting occasion for my team. The last and only time in their history they got to that stage was in 2006 and they lost so, it is potentially a night I just might share in an experience no Arsenal fan has witnessed in their whole 150-year history.

Do you see the problem? And am I not completely off the mark to suggest it might have just been a small but significant factor in some numbers hesitating in committing to this festival? It is, after all, in the Southeast of England and football is, I believe, the number one national mass entertainment interest and on top of that, Arsenal are a North London club and have a huge fanbase in this part of England. I believe this all stacks up quite credibly, even though I can easily believe that many of the hardcore Red Rooster attendees would turn their noses up at the idea of even watching football, let alone prioritizing it over a music event. Regardless, having put this all out there I would like to take this opportunity to apologize if any actions of mine contributed, however indirectly, to this festival being cancelled. You cannot plan events based on the sporting calendar; I know that. If you did nothing would ever get booked because there are major sporting events happening every weekend, even every day at some times of the year.

Still, I come back to what this occasion represents; the Champions League Final is the biggest fixture in the football club season and if your team has even the slightest chance of taking part then, as a fan, you will not want to miss it. Arsenal genuinely do have a good chance of getting to the final this year, even more so than they did last season to be honest. On Wednesday they played the tougher leg of a two-leg semi-final, away from home in Spain, and came away with a deserved draw. Now they need to win at home in the second leg on Tuesday evening in London. If this happens you might notice some tangibly happier writing on Fruit Tree Records in the days that follow. If we are eliminated however, denied a place in the final for the second year in a row, then I guess all you football loathing cowboys mourning the loss of Red Rooster can say I got hit by the karma I deserved.