Small Town Records was born back in 2004, when label owner Pete saw something special in the late Penknifelovelife. After a failed attempt at trying to get the band signed to Punktastic Recordings, an enthusiastic Pete offered to release the band’s EP on the newly established Small Town Records. Since that initial signing, this little, independent label has grown and grown and now has an impressive roster of talent signed to its books, including Devil Sold His Soul, Floods and Shadows Chasing Ghosts, amongst many others.
All of these and more are currently set to appear at the coveted Butserfest Festival, next Saturday the 15th September inHampshire on the Small Town Records Stage. For those of you out of the loop, Butserfest is a drug and alcohol free festival aimed at kids between the ages of 14 and 20 (although not exclusively) which takes place at Butser Hill in Queen Elizabeth Country Park in East Hampshire and is currently in its sixth year. With headline act Kids in Glass Houses along with acts such as Don Broco, Mallory Knox and Canterbury gearing up to take to the stage on the 15th, we caught up with Small Town Records label owner Pete to find out how he got involved with sponsoring a stage at the festival and who he is looking forward to seeing.
HTF: Is this the first time you have sponsored a stage at a festival such as this?
Pete: Yeah its our first national event on this level. We’ve held local events before but this is a big step up for us which we’re really excited about.
HTF: Did you approach the organisers about the sponsorship or was it something that was offered to you?
Pete: I know one of the event organisers and it sort of came about over random chats across the last 12 months or so. I know how passionate the organisers are to put on a great events and really put Butserfest on the map, and so I was very excited to get involved as I knew I could work easily on their level to help put together something really good. We talked it all over and it all fell in to place like all good plans do.
HTF: In the last few years, we have seen more festivals taking a hit and having to downsize or cancel altogether, what do you think it is about Butserfest that has made it successful?
Pete: I think the fact that Butserfest has stayed true to its values over the years (no drugs/alcohol) has allowed a lot of locals to really buy in to what the team are doing. Having the local council back the event is a great building block for a successful event year on year also. People often turn their nose up at Butserfest’s values but at the end of the day, kids keep coming back every year and each time the bands/set up get bigger and better. There is clearly the right formula in place.
HTF: Butserfest has been going from strength to strength in its six years, what advice do you have for anyone who owns a record label and would be interested in sponsoring a festival stage?
Pete: I think label sponsorship is a lot different to standard sponsorship from say a clothing line or magazine. The idea behind us sponsoring the stage was so we can showcase some of our roster, so if a label was to sponsor the event, I’d suggest picking a suitable event that matches your acts, but also one with organisers who are open to your ideas. If it was the Small Town Records Stage and had none of our acts on, I’m sure a lot of people would wonder what the hell was going on.
HTF: Do you have plans to sponsor any other stages, either up and coming festivals or more established ones?
Pete: So far the folks at Butserfest have been brilliant to us and so if this opportunity comes up again next year, I’d love to work with them again, however you never know what’s round the corner so things may change for either of us! It’s certainly something we’ve enjoyed doing but the team we work with would have to be right!
HTF: There aren’t a great deal of festivals around at the moment that are aimed specifically at teenagers, do you feel this is something that sets Butserfest apart from other festivals?
Pete: Definitely. I think if you can get schools and colleges to back events because they trust events to be “teen friendly” then you’ll certainly have huge amounts of additional promo. Plus parents are more likely to buy in to what is happening too. It just snowballs.
HTF: What was it specifically about Butserfest that made you want to get involved?
Pete: The organisers were really excited by some of our ideas and we loved theirs. We just said “let’s do this” and the more we talked about the possibilities the more obvious it became that it had to happen. Forming that relationship with the event organisers was a key to the success.
HTF: Do you find a festival such as this is an ideal way to showcase the band’s on your label? Is this something you have found to be beneficial?
Pete: So far so good. We have lots of plans in place to ensure that on the day of the event we make sure every kid leaves the site wanting to know what Small Town Records is all about and hopefully buy into the family brand we are trying to create. That is what we want really, new music fans to recognise the label and our bands.
HTF: Other than your own, which bands do you expect to create the biggest crowds this year?
Pete: The main stage line up is awesome. I’m expecting that bands like Yashin, Lower Than Atlantis and Don Broco will be the big pullers on there for sure.
HTF: Who are you, personally, most excited to see?
Pete: Mallory Knox always put on a fantastic show but I’m keen to see Housefires on the Small Town Stage and it will be my first chance to see our very own Violet with their new vocalist infront of such a big crowd.
HTF: What can we expect from Small Town in the next year?
Pete: Lots of new releases for sure. We have got the bug for trying new things at the moment. Working with bands like Devil Sold His Soul and The Elijah has opened us up to new creative ideas so we’re going to try continue that and keep giving fans new and innovative products that are above and beyond just a basic CD.
To find out more about Small Town Records, head to the website.
Interviewer: Amy Jones
