Calvin Harris, who recently made an impromptu appearance alongside John and Edward on The X Factor, has already been confirmed as one of the supports.

One of the festival's organisers, Jamie Irving, said: 'I can confirm that on Sizzling Saturday we are delivering eight hours of entertainment and six artists.

'The sixth artist will be Spandau Ballet, the influential British band which spanned decades.

'In terms of their contemporary appeal they are huge — they recently sold out the 02 arena on three consecutive nights.

'On the first night they sold out in 20 minutes.'

He said he was very proud of the line-up, which kicks off at 4pm with the winner of the next Isle of Man Battle of the Bands competition, due to take place in January.

Next to take to the stage will be Irish indie rock band The Coronas, who are currently topping the charts in Ireland.

This year's ITV show Britain's Got Talent winners, Diversity, will then be showing off some of the dance moves which wowed judges and the public during the programme.

They will be followed by Brit Award nominated indie band The Feeling, who are best known for songs such as I Love It When You Call and Sewn.
Calvin Harris, whose second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, was released in August and reached number 1 in the UK Album Charts, will be the final act before Spandau Ballet.

The festival will take place in Noble's Park, Douglas, from June 18 to 20.

Former X Factor contestants JLS, who have since won Best Newcomer and Best Song at the 2009 MOBOs, will be headlining Friday night.

Meanwhile, Sunday will see an X Factor meets Britain's Got Talent event in the afternoon and a Last Night In the Park – 80s Stonkin'Party, featuring Rick Astley and Boy George, among others, in the evening.

Jamie said: 'We are very proud of the line-up. We are confident that we are delivering something for everyone. We are delivering four shows and 24 artists.

'There's a mixture of indie, dance and pop right the way back to the 80s era.

'We sincerely hope we are addressing every market it's possible to address.'

Tickets for Sizzling Saturday will go on pre-sale on Tuesday (December 1) and on general sale the following day.

To register, book tickets and for more information go to www.bayfestival.im

Tickets are also available from the call centre on 600600.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Send your comments to newsviews@newsiom.co.im

YOUR COMMENTS

Oh my god. Another load of rubbish. For the build up we were given the organisers have done such a bad job. 80's night on the Sunday and they have Spandau Ballet headlining Saturday. C'mon now. What a joke!!!
MANXMAN

I though this was due to be a CURRENT! Relevant Indie/Rock band???!!! Sounds more suited to the Sunday myself. Disappointed to say the least, Still Money saved I guess
ANON

Crikey how can Manxman complain? Bet he has never been to a concert in his life! If he has can he please name who he has seen and how much he paid for travel and accommodation? My friend went to see Spandau in Manchester a couple of weeks ago and it cost her a small fortune. We are so lucky that Mr Irving is bothering to go to this trouble for our Island residents. Please stop whinging on this site about this event, if you can do better yourself then do so!
TK

I must have seen over 100 bands TK and I agree completely with MANXMAN.
I have already purchased all day Sunday tickets but feel so cheated by what was promised and what has been delivered that I really would accept a refund! The overall line up is merely adequate and mediocre.
I feel the organisers own publicity built up expectations that they have failed to deliver upon.
NIGEL

I completely agree with Manxman. I regularly support acts that come over to the Island and recently queued for 4 hours for Bryan Adams tickets, but none of the acts that Mr Irving has booked come close to being worth the money The statement "We are very proud of the line-up. We are confident that we are delivering something for everyone" is absolute rubbish - Eighties music and TV Talent Show cast offs! What happened to Rock Night??? Something that could've been so good, turns out not one act worth seeing (in my opinion). Very disappointed!
NH

