How did the Classic Rock Festival come about and what are the main features of the event?

The 1960s and 1970s were the golden age of “classic rock”. The level of musical innovation, experimentation and creativity during this period was amazing. Our intention is to provide two wonderful summer evenings during which those who grew up with the classics of rock can relive their musical youth. Classic rock attracts people of all ages, presicely because of its timelessness. Every new generation of rock lovers still feel a chill down their spine when they put on a Supertramp, Jethro Tull or Genesis CD. A quick look at concerts being held around Europe shows that a lot of the 1960s and 1970s classic rock bands are in high demand. On our part, we are pleasantly surprised with the large number of requests for tickets from fathers who are coming to rock with their sons and daughters.

On Saturday 31 July, the line-up consists of Fish, former Marillion vocalist, and Roger Hodgson, songwriter and vocalist of Supertramp. Fish will be playing his stuff as well as classics from the Marillion repertoire. Hodgson will be taking the audience through the long list of Supertramp songs, from Dreamer to Breakfast in America to Give a little bit.

The following night, that is, 1 August, is in the hands of band Jethro Tull and Steve Hackett, ex-Genesis. Jethro Tull’s Aqualung and Thick as Brick were defining masterpieces in the history of classic rock. We will be hearing bits of them courtesy of a full band, including Ian Anderson on vocals and flute and Martin Barre on guitar.

Steve Hackett will conclude the Malta Classic Rock Festival 2004 in style. He played an acoustic concert in Malta last year. This time he ís coming with a full electric band, playing classic Genesis like Watcher of skies, Firth of fifth, Horizons, Los endos and I know what I like.

Malta’s own Winter Moods and Beangrowers will be the opening acts on the two nights respectively.

Why did you choose Fort Manoel as the venue for this important musical event?

Manoel Island offers a uniquely spectacular view of Valletta. The stage is being designed with this in mind – just the band on a simple stage with the magnificently lit up capital city as a backdrop. It should be pure rock heaven.

What are the logistics of this festival and could you give us an idea of the progress made so far?

We have been working on it for a few months now. It was not easy to find a weekend on which these bands could play in Malta. Finally, we managed and we are really looking forward to it. The logistical planning is all set. The actual implementation of the set up will starts tomorrow.

Do you believe that such events can be organised regularly at the fort and will this increase accessibility and popularity for this much neglected area? Is MIDI planning to participate in further events of this sort and what is the policy of the consortium in this regard? Are you planning further marketing campaigns for the use of the fort as a concert venue?

The MIDI Consortium is committed to restore all the historical places on Manoel Island and Tigne’ Point by the time both areas have been developed in their entirety. The restoration costs of these places will be in the region of Lm10 million. The cost of the fort itself will amount to almost Lm3 million. MIDI intends to restore the fort to its former glory. When these are restored, MIDI intends to generate enough activity to raise funds for the continuous maintenance and on going operations. The spaces available in these sites are ideal for organising different cultural activities. The parade ground at Fort Manoel will eventually be used as an open air venue.

At present we are testing the ground to see which activities will be most suitable to organise in these areas. We have engaged consultants from Italy who are actively involved with the La Scala Theatre to guide us through this process. MIDI is also working very closely with Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna which is monitoring all the work being carried out in preparation for the festival.