Richard Ashcroft criticises festivals for being “dominated by nostalgia”

The Verve lead singer Richard Ashcroft has said that its becoming harder for new acts to break into the music industry as festival line-ups “are dominated by nostalgia”.

In an interview with BBC 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne, Ashcroft also revealed that he won’t be reforming The Verve anytime soon to tour the festival circuit.

“The whole nostalgia thing is getting suffocating and it’s difficult for younger acts, especially at festivals,” said Ashcroft.

He continued to say: “I’m not ageist by any means, but it’s dominated by nostalgia. We need the youth to create their own version of what may potentially become nostalgic but if they haven’t got a place to do that because they’re dominated by these big monster dinosaur acts, mopping up all the money.”

Ashcroft previously reformed his band in 2007, before saying they were “over for good” two years later.