Don't get me wrong I am one of those people who were really looking forward to the festival and have bought a 4 show ticket to the festival after all the hype from the organisers saying its going to be massive. I have written in to the website many times defending the organisers and to tell people to stop winging about the line up. I was really looking forward to finding out the headlining act for the Saturday night expecting a really big rock/indie band along the lines of Kings of Leon, Green Day, Foo Fighters or Blink 182. I AM SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED. Spandau Ballet is neither rock or indie and belongs on the Sunday night along with the other 80's acts. I did not pay £133 to watch an 80's has-been band, an unknown Irish band and the winner of the islands Battle of Bands!! I feel like I have NOT got my moneys worth at all! It's just lucky I'm a fan of The Feeling, Calvin Harris and JLS otherwise I would be demanding a refund!
LK

I am sure (and I hope) that the festival will be a great success. The island needs more events like this to raise our status and encourage similar events in the future. I went to PBF and it was an honour and a privilege to see The Who on my very own doorstep. However there is no denying that this time round the line up is weak to say the least, and that many people, including myself, are disappointed that the organisers were not more ambitious in their choice of artists. There is a definite variety / cabaret feel to the whole event which is fine for lovers of light entertainment, but not for serious music fans. There are many great bands out there who, as headliners, would have lit up the Saturday night but instead we have the prospect of a jaded act cashing in on their 80's back catalogue to top up the pension. A great opportunity sadly missed.
PW

I completely agree with NH - the organisers are not catering for everyone - I too was expecting a 'rock night'. All the hype, build up and anticipation for those of us who were anxiously awaiting the headline act for the Saturday has come to this disappointing result. There are a lot of rock fans in the Isle of Man - just listen to the Manx Radio rock show on Saturday evening? I will stay at home and watch some decent music DVD's instead
JB

On reflection I apologise and agree with you, SB maybe should of been with the Sunday night 80's show but as the headliners of that show. I wonder if Bryan Adams would of come back to the Island for a second time. We couldn't get tickets to see him and would of loved to. I have just been trying to stick up for the Irving's who have had the bottle to put on something like this for us
TK

I think the problem is that the organisers have become a victim of their own PR. The impression given was that saturday was going to be a rock/indie night and that the headliner was going to be relevant. Spandau Ballet have not been relevant for over 20+ years and the saturday line up does not contain anyone apart from Calvin Harris who is remotely relevant. The Feeling could/should be playing on the friday, Diversity seems like a filler act drafted in from sunday afternoon and clearly Spandau Balllet should be on the sunday night. The saturday line up is disjointed at best, smacks of desperation and shows little appreciation for the current music scene. In my opinion, the line up as a whole is little better than you would expect on a cruise ship which is where i would expect the majority of acts to be plying their trade within a year or so.
DM

That really is very disappointing. I don't blame the organisers for the choice of acts. I'm sure lots of people will be pleased and I hope it's a success. However, I DO blame them for the incredible hype and repeatedly telling people the Saturday headline was going to be a major international headline act and advertising it as the Rock/Indie night. We now have Friday - XFactor losers, Saturday - 80s revival, Sunday - Xfactor losers and 80s revival. As I say, I hope it goes well and it should do. Mr Irving is providing excellent family entertainment and that is certainly something the Island needs. However, he is NOT providing the music festival originally promised and THAT is the reason a lot of music fans feel very disappointed. I have no problem paying £200 a couple of times a year to pop over to Liverpool/Manchester to see big bands. But I'm not paying £60 to see some fifty-somethings who've decided to churn out some old dross because they've run out of money. That isn't music.
JB @ KM

I agree with all the above. I support a lot of entertainment brought to the Island and in recent years the Villa has had some great artists appearing which is what this Island wants. The most irritating fact for me about thiis "festival" is the way it was promoted as a huge music festival and time and time again the "Big Announcement" has been a "Big Dissapointment" - I singed up to register for tickets months ago having heard great things were being put in place. And having seen The Who at Peel two years ago I was expecting this to be bigger and better, especially building the Saturday night up to be a "Rock" night. Like a lot of people I feel let down, what promised to be a Music Festival has turned into a lost episode down the Phoenix club.
NS

I really had faith that the Organisers would secure an indie rock group to headline Saturday - regardless of the act being hugely successful or even vaguely mediocre from the past decade. Instead it's gonna be 80's come-back band Spandau Ballet (who would be more suitable for the Sunday bill). It just doesn't make sense!?!
DISGRUNTLED INDIE ROCK CHICK

