Radar Festival 2025

RADAR Festival is a dynamic addition to the UK and European music scene that celebrates the spirit of progressive music and community. Founded in 2019 by seasoned industry professionals Catherine Jackson-Smith and Joe James, it was born out of a passion for pushing musical boundaries and creating unforgettable experiences.   Catherine and Joe had a combined (more than they’d like to think of) years of experience in venue management, festivals and tour coordination.  Catherine owns The Lounge Bar in Alton, Hampshire, and Joe worked at The Boileroom in Guildford, so their paths crossed frequently before both working on other festivals together too.  Joe has been a band and tour manager, as has Catherine, so a breadth of music industry knowledge was acquired before RADAR was developed as a concept.

Both fell in love with Euroblast Festival in Germany for the indoor venue vibe that brought people together and provided a stable festival planning backdrop and discussed the lack of a UK version often. Joe attended at gig at a local nightclub in Guildford and a lightbulb was switched on, asking Catherine if their conversations about replicating a UK version should head towards realisation – and the journey commenced.

The team expanded with industry professionals, Ash Cook (marketing), Jahan Tabrizi (partnerships), Angelo Pandolfi (operations), Joe Simpson (technical), Kaan Tasan (masterclasses), Marc Tandy (operations and music market) Jodie Howe & Sophie Holland (artist liaison), and Sam Jackson-Smith (content) among others, becoming a crucial part of the planning and management of the event.

From its inception, RADAR Festival has embraced a curatorial approach, carefully crafting lineups that showcase a diverse array of progressive music, from established acts to emerging talent.  The all-encompassing ‘progressive’ to us just means “interesting, and pushing some boundaries” and the line-ups have expanded continually to include more genres under this umbrella.

The first edition was held in Casino in Guildford, with headliners Animals as Leader and Monuments, setting the tone for carving out a new event in the tech/progressive genres of the scene.  Expanding horizons in 2022 (let’s not discuss that gap) to embrace the first UK headline show of Dirty Loops, after expanding to become a three-day event, the festival reached capacity in the Guildford home and had to look further afield for a new area to settle.  In 2023 RADAR moved to Manchester and the next chapter began.