Gemfest: How a 21st birthday party has turned into a beautiful boutique festival

In conversation with the PullUp crew

It’s grim out here. Rising prices. Toxic greed. A government who hate the idea of people coming together and seemingly try to crush anything artistic or cultural and an ever-growing list of venues and events sadly winding down operations. This month alone we’ve waved goodbye to the last ever Shindig festival and both El Dorado and We Are FSTVL sadly called off their events this year.

But there are silver linings. There are inspiring things happening. New collectives and platforms are forever looking for new solutions and ways to come together, make art and support each other despite the intense challenges. If anything, the harder the challenges, the more creative and inspiring the solutions are.

Take the case of PullUp. A UK-wide crew based largely around South Wales and Cardiff in particular, PullUp have been responsible for a wide range of events from popups to running clubs to sweaty 900-cap D&B raves.

They’ve been eating, sleeping and breathing events for five years but went XXXL last year as they left their event industry day jobs to go it alone.

Things have snowballed for the crew since then in terms of their events, their record label and everything in between. With a strong social presence and a network around most UK cities, there’s a chance you may well be aware of them or even raved at one of their events. If you know one of their members Gemma Curtis, there’s an even higher chance that you went to their first Gemfest.

Held last year in a field in Ross-On-Wye (near Hereford, right on the border of England and Wales), the inaugural Gemfest was literally a private party to celebrate their crew member Gemma’s 21st birthday. With the likes of EJ Kitto, Burt Cope and James Hireath on the line-up, and 500 nearest and dearest together, it was a resounding success.

So they’ve gone XXXL once again and turned it into a proper festival. Taking place from June 14-16, just look at this epic line-up…

We’re honoured to be representing too! NoDave will be joined by Blondy, S.W.I.D and Scartip in a debut 4-way multi-genre b2b. We cannot wait. So we called up PullUp founders John and Sam and of course Gem herself to find out more about this awesome piece of positive event news. Get to know (and grab you ticket here if you like how wholesome and lush this all sounds!)

How’s everything going? Seems like you’re non-stop since you left your day jobs…

John: It’s going well thanks. Like sometimes in the moment it feels like you’re not getting anywhere but you look back every six months or nine months and you realise just how much things happen. We’ve done a London skatepark pop up, we’ve got a massive one in Brighton soon. These weren’t even a thing nine months ago. We did out first one in November! So that’s become our model and separated us from the rest. It is crazy how far it’s come along.

Sam: Obviously it’s come with its challenges. But being able to focus on this 24/7 is a huge benefit and has allowed us to develop PullUp to its potential. Straight after an event it’s like ‘right, back my house, get the laptops out!’ We turn the content around, have it with the artists the next morning and we’re on the next one. We worked from weekend to weekend before, but now it’s every day full-on, full-on, full-on and we can really embrace every opportunity.

I love that and can relate with 1 More Thing. In many ways it’s out of your control – you don’t know where the opportunities will come from or what they lead to. Like you said, pop ups weren’t a thing for you until nine months ago. Now they’re currently a big part of what you do! How did the run club come about?

John: It came about purely by accident. I’d got into running and a few others had but none of us were being that consistent so we thought we’d support each other and have a little running group. Sam suggested pulling PullUp into it and building a little community around it and it took off. It’s been awesome. Some people who’ve joined the run club have since come to the raves and they never would have done if it wasn’t for the running. They didn’t think it would be for them but because of the social angle, they’ve come along and found out they really enjoy it. I think so much of that is down to the fact most people are connected and know each other so it is a really big group of friends. It’s the same with the popups.

Very accessible. Not your common ‘get smashed till the sunrise’ cliché

Sam: That was a really important priority for us actually. When we left our job, working in nightlife, we were burnt out, we’d partied too hard. We still loved the music and had a passion for putting on events but didn’t want them to be all-nighter rages. So we broadened our horizons. Sunday at 1pm is an event. A run club is an event. Bringing people together is the event. I walk around with the same smile and vibe at a Run Club as I do at a 900 cap rave at The Vaults. It’s the same community vibe, often the same people and the same energy we’re sharing. I dare say if we got John into reading, he’d smash a book club!

 

 

Ha! How about a birthday club? Tell us about Gemfest!

Gemma: It’s so funny I always had it in my head that I’d do something big for my 21st, like for years now. Then I joined PullUp a year and a half ago.

How did you join?

Gemma: I’d worked with them on a previous job. One Christmas Sam rang me and asked me to come down after the break. I came own, he opened his laptop and said, ‘We’ve got a role and we think you’d be perfect for it.’ So I came on board! That was it. Next thing I knew, I was ringing up events companies, venues, festivals and asking about collaborations and the potential to come and play. And it was during this I was like, ‘You know what guys? I want to do something for my 21st, why don’t we just get planning?’ They said ‘okay sounds good!’

Sam: Operationally she pulled it all together. Organising portaloos, getting vendors, and the logistics. We were in the middle of a UK tour, we had nine cities and this was the final date. She smashed it. It’s a really exciting project and hopefully we’ll be celebrating her birthday for years to come.

How did you find the location?

Gemma: I literally went round this neighbourhood saw a field I liked and asked who it belonged to. I found out, emailed them and the wife of the farmer called me and said, ‘What a great idea!’ From that we knew we could do something. We have a venue, we have DJs, we can do this!