I felt this announcement would be make or break for the bay festival.
A good, current rock/indie band would have topped off the night and would have kept many people v.v.happy. Calvin Harris is great and I've been to see The Feeling and they are surprisingly good!! However Spandau Ballet wont appeal to my age group (18-30) and I feel we haven't really been catered for at all. Considering Jamie Irving also fits into this age group I thought he might have had enough nouse about him to think twice and sign someone decent! It appears a desperate move or maybe they just couldn't get a current band to play? I wonder who sat down and thought 'I know who should headline, Spandau Ballet!'
Spandau will appeal to many but I am sure they would have been better suited to the Sunday show. I wonder what poor old Calvin Harris is thinking now?
CJL

You really are a miserable lot, aren't you?
HAPPY

I really appreciate everybody's efforts to set up an IOM based Music Festival. I've been to a good number of festivals now in England and I really enjoy the whole experience. I understand they wanted to drum up interest and increase sales but I think perhaps they could have been wiser with their marketing. For the first year of a Douglas based event you would imagine that the organisers are aiming high but accept that because it's a first time festival they may not be able to attract the big name acts they and everybody on the Isle of Man would like to see and hear. A lot of people including myself are disappointed with the choice of 'headline' act for Saturday night. The only thing I like about SB is that they remind me of Trev & Simons music video review section on Alive & Kicking! Despite the apparently misleading advertising the event does need to be supported! The more successful the event is 'buzz' will be generated within the music/festival industry and bigger acts will be attracted for the following years of the Bay Festival. So if you don't go this year you can't make the same complaints next year.
MATT

A missed opportunity. They hyped it up and promised something great on the Saturday and haven't delivered with this "headline" act. I'm not sure what the exact capacity of the tent is but at £55 quid a ticket there is several hundred grand potentially passing through the till on the Saturday alone.....I suspect the Irvings have booked low cost acts to try and recover some of their losses from a few years ago. I'm all for them making a profit and recovering their losses but do it gradually and over a few years. You only have to look at the demand for the Kaisers to see that if you pay more for the big acts, you will sellout, the money will roll in and then you go for bigger and better the next year. You only have to look at the Isle of Wight festival to see what can be acheived, they only have one main stage there and thousands flock to it year on year. Great Meadow would make a cracking venue for an open air festival. Its a tried and tested venue (Agricultural Show) with lots of parking and not too many residents to cheese off. Forget the costly tent and the ridiculous seating, if it rains you get wet !! I know there are people who say if you think you can do better then do something yourself (if my lotto numbers come in i will) but in the world we live in you need money, you need it up front and you need lots of it. The Irvings seem to have the resources/contacts and I'm grateful that they are trying but there is a huge missed opportunity here.
HOPEFUL

Excellent! Spandau Ballet were and still are fabulous – well done organisers. Although I'm not a fan of Calvin Harris the rest of the "line-up" is great. You can't please everyone with the choice of bands / dance groups but in my personal opinion – very well done to all involved in organising.
TRUE MANX LASS

I thought the idea was to make each day/night a different genre of music! Calvin Harris is a major dance music DJ and Spandau Ballet are a reformed 80's new romantics band!!! Don't you think Spandau Ballet would have been best headlining the 80's night on Sunday???
NIC

Sizzling Saturday? - more like wet fart. I feel as though people have been tricked in to buying tickets expecting something much more than the cheese on offer. We are going to Sunday afternoons 'entertainment' amounting to nearly £90 for 3 people with restricted view. This will be the last event ever of this nature; they have ruined the concept. Have a look at this to see something like what could have been (that I was foolishly half expecting) http://www.isleofwightfestival.com/lineup.aspx
KEV&SUE

