British indie duo Wings Of Desire say they traveled hours to Valley Fest outside Bristol with their infant child and Chloe Little’s mother for childcare, only to end up not performing at all. The band, made up of married musicians Chloe Little and James Taylor, shared the account after a difficult weekend at the festival.
According to Stereogum, Wings Of Desire had been booked through their agent to play the festival’s Yard Stage. When they arrived, they were told the stage had been moved, but they were unable to find the new location and could not reach the festival’s bookers by phone.
In an Instagram post, the band said they walked around with their gear, used the pram as a trolley, and were turned away from multiple tents before finally reaching a stage that was not part of their booking. They said a PowerPoint presentation about property development was taking place there instead, and that the curator confirmed he had not booked them.
Chloe Little later told the BBC that the situation was especially stressful because there was nowhere suitable to go with the baby. Valley Fest founder Luke Hasell said he was sorry about the experience and said the festival had merged the Yard Stage with another venue, with some artists reprogrammed across the weekend. Wings Of Desire later said they had not heard back from the festival and had not been compensated.
