Coachella legal threats force Welsh tribute act festival to change its name
It's been organised by Steps star Ian 'H' Watkins.
A festival organised by Steps star Ian ‘H’ Watkins has been forced to change its name by Coachella.
The Cowchella event had been set to go ahead in August in the in Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
Hosted by Watkins, actress Claire Sweeney and BBC Radio 2 radio presenter Owain Wyn Evans, Cowchella was billed as a ‘live music celebration for every generation’, with tributes to Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue and Westlife, among many others.
But this week the organisers logged into their social media accounts and ‘everything was gone’.
They were then alerted by their ticketing provider – Eventbrite – that the US-based Coachella Music Festival had submitted a complaint.
‘Now let’s be clear – we totally understand, and we’ve fully complied. The original name was a cheeky nod to Cowbridge. Honestly we’re a bit shook they even know who we were!’ the Welsh event’s organisers posted on social media.
The massive music festival had acts like Green Day headline this year (Picture: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images for Coachella)They then explained the event had been renamed Moo-La-La Festival and would be ‘the same line-up but with a fab new name’.
However, after losing all of their previous social media accounts, organisers asked people to help spread the word again, adding original tickets would still be valid.
Speaking about the action taken by the massive American music festival, Ian said he was actually flattered.
‘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,’ he said.
‘It’s a little bit mind-blowing… 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.’
Kevin said the complaint was ‘mind-blowing’ (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Shutterstock) The renamed Moo-La-La will also be hosted by actress Claire Sweeney (Picture: Ian West/ PA Wire) BBC Radio 2 presenter Owain Wyn Evans will also act as a host (Picture: Gareth Cattermole/ Getty Images)Ian also said he was happy the small Welsh festival is a ‘talking point’ and people ‘love that Coachella has put Cowbridge on the map’.
He added: ‘Luckily it wasn’t like, the week before because that would be the disaster.’
However, he did say thousands of pounds spent on marketing, posters and banners would be a ‘financial impact that we have to absorb’.
‘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.’
The festival will see a string of tribute bands perform, including ones in honour of Ian’s band Steps (Picture: Lorne Thomson/ Redferns)Promoting his event, Ian said it was designed to ‘make it accessible’ for families who can’t afford to attend music events in Cardiff or London.
Aside from the name change, the festival will be going ahead as planned on Saturday, August 2 at Bear Field.
Born in Llwynypia, Mid Glamorgan, Wales, Ian joined Steps when it formed in 1997. The band went on to achieve two number-one albums in the UK, 14 consecutive UK top-5 singles and sold over 22 million records worldwide.
In 2023, Ian was elected as an Independent town councillor in Cowbridge and also founded Cowbridge Pride.
Metro has contacted Coachella for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