I also think the hype around Saturday night was very misleading. It would have been better not to categorise the nights and then people wouldn't have been given unrealistic expectations. I don't have enough spare cash to book advanced tickets for a festival before knowing who is playing and thank god I didn't. I might have been lured into booking for the Saturday night expecting a rock night when none of the acts come anywhere near my idea of rock (and mostly not close to indie either]. I'm not complaining about what has been booked even though I won't be going but I'm sure many others will. I am disappointed about the untrue information and the fact that the large number of rock fans on the Island have been left out after all the promises.
ZIGGY

I am v. disappointed with the line up but also worried about ticket sales, I would have thought that JLS, 80's revival and SB would attract the same crowd and the keen under 30 music fans who would be keen to spend their money on something half decent will stay away-I hope not but suspect that the organisers could be struggling to break even again which would be a shame for them and the IOM. Lets hope the TT festival attracts the missing rock/indie acts…
PJ

what a horrific effort getting Spandau Ballet to headline the main night of the festival. I think i'd rather go and watch Dickie Kelly down the Whitehouse in Peel for the night that watch Spandau Ballet. A few names mentioned were The Killers or Kasabian and most were genuinely looking forward to a good night of music! The funny thing is the hype the organisers put on the main act for Saturday and then SHBANG.......Spandau Ballet........pardon?
ROB

Why aren't they playing on the 80's night? They are a fantastic band from that era, after all. I would have loved to see them again but am not going to the Saturday as none of the acts interest me.
DISAPPOINTED FAN

Disappointing to say the least. The line up was supposed to be indie/rock, right? Spandau Ballet.....indie/rock?, seriously man, come on. They are some wrinkled 80s has-beens that want a little more money for the pension. The rest of the line up just makes no sense. Who has ever associated a dance group with indie/rock?, no one. There is so many big acts on offer that are touring next year, you clearly lack ambition to even try them. For just a little more than a Sunday ticket's value, you can actually buy a Leeds or Reading festival ticket!But I guess from you noticeable lack of appreciation for the current music scene, you don't even know of such festivals.
R.S.

Where are the 'A' list artists we were repeatedly promised. Yet again the Irvings promise ten times what they actually deliver. I will just have to accept that if I want to see any current bands I (along with my family) will have to continue to travel off island apart from the occasional gems that are organised at the Villa. (Well done Lenny) All I can assume is that the organisers have never looked at comparable festivals or indeed have any idea of who are real headline or up and coming acts at the moment, they just seem happy to continue to book has beens and tv show losers. It does make you wonder if they actually take any notice of the poll from the PBF website that asked which artists we would like to see - judging from the comments on here it isnt old farts from the 80's As a resident living very very close to the PBF I can warn the Nobles Park residents that they should expect lots of disruption and mess. Six months after the PBF we were still picking torn ticket stubs and associated litter from our hedges after it was blown from the site of the festival. Promised marshals to prevent festival goers parking on residents private property simply didnt appear on some days despite repeated calls to remind the organisers of what they has promised at the local residents meeting. And dont believe what they tell you about the speaker syatem being totally directional.... Guess Glastonbury, Reading etc. wont be shaking in their boots in fear of the competition just yet..........
COZ

Good job organising a festival. It's needed and hopefully will develop into something that will flourish into a yearly event which will go from strength to strength. As it stands I will not be going on any night as there are no acts that I would pay to see. I was hoping for something better than SB on Saturday night but alas I was also looking forward to a decent line up at Download this year and that failed to materialise. The point of that statement is that whilst I didn't go to a rock festival (Download) because I didn't see anything I thought worth going for - The festival was still a success and still attracted a large crowd. I hope that next year the headliners and other bands are ones that I like and I'll go to Download – in turn I hope that this Manx Bay Festival is successful enough to get another chance next year and I hope that due to the success of this year that the acts will change and not be repeated and will be ones that I will pay to see.
ANON

What a joke, what happened to the different genres of music we were promised. What happened to the top indie rock group allegedly headlining on Saturday. Its not a music festival but a pop festival
MISLEAD

