Kings of Leon are set to take on Bristol’s Ashton Gate
We had a chat with venue director, Jenny Hutchinson, about the upcoming plans.
Photo: Press
Ashton Gate, home of Bristol City Football and Bristol Bears is no stranger to putting on big names in the world of music and this summer is no exception as the city welcome American rock n roll heavyweights Kings of Leon to one of the biggest leading event spaces in the South West.
We sat down to chat to the Venue Director, Jenny Hutchinson ahead of the gig to gain some insight into how Ashton Gate are gearing up for one of the biggest shows on the 23rd of June.
Hey Jenny, great to speak with you! How’s everything going? All the prep and planning going smoothly?
It’s going phenomenally well, so proud to be hosting Kings of Leon, we’ve hosted concerts from various promoters for a number of years so a natural step for us was to take more control and directly get in touch with agents to see which acts would like to work just with us.
We’re running our own multi artist festival this year; Ashton Gate presents BS3 will be happening the day before this show and, as part of the approach to agents around this concept, we also had a reply from Kings of Leon’s agents, stating they would be available for a separate date.
Ashton Gate is no stranger to hosting big names, what do you feel this does to the Bristol community as a whole?
Kings of Leon haven’t played Bristol in 20 years, if we hadn’t approached the agents then Kings of Leon wouldn’t be on the bill this year. We’re so proud to provide this for Bristol, the whole economy of the city thrives from having this incredible band play here and with the success from the previous bands/acts, there’s definitely an appetite for it.
How long has Ashton Gate been hosting these gigs?
Years and years — even before the stadium was redeveloped.
I see Ashton Gate are promoting this show unlike the rest of the venues on the tour. Has this allowed you to be more hands on with the process?
Yes, it has, we are also very sensitive to the band with the release of their new album and there’s obviously bits the band want to reserve. We have been able to offer hospitality packages and had more involvement with the support artists, The Vaccines and Holly Humberstone. The most important thing for us is for the band to have the best time here, every decision we make and every plan we put in place, is always going to be in the artists best interest or the audience’s interest. If the answer is no or it doesn’t work for them then we park it. We also debrief after every event, to see if there are any areas to improve on. We learn new ways and different ways to better that audience experience.
How many people does Ashton Gate hold and will the whole stadium be open for this date?
32,000 capacity. Merch stands will be open as well as food and drink outlets. Roof will be open too and, by the time the main artist is on, the sun will set behind the stage — which is always an amazing sight! When Elton John played Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, it was just setting above the stadium; it was incredible. In 2026, a large capacity arena will be connected to the stadium and then Ashton Gate will become the largest event space in the South West.
In terms of sound, does it travel well across the stadium and does this take quite some time to get right?
Sound checks are thorough; we make sure the front experience is the same as for the audience at the back. A lot of time, money and resources go into this to make sure this aspect is completely perfect.
Do you have any spoilers as to what to expect on the night from Kings of Leon?
We’re leaving it completely in their hands, we will provide everything they want and anything that they ask for — we will make sure we provide. I’m sure as knowing the band as a fan, they are going to put on an incredible performance that we just can’t wait to see.
Tickets are available to buy here.
