Vince Power, a music promoter hailing from Waterford who played notable roles in festivals like Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, and the London Fleadh, has passed away at the age of 76. Born in Kilmacthomas, Power immigrated to London at the tender age of 15 and ambitiously plunged into various fields of work. Later, in the early 1980s, he went on to shape the Mean Fiddler venue and events group.
By the conclusion of the 1980s, his group had secured control over the Reading Festival, setting in stone their future influence over numerous musical events including Leeds, Phoenix Festival, Hop Farm Music Festival among other platforms.
Although much of his contribution to the music ministry was UK-centric, Power orchestrated the grand Fleadh Mór event at Waterford’s Tramore Racecourse in 1993, hosting a stellar lineup of musicians such as Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Joan Baez and Van Morrison.
A significant transition occurred in April 2005 when Live Nation UK and MCD’s own company offered to overtake the group. Subsequently, in 2006, the Mean Fiddler group reined in on its touring and promotion efforts to focus primarily on operating festivals. In this new venture, they retained control of the Reading and Leeds festivals while introducing a fresh addition, the Latitude Festival.
The group, along with several venues, was sold to Mama Group Plc in 2007. That same year, Queen Elizabeth bestowed upon Power the honour of Commander of the British Empire (CBE).
Many in the music industry commemorated Power’s life and work on Sunday, with promoter Aidan Shortall hailing him as a maverick, a pioneer, a risk taker and a man who remained innately connected to the industry. Shortall fondly recalled how Power often reminisced about the Fleadh Mór in Tramore in 1993, bringing a cascade of iconic musicians to Tramore, despite the financial toll it resulted in.
DJ Roddie Cleere referred to him as a man deeply passionate about music, whereas Niall McNamee, a singer-songwriter, labelled him a true gentleman with a significant impact on the music scene.
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