The expectations of the Isle of Wight festival are incorrect and happens because people don't understand the close proximity of the Isle of Wight to England and, as a result, the much cheaper and quicker travel to that island compared to here. That said, the Bay Festival has been majorly over hyped up by the promoters beyond recognition of what we have now and that is what they have done so badly wrong. If they had just told us from the start that it would be a series of pop concerts people would be expecting, and more accepting of, what they have now provided us with. I would guess that the promoters probably did try to attract bigger acts but were rejected or found the costs for getting them over too high for their budget - hit by the failure of the Peel Bay Festival when tickets failed to sell on some nights and were given away for free to boost peoples bums on seats. The promoters can hardly tell us that "sorry we did try, but these are all we could get" or else they offend those acts that they have managed to secure. We don't have any other genres of music other than pop against their promise of different genres. The Sunday would be absolutely fine if the other days had been of a better standard as promised and expected. If the organisers had been honest with themselves over the potential calibre of acts (surely they must have done some research?!?!) and so with their potential customers from day 1, people would have had more reasonable expectations. As a result we would have happier people now and thus the revenue from better ticket sales in 2010 (including all of those silver seats that failed to sell and have now been removed, not that that's a bad thing) would help pay for better acts in 2011. Looking at the line up, I might rent some horror DVD's those nights next year - IT'LL BE A REAL SCREAM
ROB

You can tell by the way the organiser spoke on the radio that they dont have a clue what is relevent and popular music at the moment. He kept saying 'and this act leads nicely into this act'... erm no it doesnt! I still cant get over what a nightmare they had with the saturday night line up! Friday - Good for the kids/teenagers Sunday - Families and older music fans Saturday - badly organised selection of random bands/artists! Calvin Harris might save the night but i think its a shame someone like the Villa Marina events organiser (dont know his name) doesnt have access/resources to do an event of this scale.
ANON

One other thing, wouldn't it be good if lenny and the organisers of mannifest got together to look at an alternative festival?! Better venue in the grounds that seems more festival like and with people organising it that know more about relevant music?!
ROB

I would love to know how much Spandau cost, a small fortune i bet because they can fill to 02 at the moment! We are going to see Lily Allen in Liverpool, she would of been good for the indie night!
TK

Watch this space for Project Acorn………
SHWACK

TK for info I would not count Lilly Allen as indie music in any form or fashion, Poor Pop at Best.
MB

I completely agree with most peoples frustration that this event, especially the Saturday, has been promoted promising current 'A List' bands etc while the resulting line up offered reads very differently.
I wonder if the Irvings have to secure a certain amount of cash in advance ticket sales in order to obtain financial backing from other sources for the event to take place? I imagine that this event will sell well across the three days in order for things to go ahead but if this does indeed turn into a yearly event I doubt many people will be booking advance tickets without seeing a full line-up in future. Especially by those who were looking forward to some decent bands playing on the rock/indie night. Personally I wasn't expecting Kasabian, Kings of Leon or any of the other proper big bands who were 'rumoured' to be playing but to hype the event as a rock/indie night & then roll out Spandau Ballet do the organisers really expect to set down a legacy for future events in years to come?
GRAHAM

I signed up to get email alerts and advance notification of ticket sales and acts … the only one that has even sparked a bit of interest was Calvin Harris, however the email I got today about Spandau Ballet has put me right off that night and actually made me laugh out loud when I read it!! What a farce!! All the hype leading up to this announcement and they've made themselves a laughing stock in my eyes. I too was hoping for a big name headliner for Saturday night; can put the money towards a trip away to see a proper headliner now I suppose!!
CW

I have to say I thought there would have been a more up to date band on for the Saturday night; glad Spandau Ballet are over but agree with the majority that Sunday if best day for them; tickets are too expensive for most. My son is hoping one day to put together a Reggae Festival (real Reggae that is) here in IOM now that's worth waiting for.
CHRIS

A Reggae Festival Chris? Now that would be fun and attract a few different people wouldn't it? What a great idea-hope it goes ahead as it would be something new for the sunny IOM
PJ

