When: 9th – 11th June 2023
Where: various venues, Wakefield city centre, West Yorkshire, England
Long Division, the consistently excellent, annual award-winning metropolitan festival and great champion of musical independence and DIY culture, will return for what will be the 12th and, very sadly, final time over the second weekend in June this year.
The live music industry has found itself decimated over the past few years, initially by the adverse impact of the coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown when all live music venues were forced to close their doors. This position has since been compounded by the country’s ongoing cost of living crisis, soaring production costs, and Brexit red tape. In terms of revenue, the industry is now a third smaller than it was before the pandemic, a position not helped by many artists having to cancel tours because they simply can no longer afford to play.
Despite there having been successful post-lockdown returns in 2021 and again last year, it is against this crippling backdrop that Long Division has very reluctantly decided to call it a day. As the festival’s founder and director, Dean Freeman explains:
“It was a massively tough decision of course. Long term it’s just not financially viable, for lots of reasons. We didn’t want to compromise or dilute what we do and we also felt passionately that getting to write your own ending is perhaps something many festivals, shops, labels and bands don’t get to do. We’re going to end on a massive high. We’re doubling our efforts to sign off in style. We’re calling in favours, we’re doing all those things we never got around to. It’ll be the culmination of 12 years of madness in Wakefield and it’ll be joyous. Let’s all hang out together, one last time.”
This year’s line-up will be announced soon but the organisers promise to send the long-running West Yorkshire institution out in some considerable style.
Long Division are operating a flexible ticket system this year with general sale available at £40. Reduced £30 tickets are available for those unable to cover the whole cost with no proof required and a third tier priced at £50 is available to help the festival cover the cost of reduced ticket sales. Tickets for under-18s are again priced at £1.
Tickets for Long Division festival are on sale now.
Main photo of She Drew The Gun at Long Division 2021 – Simon Godley