You’re local to Ross-on-Wye, then?

Gemma: Yeah I am, I grew up here and my family are here. I think that’s why the farmer was so kind. His wife said, ‘I have two daughters and I’d want someone to say yes to them if they were doing something like that.’ That was so sweet.

Ah go on. Wholesome!

Gemma: If last year taught me anything it’s that people are keen to help each other out. We’re a small group of friends, there’s no big backing or anything like that, it’s all about people chipping in and pulling together and doing favours for favours. There’s such a massive community behind drum & bass, and music in general, and it’s really nice to see.

YES! Give me a some memories of the first Gemfest

Gemma: There are so many to choose from! It just kept escalating. Three days before the party I finished my final exam early and said I had to go. Then I drove from Cardiff to Ross, picked up Sam from Reading, then all my mates came down, all John and Sam’s friends came down, a few of the PullUp guys. I made us packed lunches because we were setting up all day then my mum came down with a birthday cake and I think the day before was one of my favourite things. Like ‘what have we got ourselves into?’ It was so exciting. That was my favourite memory

John: Yeah, just bringing it all together. We’ve run events for a while now but the size of it was very different. Soundsystems were arriving, generators, traders turning up, toilets getting dropped off, putting up lighting. You can’t stop and think about it because it’s happening and you have to respond. I wouldn’t say we felt out of our depth but we definitely felt the intensity and a bit of discomfort but you’ve got to do that haven’t you?

Who was on the line-up last year?

Gemma: All our mates, basically!

John: EJ Kitto, James Hireath, Burt Cope, a few others. It was nowhere near the scale it is this year. It was just a mate’s birthday in a field. That’s what it is this year but we’ve booked a line-up and we’re selling tickets to cover costs.

 

 

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A post shared by GemFest (@gemfestuk)

Levelling up again by the sounds of things!

Gemma: It’s funny, it was a totally private party but I set up an Instagram account to keep people up to date on things. I kept it private and only accepted people who were invited but as I was posting on it, I thought ‘You know what? This is an actual little festival”!’ I wasn’t thinking about doing it again when we started but we knew we had something so special so we were like, ‘We’ve got something here, let’s do it again!”

Amazing. I love it when a plan comes together!

Gemma: Me too! We didn’t know what to expect. I could barely sleep at night in the build-up. We were thinking of all things that could go wrong or happen. But literally the only drama happened when someone started picking up hay bales and throwing them at their mates.

Sam: I went down and told them to stop it.

Gemma: The guy turned around and it was the actual farmer!

Haha. Brilliant. What considerations do you have to make when you’re launching a festival? Things that people might not appreciate behind the scenes.

Sam: Respecting the locals and the area is the biggest. We’ve been very open with the residents in the area and done everything we can to answer their questions and hear any concerns. A lot of people in the community are exciting about the event, a lot of local people who are DJing and will be playing their first festival set at Gemfest. It’s a very grassroots event so we’ve been able to engage with the community at a grassroots level which has been really inspiring. We also respect the fact it’s a rural area and those who live rurally do so for a rural experience so we fully respect all concerns anyone has about the event, the amount of people, the noise levels and everything else. So I’ve been writing a lot of open letters and responding to the community to hopefully put people’s minds at easy and assure them about our event and that we’re a professional outfit and we’ll be covered by security and medics and we’ll have welfare on site, just spreading the word and making sure people know we’re serious and very responsible.

Building up trust!

Sam: Exactly. I’ve had some reasonable requests and concerns and want to work with people rather than against people. It’s a very exciting challenge which we’re committed to doing very responsibly.

 

Inspiring! So obviously besides size, what are the main differences between running something like a popup tour and a small festival from your perspective?

Sam: Well we split things into three things: content, music and community. John heads up community and that’s all events from popup to festival to run club to a club night. That all comes under community. John is a people-oriented person and understands that people come first so that’s his responsibility. Operationally it all comes from the same team, we all deliver the same events; if we can do a run with 20 people or an event for 900, it’s the same mindset and set of challenges.

Loving all of this. Very inspiring. Seems like you’re finding solutions in a very challenging field right now? How much have things changed for you since you started PullUp in terms of challenges?

John: It’s really clear that people don’t like being sold to. People pre covid you could go out really salesy and really ads heavy for tickets and merch and I don’t think people have the same level of dispensable income. But for us, and maybe this is our naivety showing, but we’ve just always wanted to put on something really sick but within our means. Through this people have seen we’re doing something they’re into and it’s built up very naturally. Our activities sell themselves in a way. As long as we’re excited, others will be too. That’s what comes up with the run clubs, the pop ups, the events and Gemfest. We’re not trying toi push the boat out, shoot for the stars and being over-ambitious, we’re just trying to do something cool and have a good time. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it’s an expensive good time, there’s some wash your face good times and get through it, too!

Ha! I know that one. Let’s sign out with a big up for small festivals.

Gemma: For me I love how everyone is connected in some way or another. Even if you came on your own, you would be with friends straight away and that, for me, is why I love events. Making those connections, seeing your friends, making new friends and just having that best time. That’s what it’s all about for me.

Sam: Yeah they’re so much more social. There’s one degree of separate between everyone but we’ve got people coming from different cities where we’ve done pop ups but they’re all connected through PullUp in one way or another. It’s a proper community vibe to be enjoyed among friends, it’s not overly expensive either and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone there!

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