We shouldn't get too big!
- Liverpoolfestivalen
- Aug 12
- 6 min read
Now another festival is over and we have had a chat with booking manager, Jaran Pedersen, about this year's festival and the future.
Jaran is one of the guys in green jackets you might notice the most when you're at the Liverpool Festival. In the lead-up to the festivals, he works mostly with media, communications and booking. During the festivals, you'll usually find him on one of the stages as a conference host and stage manager. We've had a chat with the guy who came up with the idea of creating a Liverpool festival in Gjøvik a few years ago.
How does it feel to have completed your fourth festival?
It's a good feeling of course, we've never had so many festival participants spread over the three days as this year, and people were mostly cheerful and seemed happy with most things. The Sunday after the festival is mostly about downing the rig, so it wasn't until Monday that the feeling of happiness set in. At the same time, you almost get a sad reaction when you think about the fact that there's another year until next time.
Was it difficult to make the decision that there would be a festival in 2026?
Well, none of us could say that there would be anything next year in advance of this year's festival. We feared that the weather would ruin ticket sales towards the last week and that it would have such major financial consequences that we would not be able to organize a new festival. Running a festival is by no means a gold mine, at least not on the scale we are running. Our goal is to be sustainable and be able to make up for it to all legends, artists and suppliers. We have ploughed any profits we have made so far into further developing and building the festival. I must also say that it is extremely gratifying to see how the festival passes are already flying out. When you post this interview, we may already be out of Early Birds, it has never happened in so few days before.
How big do you want to be, and how big can you be?
When we started planning the very first festival, we thought it would be no problem to gather at least 1,500 supporters in Gjøvik. It turned out to be more difficult than we thought. It was simply quite challenging to share the news that we existed, and to this day I actually meet supporters who don't know about us.
But over the past five years, we have built the festival brick by brick, both in terms of content and visibility. More and more people know about us and everyone who has been there is mostly good ambassadors who spread the message. It is the best marketing we can get.
As for how big we can get, I don't really know. We would like to grow and become even bigger, but at the same time we don't want to get too big.
We are afraid that some of the idea behind the Liverpool Festival will be erased if we get too big. We want to be a place where you are seen and where you can easily get on first names with others. If we get too big we may lose some of the personal touch that is so important to us, and I think also to those who buy festival passes year after year.
How do legends and artists thrive in Gjøvik?
Legends and artists really enjoy being with us and brag about how nice it is to walk around the area. They also brag about how they are welcomed and treated by both us staff and the volunteers. We don't do VIP treatment, we try to treat everyone equally, legends, artists and supporters alike. We are Norwegians and a little less formal than some English people might be used to, but both they and we adapt. Furthermore, we have been absolutely lucky that all the legends we have had visiting so far have turned out to be very nice people.
We would like to grow and become even bigger, but at the same time we don't want to become too big.
How are you working towards next year's festival?
The work started well before this year's festival started. Although at that time we could not be sure that there would be a new festival. As a booking manager, you have to strike while the iron is hot and two artists who will take the main stage next year were ready already in the spring. One has been there before but the other will be making his debut. An exciting name, a young Englishman who we hope to bring to the supporter spotlight and who could perhaps become the new Andy Hodgson.
Andy wasn't very well known when we booked him for the festival in 2023, he had just taken over from Jamie Webster at Taggy's, but there was something about him that made me absolutely sure that he would fit in with us. At that time, he still didn't get to play on the main stage. The same thing happened with The Ragamuffins, who hardly any Norwegian had heard of before they entered our stage in 2023. Incidentally, it was the first time Andy and David in The Ragamuffins met and 14 days later they went into the studio and recorded Lucho.
And what legends are coming?
We have several names on the block and are in talks with most of them. No one is 100% settled when this interview is published but we hope to be able to launch the first names very soon. Maybe already around August 30th when the festival director and I are over in Liverpool for meetings, promotion and some football (ed. note: Liverpool – Arsenal)
What was the highlight this year?
It's hard to pick a highlight, but if I absolutely had to choose, it would probably be the little memorial service we held for Diogo Jota. It was touching and solemn. As I stood looking out over the festival grounds while David John Jaggs played a beautiful version of the Jota song, I had to shed a tear. Everyone was there in silent reflection, many clearly affected by the tragedy that happened earlier this summer. It was a beautiful moment, but something I don't want to experience again.
On the other hand, I have to say that it is very pleasing that there are more and more children at the festival. They seem to enjoy themselves just as much as the adults. Of course, we take extra care of the youngest supporters, they are the ones who will carry the supportership forward.
If I may highlight one more thing, it would have to be the experience of walking around the area and hearing all the dialects and not least different languages. It was simply great to have so many nationalities visiting, not least the supporters who made the trip from Liverpool.
What will be different next year?
What is certain is that Livergirls ONLY, the Supporter Dinner and the English Breakfast are here to stay, but one should not ignore the fact that we may come up with some new concepts that we can tie into the festival. We almost have to evaluate this year's festival before we launch anything new.
The biggest change next year is that we may move the festival area to the neighboring site where we have been for 4 years. It is an area that Gjøvik municipality is in the process of developing into a place that can suit a festival like ours. We have been involved and have been able to provide input on how the area should look. If everything goes according to plan, we will have an area that is more functional for us as organizers, and an area that we believe will give festival participants a better overall experience.
Finally, do you have a request?
I think that was a leading question. I would of course encourage all supporters who read this to take the trip next year. And I would encourage everyone who has been there to bring a friend, neighbor, nephew or girlfriend to next year's festival. It is the fifth year and we have to make it an extra good festival!
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