SPECULATION IS growing that the seminal music festival of the summer, Oxegen, will not take place next year.
Concert promoters MCD yesterday announced 1980s rave-generation band The Stone Roses, fronted by Ian Brown, will play the Phoenix Park on July 5th.
The date coincides with the Scottish music festival T in the Park, which takes place in Balado, Kinross-shire from July 6th to 8th.
Oxegen, which has been promoted by MCD for the past seven years, has always been held on the same weekend in July as T in the Park, to facilitate big acts moving between the two festivals.
The Stone Roses have also been announced as the first headline act for T in the Park.
Doubts have been increasing over whether Oxegen would take place next year, particularly as no announcement had been made about dates on the festival website, long after promoters of rival summer festival the Electric Picnic confirmed it would take place in Stradbally, Co Laois, between August 31st and September 2nd.
Both festivals lost money last year, although Oxegen was particularly badly hit, having sold an estimated 40,000 of the 80,000 tickets that went out.
Sources say it is now “extremely unlikely” Oxegen will take place. Jim Carroll, music writer for this newspaper, said MCD could be planning a non-camping festival in the Phoenix Park, similar to the London Calling festival in Hyde Park.
“There is still a captive audience for that kind of musical festival . . . I have heard a London Calling-type of thing is planned over the same weekend as T in the Park, and that makes sense.”
He said US singer Rihanna was also rumoured to play the Phoenix Park in the first July weekend.
