Steps star says it is ‘mindblowing’ that Coachella forced his small Welsh festival to change its name
Steps star Ian "H" Watkins has said it is "mindblowing" that Coachella has forced his small Welsh festival into a name change.
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The social media accounts for Cowchella in Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales suddenly went down, and its Eventbrite tickets page had its name disappear at the same time.
Watkins thought the page was hacked, but then discovered a complaint which he said was from Coachella Ltd, the US festival in California.
On Sunday, new social media accounts were set up for the renamed Moo-La-La Festival, hosted by Watkins, actress Claire Sweeney and radio presenter Owain Wyn Evans.
A post on the new page explained the "fab new name" and that tickets would remain valid for the inaugural event in August.
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Welsh singer and actor Watkins, 49, told the PA news agency that they thought at first the social media sites were "hacked", before finding an email with an "official complaint from Coachella".
"I'm taking it as a massive compliment that they feel like that our little festival is a little bit of a threat to their ginormous, juggernaut of a machine," Watkins said.
"It's a little bit mindblowing... what we're doing is very, very different to what they do.
"We don't have Beyonce performing. We have a Steps tribute act... and also, they don't have myself, Claire Sweeney and Owain Wyn Evans, hosting, which in my book, is much better than Beyonce."
He also said he was happy the small Welsh festival is a "talking point" and people "love that Coachella has put Cowbridge on the map" as well as admitting that "luckily, it wasn't like, the week before because that would be the disaster".
Watkins did acknowledge that thousands of pounds spent on "marketing costs, posters and banners" would be "a financial impact that we have to absorb".
He said: "We've spent a lot of money on marketing and flyers and posters and banners that are all visible around the town.
"So yes, those will have to go in the bin... but let's just do that, rather than have any more people knocking on our door."
He also said that "there's lots of festivals" that use this concept including the Welsh event GlastonBarry, with a name inspired by Glastonbury in Somerset, which has not appeared to come up against the same issue.
Watkins said the idea of the festival formerly known as Cowchella was to "make it accessible for families that can't afford to go to Cardiff or London" for music events that can cost hundreds of pounds.
"We wanted... to provide an amazing place where everybody could come have a great time, make it family friendly, accessible," he said.
He said the festival will remain the same, despite the name change, and promised "great food, great drink" on Saturday, August 2 at Bear Field.
Watkins also highlighted "the number one tribute acts in the country" such as Harry Styled UK, Got to be Taylor Swift, Got to be Steps, Got to be Mamma Mia and Wickedly Hariana would perform.
"Our town is so beautiful, but there's so much untapped potential there, which is why we keep creating events (such as Pride)," he said.
"We do the panto in town, so many amazing things. I decorate the town hall for armistice. I do a lot in the town just to bring a lot of joy, and it's a town that should be celebrated, and that's what Moo-La-La, as it's now called, will be."
Watkins rose to fame in the the dance-pop group, Steps, and has appeared on ITV show Dancing On Ice as well as mystery Dial M For Middlesbrough.
His group celebrated 20 years since their formation with a comeback album and UK tour in 2017 and in 2022 they released a Platinum Collection album.