What a complete and utter bloody let down! Everyone under the age of 25 who goes to watch Calvin Harris will just leave after his set. What a shambles.
IAN

What a bunch of miserable chumps, as mandelson would say, i'm sure he meant something else though, and I know I do. I know my brother will be as happy as a pig in brown stuff, he will have seen Ultravox and Spanda Ballet, his two favourite bands, both within the last year, after waiting 25 years to see 'em. The island is 4 hours ferry ride from anywhere and has less people living on it than would go to a normal festival. Therefore, realistically, you ain't gonna get major current acts without paying big money. They only make money from live gigs these days, and who wants to waste 3 days getting to and from somewhere to have only 5000 (which is very optimistic) people watch you, when you would get that many people in any town in the UK, night after night. Getting Calvin Harris is impressive, he's about as current / relevant as anyone.....thinking the Killers would come is just insane..... Be realistic, thank Mr Irving to continuing to put this together for the
most ungrateful punters in the world, I wouldn't bother. Mind you, it's nice to see that care in the community extends to letting
patients have access to pc's and the tinternet.
Offshore Manxman

Well I'm in the 50-60 year-old category & even I don't want to see Spandau Ballet!! What a load of crap Jonathan Irving comes up with time after time. It's quite insulting that he thinks because we're a captive audience he can keep churning out third-rate acts & expects us to be grateful! To put on mediocre bands & charge ridiculous prices which he & his supporters say are perfectly justified because it's cheaper than going off-island, is just a non-argument. Most people who go away to gigs combine it with a bit of shopping or meeting up with friends, so it might cost more but you're getting a whole lot more out of it. As an example, I went to see Oasis at Wembley in July & they were supported by Kasabian, Reverand & the Makers & The Enemy. The ticket price was £38.30 plus VAT!! I know that's not everyone's cup of tea but it makes the Bay Festival ticket prices look very overpriced. It would be far better if he spent his entire budget on one class act & used some of the superb local bands for support. He could stop using his silly tent then as we'd probably all prefer to be outdoors anyway!
DC

is this a joke? is it an april fool? spandu ballet headlining saturday night,, an reformed 80,s band, after all the hype , i was expecting coldplay, the killers, etc etc ive been to around 30 concerts at the villa in the last 3 years,,, put not one of these acts intrests me in the slight!! each front man will stand behind the mic singing away ! thats it,, i attended 4 v.i.p nights at the peel bay festival, and even though it was a rip of,, at least the bands were not bad, but this send out the wrong message, fesival !! no try teeny pop mimng acts trying there best cause thats all we are going to get,, glad to say im not going to one gig, although ive been told in my newsletter to hurry and book!! ,, why dont you get britney and zak to collect the ticket stubs,, we have been ripped of before we even buy tickets,,, big chance missed.
DONALD

What an absolute joke!! All the hype for a bunch of has beens and wannabees, they would have to pay me to go and see this garbage. The organisers kept sending out newsletters with a competition where people who guessed the line up would win free tickets, I'm fairly sure that nobody won any tickets by guessing this pile of dirge, and they asked us to fill in an online form suggesting three bands/artists we'd like to see, I can't imagine that the residents of the Isle of Man suggested this pathetic line up...what happened to bringing over Kasabian, The Enemy, or the Foo Fighters, christ I'd rather stick red hot coals in my eyes than suffer the torture of paying top whack prices for bottom of the barrel acts....sonisphere was only £170 for the weekend including camping and that was full of quality acts both current and old skool, this Bay Festival is a frickin' rip off, shame on you Mr. Irving, stick to building apartments you are trying to punch above your weight.
MATT

In response to the comments posted above by PW can I just point out that the festival has to appeal to ALL music fans not just those who consider themselves to be 'serious music fans'. I for one am a big fan of variety / cabaret and if that makes me a lover of light entertainment then so be it. It makes me furious that a small minority of people on this beautiful island are never satisfied. The original Peel Bay Festival was a great event and now that we have the opportunity to finally build on that what happens? - these characters come out of the woodwork to criticise and moan about the artists arriving to entertain us. I personally would prefer to watch 'Spandau Ballet' over 'The Who' any day (talk about topping up your pension !!). This is akin to Sting slagging off the X Factor a few weeks ago - Musical snobbery of the highest order - Shame on all you moaners, Shame on you.
JBG

