Tinie Tempah loves playing festivals because he always attracts new fans.
The 27-year-old rapper – who, along with Gavin James and Primal Scream, was recently announced as a headline act for Ireland’s Sea Sessions 2016 – prefers festivals to smaller shows because it gives more people a chance to discover his music.
He explained: "I’ve always loved festivals, a lot more than your intimate show, because I knew I would always win over fans. "People who might not necessarily come to one of my shows, who might have their own preconceptions. It might be violent, it might be loud, it might be crazy. Then they stumble across you at a festival when they were meant to be watching Coldplay and actually realise that they like it."
However, while he loves performing at festivals, the ‘Pass Out’ hitmaker rarely attends when he isn’t on the line-up as he is too competitive with other artists to enjoy them.
Tinie told The Times Weekend magazine: "I’m too competitive. I’ll be watching other artists and saying, ‘I need to be better than that.’
"[Festivals are about] exposing me to a wider audience. The reason I’ve never been ashamed of expanding my fanbase is I’m from a little council estate in southeast London -I want to get out. I want to see the world. Why do I want to be niche? I’ve already been niche."
Sea Sessions 2016 will take place in Bundoran, Donegal between June 24 and June 26. For more information and tickets, go to seasessions.com.
Tinie Tempah’s love for festivals
