“I think Newcastle won’t let us down”: TEG Europe MD Toby Leighton-Pope on his vision for Come Together festival

Toby Leighton-Pope knows how to put on a show. In his decades-long career in the live music business, the British exec has promoted acts such as Bruce Springsteen, Michael Bublé and Olly Murs, as well as extensive work for Hard Rock Calling Festival in London’s Hyde Park, where he worked with the likes of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder at a 60,000-capacity venue. 

Curating a festival lineup of big names like the one at Come Together is no easy task. “Everybody’s got an opinion about the bill,” Leighton-Pope told the Courier. Nonetheless, he was pleased with the results. “We’ve got two stages, and I think we’ve got 20 bands on the Kings of Leon date, which is great.” 

The Come Together bill also has a wide array of local talent, including former Little Mixer Perrie Edwards. “She’s not with the band, so being on a massive stage with Robbie will be great for her.” On the up-and-coming Newcastle artists in the mix like Andrew Cushin and Sonny Tennet, Leighton-Pope told us he was “trying to embrace the local community the best we can to make it as authentic as we can, and therefore take [the festival] out of my hands and put it into the community’s.” 

“The dream would be to do two weekends and five shows,” Leighton-Pope said of his future ambitions for the festival, noting his hope to tempt Beyoncé north, away from the London-based shows she has planned for next summer. “We’re going to do a lot of content creation [at the festival] so we can show it to artists. I think the Newcastle fans won’t let us down.” 

Questioned on health of the live music industry in general, Leighton-Pope acknowledged that there are issues. “Is there a dent in the music industry at a low level? Yes, small venues are shutting down. [...] At the very top level you make lots of money, at the middle and low levels you make no money.” Can new music survive? “I think it always does,” Leighton-Pope told us, citing Sabrina Carpenter as an artist who didn’t rely on extensive tour dates to achieve success. “It’s hard, but it’s always been hard.” 

Whilst Robbie Williams and Kings of Leon could today be considered heritage acts, Leighton-Pope was confident his festival would appeal to a student audience. “The whole bill is super deep, and it’s young and interesting.” As for the star act, “he’s at the top of his game. [...] Seeing an act like [Robbie Williams] would be the equivalent of me going to see Nirvana or Foo Fighters in my twenties.”