JGB - The point is as you have written - "The festival has to appeal to ALL music fans". The line up of acts does not cater ALL music fans only those who like variety / cabaret and pop music like yourself. I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with this only that they have clearly NOT catered for ALL music fans like their marketing had suggested - leaving a lot of people extremely disappointed!
NH

Stop moaning and be grateful that someone is actually doing something about the lack of things to do on the Island and trying to bring entertainment to us. If you're not happy, "there's a boat in the morning" - go and watch a band of your choice in Liverpool!
MU

What happened to the organisers being, quote, 'We are in advanced negotiations with a major A listed 'indie/rock band' but they are not yet concluded' I do hope they didn't mean The Feeling…and certainly not Spandau Ballet.. Or did they hope that we wouldn't notice this bit in their email updates and have now conveniently stopped talking about it.
The Saturday show will most probably be a sell out – which it needs to be in order to pay for the running costs, and good on them for doing something different. I'm only disappointed that a more current and suitable band hasn't been secured to follow on from Calvin Harris, who I'm sure will provide the festival with a great set.
KIKI

I suspect that this will be the only 'Bay Festival' because the promoters haven't catered to the expectations of their potential audience, and will therefore struggle to sell sufficient tickets. And whilst there's the gripe that we should all stop moaning and support Jonathan in this worthy endeavour, surely it's better to tell him that he is making a massive mistake than just standing by to watch the inevitable happen. (If I was in his position I'd move Spandau Ballet to Sunday, and spend some proper money to secure something more appropriate for 'Sizzling Saturday'. That way he will sell far more tickets to both events) The demand exists on the Island to properly support an event of this kind. But only if those responsible listen & cater to that audience. (Remember the scrum at the Villa for the Kaisers?)
BARRY

In response to the above comments posted by JBG can I firstly endorse your love of variety and cabaret. Every genre has its place but surely not at an event touted to be on a par with Glasto / Isle of Wight / T in the Park etc. etc. The biggest disappointment is that everyone expected so much more, and now everyone feels very deflated. If a cabaret / variety event had been suggested by the organisers at the start then on my survey asking which bands I wanted to see, instead of The Killers, Kings of Leon and Snow Patrol, I would have put down The Krankies, Leo Sayer, Barbara Dickson, Diversity and Christy Moore. Lets hope The Shedmen organise a gig that weekend.
PW

I agree with most of whats been said so far. However it must be stressed that we are heading in the right direction in terms of having a festival on the Isle of Man so fair play to the Irving's. HOWEVER, the impression given was that there would be an indie/rock theme. That just hasnt happened. The disjointed list of artists is a disappointment. I appreciate that it is hard, if not impossible, to attract massive bands so, for half the price you could get up and coming bands such as those featured on the NME tour, for example. I would much rather see 5 up and coming bands on the verge of breaking through and one big british band, than the current line-up. That said I think people should get behind this festival to ensure there are more to come in the future, which may bring better artists to our fair Isle.
MNB

Has anyone read Mr Irvings curious latest blog entry on the bay festival website? The message from Mr Irving seems to be that he should be immune from criticism because 1) its incredibly hard work trying to organise this event and 2) he's a local lad who has done alot for the island. In other words, he's missing the point. He then goes on to say that the criticism is from "a very small number of people" who love nothing more than moaning about the Island. That is a very arrogant comment and it would seem from the obvious hurt and self-justification that is evident within his blog entry that Mr Irving is only trying to convince one person about this point...himself.
DM

Along with most of the contributors, I am disappointed with the line up. A clear case of over promise and under delivery. Had there been no pre-festival hype, the current line up would have, im sure, been warmly welcomed by the majority of Islanders on the basis that it is better than nothing. Sadly, as it is, I feel like the man in the restaurant who's been promised the best steak, only to be given a McDonalds.
SAINTBAGS

