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Wings Of Desire Traveled Across England With Their Baby To Play A Festival Stage That Didn’t Exist
The British indie duo Wings Of Desire, along with their infant baby, drove for hours to play Valley Fest near Bristol last weekend, only to discover on arrival that the stage they had been booked to play, back in February, did not exist. The band, made up of married musicians Chloe Little and James Taylor, wandered the site with their equipment and pram, unable to reach festival organisers, before finding the location listed for their set occupied by an unrelated property development presentation. The incident, which the band called "a lovely example of how the music industry treats artists," highlights the difficulties facing touring musicians who are also new parents.
The pair never ended up performing, and after failed attempts to feed their baby and reach production staff, they packed up and made the two-hour drive home. Festival founder Luke Hasell told the BBC he was sorry to hear of their experience, explaining that the Yard Stage had been merged with another venue and blaming a "breakdown in communication," and said he would reach out to apologise. Wings Of Desire responded on Instagram that they had heard nothing from organisers and had not been compensated, saying they did not "appreciate being gaslit into being told it was a miscommunication."
In short
- Wings Of Desire drove hours to Valley Fest with their baby to play
- Their booked stage had been merged and no longer existed
- They never performed; festival apologised but band says no compensation followed
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
This incident exemplifies a broader systemic issue in how the music industry treats artists. The festival took the band's booking and time commitment but failed to communicate a fundamental change to their stage assignment. Describing this as a simple "miscommunication" without compensation or proper follow-up minimises what was a clear failure of professional responsibility. Such incidents are common, demonstrating that artists' commitments are regularly undervalued.
The case against
Whilst the festival clearly made a logistical error, attributing this to systemic industry mistreatment based on one incident risks overgeneralising a specific operational failure. The founder has acknowledged the mistake and expressed willingness to reach out and apologise. Rather than interpreting this through a lens of industry-wide disrespect, allowing the festival to fulfil its stated intentions and establishing better communication protocols would be more productive and more likely to achieve a genuine resolution.
Explained simply
Wings Of Desire are a British indie music duo made up of married musicians Chloe Little and James Taylor. They tour and perform at festivals, where organisers book artists to play on stages around the site.
Festivals often change their plans, including combining or moving stages. Clear communication matters because bands arrange travel, equipment and childcare around their bookings; touring with a baby can make an unexpected change harder to manage.
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