A stunning mix of beautiful mountain scenery, fresh snow, some crazy skiing and brilliant comedy from the likes of Jason Byrne, Paul Smith, Deirdre O'Kane, Emmanuel Sonubi and Al Murray – Altitude Festival really is in a league of its own.

In between the knockout standup comedy and knockdown slope descents, we recorded an episode of the AAA Backstage Podcast with promoter Brett Vincent and the event's co-founder, comedian, Marcus Brigstocke.

Among the many topics covered were the logistics of staging the Clown Hill ski and snowboard race involving both fans and comedians, getting huge stars such as Al Murray and Paul Smith to play intimate venues in the mountains, the camaraderie between everyone involved on both sides of the stage, and how the festival team’s work to keep the event fresh has involved everything from setting fire to the high street to drum and bass pool parties.

Geoff Ellis’ decision to let Oasis join the bill at Glasgow’s tiny King Tut’s venue in 1993 led to the then unknown Manchester band being signed to Creation Records by Alan McGee. Last year, Ellis promoted Oasis’ three sold-out nights at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium. It was a full-circle moment for the experienced promoter, whose remarkable career is not short of highlights.

DF Concerts CEO, Geoff is the latest festival supremo to take the hot seat for another episode of the AAA Backstage podcast series, which explores what lies behind festivals and their instigators.

From making soup for Radiohead to staging an open-air mass for Pope Benedict, and launching Scotland’s biggest festival, Ellis’ 40-year career in the live music industry has seen him come a very long way since he started out as ents manager at Middlesex Poly, booking the likes of The Stone Roses.

Last year, DF Concerts generated £165 million for the Scottish economy, having promoted 17 major outdoor concerts and festival show days including TRNSMT and the Edinburgh Summer Sessions.

Recorded live at the Access All Areas Leaders’ Summit, this episode finds Geoff discussing everything from the early days of T In The Park and how that landmark Oasis gig came about to his brush with journalism, the evolution of the industry, the challenges facing the festival sector, and his advice for the next generation of promoters.

“It’s not an easy industry, but it is a great one” he says.

The driving force behind some of the UK’s biggest and most successful festivals including Latitude, Reading & Leeds, Wireless and Wilderness, Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn is the latest festival supremo to take the seat for an AAA Backstage podcast interview.

The podcast series explores what lies behind festivals and their instigators, and this episode finds Melvin discussing his eventful decades of experience in the industry, from sleeping under the Reading Festival main stage to saving the event from bankruptcy.

Recorded ahead of the Event Production Awards, the interview finds Access All Area’s Chris Barrett and Melvin dressed to the nines in evening suits, but the conversation is anything but stilted. Melvin opens up about a wide range of topics from staging political festivals, setting up the Workers Beer Company and being chased by skinheads to his role as director of the Glastonbury Festival.

The conversation also takes in pertinent industry-wide issues including him playing a leading role in working with Government to get the live events industry up and running post-Covid, the pressures currently faced by independent festival operators, his advice for budding festival bosses, and his creation of benchmark sustainability guidelines for Live Nation globally.