GSS ... some good points but also consider ...

Every festival spends a great deal of time liasing with organising there venues for all manner of performances. Sidmouth for example could use around 15 venues or so for its concerts, dances and workshops. Any good finacial director worth their salt, and Sidmouth has a good one, will then try and set up a cost centre for each venue to try and ensure that each venue 'pays for itself'. This then surely means that the bigger the venue (especially if it is tented)the more the overheads (power, lighting, bars, flooring etc etc)It then follows that big named 'headline bands' need to perform there because of pressure on financial returns. BUT ... as I said in my earlier email, there are other considerations ... Bellowhead will not fit on a small stage (this is not only a size issue but also artistic in getting the best from the performers. Also there maybe many smaller venues which are best suited for other artists. This is NOT about insignificant artists getting smaller venues it is ALL about horses for courses and matching artists to venues thereby making sure that artists are comfortable with their performance space, taking on board the intimacy of their personal performances and interaction with audiences etc.

Also other considerations are always present such as preferences for PA vs acoustic and so on. There is more to building a programme than just cherry picking bands and sticking them on a stage.