Hi All, and Hi JGB in particular. I too am a big lover of Irish folk and though I would love nothing more than a four day fesitval of Irish Folk I know that it would not appeal to the masses so I will instead support this music festival.
SUPPORTIVE MANX FAMILY

I've read the latest blog on the Bay Festival website. Its clear that he doesn't quite get peoples frustrations with this and it certainly doesn't appear to be the minority annoyed as he suggests. He doesn't quite get how the internet is generally used now and gives people an opportunity to give their opinion in their lunch break, of an evening etc. I would very much doubt that the comments left are by people that are "always on websites moaning". The fact is, if they had done some research first (they've had since 2007) and realised they could only get pop acts and told us that from day 1, i think the majority of people would say they had done well and then you could say that the people moaning are the usual suspects. But even up to this week there were promises of a rock/indie act. They should have just been honest with what was in the pipeline. I would hope and think JLS will be close to sell out as they are a huge act right now and in my opinion an absolutely brilliant choice (not for me, but they're current and should be a nailed on success). The Spandau Ballet night line up is all over the place though - why isn't Calvin Harris on the same day as JLS? Why aren't Spandau Ballet on the 80's ensuring a headline for that day and a probably sell out? Stop misleading people - there simply isn't something for everyone, despite you keep saying it over and over again. Calling The Feeling "legendary" is ludicrus. Saying it will have the big festival feeling is stupid. Change your tone to it being a series of pop concerts and you'll instantly come accross as more honest. The line up isn't what the hype suggested - thats the problem with these concerts. You can't have a go at people for being upset because of the hype YOU built up and have failed to deliver on. If i've told my child that i've bought these tickets for a christmas present and there were going to be great headline acts as suggested, and now they see the line up, forgive me for feeling that i've been duped and am a tad annoyed
DGi

Dear oh dear, what a load of tripe, really, proper tripe! Cant believe the hype! Dont believe the hype! Also, don't fall for the smug blog that the organiser has placed on the festival website, he wants to sell ticket and make a name for himself yet slags everybody off and talks proper nonsense, he says it was early in the morning when he wrote it, he must've just got home from the pub where he's spent all night slapping himself on the back as he sounded shlozzled!!! Anyway, i've not spoken to 1 person who's had anything good to say about the Saturday 'extravaganza' yet and i'll tell you why: Diversity: brilliant act but they are on on Sunday and are obviously just a filler and have nothing to do with a major music fest The winner of battle of the bands: local music yes, but you will be bale to see whoever it is for free many times on the island at some pub somewhere: The Coronas: WHO? Never had a UK hit, singles or albums! The Feeling: 3rd rate indie, not had a hit since February 2008! Calvin Harris: Probably the only good act, very good and relevant act in fact, well done! Spandau Ballet: What the.....would have been very good for Sunday night, but please, not for headlining Saturday night when all the expectations we were being given were for a major influential modern rock / indie band such as Kasabian! Why did they compare this to the IoW festival & Glastonbury, it sucks! As soon as i heard that Calvin Harris was playing and the promises were for a major modern headline act to follow i was going to treat my 14 year old son for his birthday which is 2 weeks before the event, but he has actually told me that he doesn't want to go as being there watching all the other dross woulnt be worth it just to see Calvin Harris! Thats from a 14 year old lad! Sums it all up for me, well done! This has been like promising your wife a top grade european sports car that is going to be the envy of everyone only to turn up with a 1.1 Citroen Saxo with a spoiler on the back and then still explaining that it is actually a sports car, that some people will be envious and that you yourself actually really like it so it must be good!!!!!
GCH

Well said JBG. I doubt this line up is to anybodys taste, but then that is the point as it is a four day festival to cater for most people. I am really looking forward to going to the hundres or thousands of other music festivals that everybody else is going to do on the IOM, and APPARENTLY so much better than Street Heritage are doing. Or is it all talk people??
GD, Ramsey