The Secret Garden Party announced Ren’s return with an exclusive show titled ‘Asylum’. This performance will delve further into the narratives derived from his number one album and lead track ‘Sick Boi’. The showcase is set to take centre stage at this year’s festival, produced and created by Ren Gill & Secret Garden Party. This is set to be a one of a kind and an unmissable spectacle that’s already earmarked to become one of 2024’s key events.
Leaning into his life journey and finding beauty in the bleakest of situations, Ren spent years bed-ridden with illness. It was from there he found new light leading towards a brighter future. Leveraging this experience, Ren began to write and create more. In 2023 he positioned number one in the UK charts with ‘Sick Boi’, a self-produced and released album. This unique achievement that doesn’t happen very often in today’s industry. The ‘Asylum’ show represents two sides of a coin, depicting the asylum Ren experienced first hand through his illness and the failure of the inherent medical system. In true artistic nature this has been transmuted into giving Asylum; a safe haven for others, in particular other creatives.
‘Asylum’ is not the first collaboration between Ren and the Secret Garden Party. They worked together on ‘Money Games pt 3’, with SGP (and the Head Gardener’s wife) working as the producers, which successfully culminated in Best Music Video, Best Concept and Best Director at the London Music Video Awards recently. As well as scooping three more awards at The International Music Video Awards. This provides a clear insight into the level of sheer creativity and quality that these two entities and proud independent forces generate when put together.
SGP founder Fred Fellowes comments on Ren – “I can safely say that in over twenty years of the Garden Party I have never seen or heard the equal; I am so excited to be creating this show with someone I genuinely believe is one of the most talented human beings of our generation.”
Saturday night will feature a state of the art light and pyrotechnics show about the current state of the music industry, aptly named That’s ‘Showbiz’, Baby. Designed by the Head Gardener and Mixsonix, with production by Acme, Immersive International and Celestial who collectively made history providing the UK’s first ever festival multimedia drone show at Secret Garden Party last year.
‘Asylum’ & ‘That’s ‘Showbiz’, Baby’ is set to shine a prominent light on the extensive corruption and corporate control that creatives often face within the music industry. Ren was originally a busker on the streets of Brighton and remains the epitome of independent music and DIY culture. This theme further amplifies SGP’s recent news that they will forego big-name headliners for their ‘Roots’ 2024 edition. Joining the Chai Wallah’s ‘Drop a headliner’ campaign, in support of grassroots artists and spearheading a reactive change across the industry. Albeit a major name for his collective awards, Ren is openly an innovator and champion of artistic independence, and the perfect ambassador for the new wave of artists cutting through.
Colombe Flint, SGP General Manager comments – “Asylum is a true collaboration of independent talent and grass roots artists. The message Asylum sends is extremely important and perfectly aligns with our values and with what we are trying to achieve with Roots.”
This is set to be Ren’s first performance in four years and he will be joining a diverse line up including Le Boom, Chinchilla, Monster Florence, Brittany Davis, Angélica Garcia and Uche Yara along with collectives like Chai Wallahs, Save Our Scene, Parable, Dubtendo and Noirganica, hosting dedicated venues to highlight and activate grassroots live music throughout SGP 2024.
As an incubator and creatively inspired platform, Secret Garden Party has continuously showcased cutting-edge acts across their cumulative 20+ years in operation. July will see them take one step further, by hosting the first ever live music stage to record production and mastering for grassroots artists during the event. The mainstage is set to transform into a live recording arena which will allow artists the opportunity to create, then release a track free of charge post festival.
Recent news has highlighted the impacts of corporate monopolies like Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the USA are amplifying the global issues across the industry worldwide, including the UK. With more than 100 festivals presently in danger of shutting down in 2024 already, and reports that show 16% of grassroots music venues have closed in the past year alone, shows that this troubling trend threatens the UK’s rich and diverse music scene as it currently stands.
By fostering independent, artistic freedom and entertainment creativity, Secret Garden Party aims to maintain its status as a leader in musical innovation and help sustain the future growth for independent festivals and events in the UK.
Make a stand for the future of the UK music scene, embrace creativity and ensure our cultural heritage remains fiercely vibrant and independent. For more information on tickets, how to support and get involved visit www.secretgardenparty.com.
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