2005 YEAR IN REVIEW: ACROSS THE NARROWS BRINGS UK TO NYC

U2 was the most requested live event of 2005 topping the Rolling Stones and second only to the New England Patriots of football, according to Ticketmaster. T…

2005 was the year that the landscape finally shifted between package tour festivals and single weekend festivals. Two of the most successful, Atlanta’s Music Midtown and the Coachella Festival, prompted many to take a chance on the single weekend festival.

Weekend festivals are a way of life in the summer in the U.K. with the success of Reading, Glastonbury and the V festivals among others. New York City had its inaugural Across The Narrows festival and it was staged at two borough locations, one in Brooklyn and one in Staten Island. Borrowing U.K. flavor playing the fest were Oasis, Doves, Jet, and several others. Doves drummer Andy Williams talked about the weekend festival culture spreading to the U.S.

“As you say, in England and in Europe there’s a history of festivals. Glastonbury has been going since, what, 1970? So it’s quite a part from Coachella, a couple of other festivals, Austin…It’s quite a new thing really for the states. But as far as, if you’re a punter it’s great. You pay whatever, I don’t know how much it is to go, but you see loads of bands rather than shelling out to go see separate bands, so…”

As with any new idea it takes a while to catch on. While the Across The Narrows festival wasn’t a sell-out in its first year, Williams said that the festival locations and idea has a bright future.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a setting like this. It’s an amazing setting. There are these ships going past in the background. It’s great, really good. There could’ve been a few more people around, but I heard there was something going on in Brooklyn, isn’t there? So, yeah I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like this. I’m sure it’s got a good future.”

Across The Narrows, joined the Austin City Limits Festival, Bonnaroo, Vegoose as city based festivals, and even the once mighty touring festival, Lollapalooza, chose to hunker down for one weekend in one city, choosing Chicago as its destination.