22c Fair
Wakestock
GROOVE Armada, Mark Ronson, The Streets, Happy Mondays, Hoosiers, Funeral for a Friend - the line-up of top-selling bands for next month's Relentless Wakestock would please the most world-weary festival organiser.
However, the act at the Abersoch event everybody's looking forward to only released her first record a few months ago, has already captured the hearts of British and now American music fans.
It's going to be a home-coming for Aimee Duffy, aka Duffy, whose performance for 50,000 fans at Pen-y-Berth on the weekend of July 4-6 has been orchestrated by her ex-boyfriend - Wakestock founder Mark Durston.
The 35-year-old, who also runs a second Wakestock event at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire said:
"The Wakestock line-up is awesome. So much bigger than previous years."
"Duffy's got huge roots in this area - Nefyn, and she lived in Abersoch for a little while. She's going to have the local crowd. It's a bonus for them." But she's a UK artist, she's got the biggest selling single (Mercy) and album (Rockferry) this year. So with that behind her, she's going to attract a broader audience."
Wakestock has grown enormously since the first show in 2000 when around 800 people partied in Caernarfonshire Yacht Club's car park.
Mark said: "Every year it has grown. This year, there's been a huge jump (in attendance). It's going to be a well-run operation this year, that's for sure."
"We normally plan for the next festival as soon as one finishes. It's been a full-time job for five or six people in the company here to make sure the festival will be ready for this year.
"Putting the line-up of bands together for the two venues is a serious, logistical operation. You're up against all their commitments, and you're trying to get them to play at two events instead of one."
Mark said attracting wakeboarding competitors is easier than bands, with riders due from Australia, the USA, South Africa and the UK.
He's also a fan of the sport. "I loved sport and music and wanted to do something that combined the two, " he said. "It ended up being wakeboarding. It's really good, but can be very painful if you get it wrong."
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