2 Promoters, 1 Pod
ArcTanGent and Damnation organisers, James Scarlett and Gavin McInally, discuss the good, the bad and the downright ridiculous of promoting festivals.
Episodes
145 episodes
New music, PRS and cold hard cash
New music, accidentally booking bands onto the podcast, navigating the baffling world of PRS, who actually gets paid when it comes to music venues, and just how much does it cost to truck water into a festival site?James is fully immerse...
Booking The Berzerker & How To Grow a Festival - Q&A #22
Gav and James delve back into the mailbag to discuss venue upgrades, manageable festival growth and their favourite pod moments. But before that, Gav takes the chance to gloat about the extreme metal coup of the year… booking The B...
Tour Tales, Festivals Fails & Angine de Poitrine
Gav hopped on and back off the best tour of the year quicker than you can say “you don’t have a bunk”. But bus dramas aside, the We Lost The Sea, Overhead, The Albatross and Dimscûa package delivered in spades. Meanwhi...
The Debut UK Tour with We Lost the Sea
The stacked We Lost The Sea, Overhead, The Albatross and Dimscûa UK tour starts tomorrow. Mr Departure Songs, Mark Owen, joins the pod from Paris to discuss playing Europe before arriving on these shores for their debut UK run.&nbs...
The Security Brief
Security. The festival job that should be invisible. And sometimes, they’re completely missing…This week, we finally get to the long-awaited security episode.The people who keep you safe while you’re crowdsurfing, stop you sneaking ...
Grassroots Venues, Headliner Hopes and Being Cancelled… Q&A #21
Gav and James dive back into the mailbag to tackle the topics of the day: the importance of grassroots venues, how their “future” headliner predictions panned out and how cancelled are the cancelled?Buy your We Lost The Sea tickets: http...
Gallows to Marshall (with Steph Carter)
From a "scrappy" punk kid to a corporate big wig at Marshall, Steph Carter has had an unusual and contrasting journey in the music business.He joins the pod to discuss the shocking rise and unfortunate demise of his old band before usin...
Damnation’s Big Six, Kanye & Count Your Blessings…
And. We’re. Back! Sober and as on the ball as you can expect. Gav and James tackle Damnation’s biggest ever announcement and a surprise promise, if People Power pulls through, before getting caught back up on all the drama from the...
Be Right Back (Thailand Edition)
James is still on the beach and Gav is emotionally on holiday still so it’s Shifty again. Are you ready for this one? From early (surprising) jobs, to first records, this one goes to places 2P1P has never been before…but don’t worr...
Be Right Back (Turkey Edition)
The boys are away so you’re stuck with me (Shifty). This week is a Q&A beer soaked bonanza. Book recommendations, holiday tips, balancing friendship and business plus is it OK for James to move bands around so he ca...
Oceansize to Dave Lombardo - Mr Mike Vennart
Oceansize to Empire State Bastard, Biffy Clyro to Cardiacs, there’s one talent who connects them all: Mr Mike Vennart.But what’s it like being Mr Dependable, going from the top slot at Reading Festival to Glasgow’s Cathouse? Being recru...
New Neurosis, Wildhearts Wishes & Ripcord Revelries
This is not a drill! The mighty Neurosis are back and promoters across the globe are excited, but who will nab them first in the UK? There’s also the sad news of Ginger Wildheart’s diagnosis to digest along with his demand to live ...
Being Biffy Clyro’s Tour Manager (with Neil Anderson)
Being a tour manager at any level is an incredibly challenging role, but when the band schedule you’re responsible for includes headline sets at the likes of Leeds, Reading and Download, it takes a special kind of composure and professionalism ...
It's Tree Time
The final (or so you think…) Trees bands are here and it’s time to show the neglected big cousin of the festivals show much needed love. The arena fillers, the older legends and up-and-coming picks not to be missed from the bill.&n...
Big Scary Label Boss (with Kevin Douch)
Man of many talents, Kevin Douch, joins the pod to discuss setting up and running the Big Scary Monsters record label over the past 25 years, band management and organising the madness of ArcTanGent and Trees’ merch tents.But first, wha...
ATG’s Final Names, HRH Headaches & Download Drops…
It’s another pod exclusive ATG band drop, this time in the shape of the final 16 acts with some absolute belters and a few surprises in store. Gav and James also chat the latest HRH mishap and the strength of this year’s Download l...
First Aid Stats, Live Pods & Deftones... Q&A #19
With a rum and a beer in hand, James Scarlett is welcomed back to 2 Promoters, 1 Pod to tackle the neglected mail bag in a tipsy fashion.First aid stats, Deftones live, silent disco turnouts, Yndi Halda love, news scoops, Converge’s new...
The Music Press Fight Back Round 2 (With Sam Coare)
Last week’s podcast discussing the current state of music journalism ruffled some feathers, to put it mildly. So this week Gav and James invite former Kerrang! editor-in-chief Sam Coare on to address the fallout. “Roun...
The Music Press Fight Back Part One (with Remfry Dedman)
Gav has had plenty to say on the pod about the declining quality of ballsy music journalism in the UK with talented scribes being reduced to hired hacks, used for the whims and wants of overbearing PR agencies, record labels and the bands and t...
ATG Exclusive & Geeking Out
45 ATG bands are here, and four hours before the rest of the world finds out - Arcane Roots aside! Gav and James discuss ripping up the promo plan when Radio 1 come calling, ATG bands taking off and Jamie Lenman being the first art...
People Power, Hot Bookings & Stand Up... Q&A#18
After a long break from the mailbag, Gav and James dive back in for the first Q&A since October.And what do the masses want to know about? If spotting and booking up and coming talent is luck or talent, how to weed out shit live ban...
Damnation Dramas and 2026 Plans
The first wave of Damnation bands have been announced and they are bangers.But it wasn’t without mishaps, leaks and panic… as Gav explains.And James lays out his excitement for the year ahead from album release hopes to festival...
Our Albums of the Year
It’s 2026 and Gav and James are ready to go again but there’s one small festive task to wrap up… the best albums of 2025.Surely they agree on most of the top ten, right? Right?
Episode 100: Xmas Tour Tales
Maybe it’s the post-tour blues, maybe it’s reaching 100 episodes or maybe it’s just the spirit of Christmas…Whatever the reason, Gav and James bare their souls in an unusually personal pod, to tackle the highs and lows of their festive ...
