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Vince Power, a promoter best known for founding the Mean Fiddler Music Group, now called Festival Republic, died at the age of 76 on March 9, 2024. The promoter's death was announced via a press release by his surviving family, including his wife Sharon and eight children, which stated:
"It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of Vince Power. A visionary entrepreneur who enhanced and influenced the music industry significantly, whilst always being a dedicated, loving father and a loyal friend to so many. We want to thank everyone who has offered their condolences and request that our privacy be respected at this time of great sadness."
No further details have been provided as to what caused his death or where he died as of the writing of this article. Vince Power worked with artists such as Johnny Cash and Tanita Tikaram throughout his decades-long career.
Vince Power's life and legacy
Vince Power was born on April 29, 1947 in County Waterford, Ireland and began his career trading second-hand furniture and various manual labor jobs, including demolition. His background in the former led to his first successful venture in the form of a chain of second-hand furniture shops.
This initial success allowed him to pursue his passion for music and led to his eventual establishment of Mean Fiddler Group, initially as a music club in Harlesden, West London, UK in 1982. The club hosted Roy Orbison in his final concert of his career five years later in 1987.
Two years later, Vince Power took over Reading Festival's management and revitalised it in the subsequent years, eventually leading to the expansion of the festival into its current form as Reading & Leeds Festival in 1999.
Years later, the promoter bought a stake in Benicàssim festival within the Valencian community of Spain and subsequently launched the Hop Farm Music Festival in 2008. The short lived festival lasted till 2012 and saw performances by artists such as Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Laura Marling, Devendra Obi Banhart and more.
The promoter spoke about his passion for organising festivals in an exclusive interview with Billboard back on April 17, 2008, stating:
"I just love organizing festivals. It’s a challenge again—and I’m not ready to keel over just yet. With the Mean Fiddler, we had a huge amount of stuff which we did—live music festivals, dance festivals, bars, tours—and when I sold it out three years ago, it had got to the stage that it was huge."
He continued:
"It was a public limited company, it had £80 million and I lost the sort of touch that I have now, the hands-on touch. I looked at retiring for about two weeks. That didn’t really work for me."
Aside from the aforementioned festivals, Vince Power also founded and ran the Phoenix festival from 1993 to 1997, setting the precedent for four-day festivals. He was also involved in the Tribal Gathering festival as well as Homelands, Fleadh Cheoil and Gigs on the Green, among others.
