'Gigs saved my life': Yungblud on launching his own affordable music festival Bludfest

Watch the full sit-down with ITV News' Nina Nannar and musician Yungblud, who wants to make music more accessible with Bludfest

Words by Lily Ford, ITV News Multimedia Producer

With increasingly steep festival ticket costs, musician and actor Yungblud has come up with a new way of getting young people to live music events: launching his own affordable festival.

The 26-year-old, whose real name is Dominic Harrison, sat down with ITV News' Arts Editor Nina Nannar to talk about what inspired 'Bludfest', how he plans on making it an annual fixture, and whether his passion for bringing communities together would tempt him into politics.

At just £49.50 a ticket, Bludfest is already set aside from the likes of Reading and Leeds or Glastonbury festivals, where music fans are forced to part with hundreds of pounds for a standard entry ticket.

"Instead of just booking another tour or recording an album, I was like, 'I want to do something that is really representative of the world that me and my community have built, and bring it all to one place,'" he told ITV News.

"Why don't I start a festival?"

Bludfest is set to take place at at The National Bowl, formerly The Milton Keynes Bowl, this August.

Featured on the line-up so far are fellow musicians Lil Yachty, The Damned, Nessa Barrett, Lola Young, and Jazmin Bean, among others.

Yungblud will headline, of course - the star is known for featuring on hits I Think I'm OKAY and Happier, but even in his early career had a role on Emmerdale.

Fans may recognise the signature white stripe in his hair - a nod to his affection for the distinctive punk-esque aesthetic.

But he also wants people to see a different side to him: someone who cares very deeply about his music and fans.

"A lot of people feel like it's an act - and I get that," Yungblud said.

"What the hardest thing is, in the pub, and someone says, 'I thought you were a bit of an idiot. But you're actually sound.'

"(People) see me on a phone and they're like, 'Oh, he's a bit gobby.' But that's what makes me fight harder. I feel like I want to keep going just to make people like me."

Bludfest, he says, is an opportunity for anyone and everyone to come together.

There will be a make-a-friend tent for those arriving alone, and a Discord channel is already in place for people to get acquainted at the event - whether they're coming from "Belfast or Bulgaria," he says.

"Gigs saved my life," he continued.

"They taught me things about myself that I didn't learn in school, I didn't learn from my parents, I didn't learn from mates.

"What music does... I think it's important that people can have that."

It's not just the music industry Yungblud wants to make his mark on - he says he would love to work with film giants Guy Ritchie or Tim Burton.

And the way he talks about what he wants to do is impassioned and determined.

Could he see a future for himself in politics, where more and more young people are failing to see their voices fairly represented?

"I don't know. Maybe, it's so funny... I really thought about it. But I have my music and I have my opinions online," he said.

"I believe there should be a young voice or a younger voice in global politics. It's undemocratic that there isn't."

Whether the Cabinet members he has invited to Bludfest make an appearance, only time will tell.

Bludfest will take place on August 11 at The National Bowl.

Tune into the ITV News entertainment podcast, Unscripted…