Growing That Glow: The Shaping Of Neon Lights 2019 For The Local Festival Scene
Since 2015, Lights has brought down major acts like The Vaccines (Credit: Neon Lights Facebook page)
It’s one thing to have moments of earworm-laden euphoria at a single live gig. Nothing quite compares, however, to the full-scale programming and inherent journey of a music festival.
Like fireworks, Neon Lights burst into the scene resplendently in 2015, giving other festivals in Singapore like the now-MIA St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival a run for their money. Through the years, Neon Lights affirmed itself as a top dog with mega bookings such as CHIC Feat. Nile Rodgers, Mogwai, Foals, Sigur Rós, Interpol, Yuna and more. And like any all-rounded spectacle, the Fort Canning fiesta also wields diversity beyond the music, showcasing a zealous inclination towards the arts.
Neon Lights has shaped the face of the Singaporean festival scene over the years (Credit: Neon Lights Facebook page)
So how were the flames of Neon Lights first stoked? And who’s the one responsible for channelling this energy through its ever-glowing filament? For this, I managed to snag a chat with Neon Lights founder, Declan Forde, who’s also the innovator behind other titanic festivals in his native homeland of Ireland – Electric Picnic, Body & Soul, and Forbidden Fruit. Declan has also been part of the booking team for Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival, and has played key roles in other festivals in Australia like Harvest and Falls. With this acclaimed resume in tow, Declan has been instrumental in helping Neon Lights enter the festival fray.
Before the 2019 edition of Neon Lights kicks off on 23 and 24 November, Declan shares with me his thoughts on organising festivals in Singapore, the shifting demands of local punters, and even reveals why Neon Lights disappeared in 2017, which gave the scene a slight scare. In this interview, the truth comes to light.
Meet Neon Lights founder, Declan Forde (Credit: Neon Lights)
Hey Declan. Do you ever feel pressure from the state of other festivals in Singapore, like when it was announced that the Laneway Festival was pulling out this year?
We generally concentrate on making the best of our own event, so we don’t pay too much attention to the ups and downs of other festivals.
Is it getting harder to organise festivals in Singapore? What difficulties does Neon Lights face?
Festivals anywhere in the world are a challenge, and are a constantly-evolving beast. There have been some regulatory licensing changes in Singapore in the last year or so which create new challenges and costs, which is never great news, of course, from a promoter’s point of view. But it is the nature of the industry we’ve chosen to work in so we can’t complain.
Rain or shine, the charm of Fort Canning Park is infectious (Credit: Neon Lights Facebook page)
Projections mapped onto the fortified gates of Fort Canning Park (Credit: Neon Lights Facebook page)
It’s great that Neon Lights has held onto Fort Canning Park as a festival venue. How important is this relationship between Neon Lights and Fort Canning?
Hugely important! Fort Canning is our home and we love it! It has a unique mix of botanic and urban beauty, and an amazing history. Very few cities can boast such a spectacular festival venue right in the heart of the city centre. We genuinely feel privileged to host our festival there.
What can you tell us about the curation of acts this year?
Moving back to the bigger Fort Green footprint meant getting larger headline acts and we were particularly pleased to convince Mumford & Sons to join us for their first-ever show in the region. They and Nick Murphy/Chet Faker are amongst the acts who were at the very top of our target list since we started the festival in 2015, so we’re chuffed to have landed those two in particular.
Mumford & Sons is one of the headliners this year (Credit: Joseph Llanes)
Music and art come together at the family-friendly Neon Lights (Credit: Neon Lights Facebook page)
Will Neon Lights continue to push a balance between music and art? That, in my opinion, is what makes the festival stand out in the scene.
Definitely. It’s all about the experience and atmosphere, not just the music.
Do you think the demands of Singaporean punters have changed this past year, considering the steady influx of alternative gigs that have been popping up?
Singapore has, for decades, been a city that has a very discerning audience who is well-educated about different strands of music. That’s obviously passed down from generation to generation, and in the days of the Internet, it’s easier for people to research and hear a lot more music.
Neon Lights builds themed environments for its revellers (Credit: Neon Lights Facebook page)
And to sum up, Neon Lights gave the scene a lil’ scare when it took a gap year in 2017. Can you reveal the cause of that, and how measures are being taken to prevent that from happening again?
That was the year I moved from Australia back to my native Ireland, which meant I was spending a lot less time in Asia and the increased time-zone difference also made it more challenging to lead the Neon Lights project from the other side of the world. We worked hard on getting our team structure in place for 2018, and giving more responsibility to our brilliant Singapore-based team so the event could return in 2018. And this year, it will be our most successful year yet.
See you there this year (Credit: Neon Lights Facebook page)
Neon Lights 2019, 23 & 24 November 2019, Fort Canning Park, Singapore 179037. For full information on lineup and tickets, visit its official website.