virtually the Cambridge Rock Festival 2020
Great news! The Cambridge Rock Festival 2020 is virtually back on!
AMBER stage (1920x1080)
Don Airey ~ Son Of Man ~ Mostly Autumn ~ Purson
Franck Carducci ~ seYes ~ Chantel McGregor ~ The Room
All New Blues & Soul Revue ~ Square Wild ~ Atomic Rooster
Aladdinsane ~ Northsyde ... and 30 more!
TOPAZ stage (720x576)
Caravan ~ Wishbone Ash ~ Cregan & Co ~ Ben Poole
Limehouse Lizzy ~ Bonafide ~ Larry Miller ~ Touchstone
Tygers Of Pan Tang ~ X-UFO ~ Fleetwood Bac
Heather Findlay ~ John Otway ... and 30 more!
JADE stage (1280x720)
Same as the Amber stage for those with less connectivity!
vCRF20 High Definition sampler video
(10.7 mbps (megabits per second) for use with fibre and/or good connectivity
Click the button in the bottom right corner for FULL SCREEN - 1920x1080 video!
Click here if you have standard broadband or poor internet connectivity
What is vCRF20 - our virtual festival?
Sadly Coronavirus put paid to our original plans for CRF20 – and yours too. But are we going to let it beat us? No, of course not! Behind the scenes we’ve been thinking, beavering away and on June 18th-21st we'll bring you – “Virtually the Cambridge Rock Festival 2020”!
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This will comprise a full CRF line-up using all the high definition footage we have of CRF performances. It will only feature live CRF material, and it will run throughout the times that the festival should have taken place, i.e. 5.30-11pm Thursday, 11am to 11pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
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We have talked to all the bands that will be featured to get their approval and we will have the appropriate PRS licence. The line-up is now complete, either by ‘building’ sets using source material from various years for the same band, or by using recordings from the video screen cameras that were used in the past.
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It’s going to be freely available; a thank-you from us and the bands for your support, and something to lift the spirits. A great deal of it will be in high definition, so put the dates back on your calendar, get your beers, get settled in and in front of a big screen, ready to be at vCRF20 in spirit if not in person! Much of the video will be just like you are there as it’s filmed from the audience – you may even see yourself in the crowd.
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Acess to the 'festival will be via this website and we'll post all you need to know here.
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If you haven’t already done so, please go to the ‘Cambridge Rock Festival’ Facebook ‘group’ and you’ll find a poll to let us know if you’re interested by casting a vote there. Thanks – it’ll help us know how many people to expect!
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F.A.Q.s
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We thought we should have some.... so here they are!
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Who is playing:
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See the vCRF20 Line-up above! You can find out about each band by clicking on their name
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How do we see the event?
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From this website. We'' put a clear message on the homepage - just follow the links. We're going to make it as close as we can to being at the real thing!
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There will be a line-up, with virtual "stage times", just like normal. You'll be able to start watching each set at the published time (or shortly afterwards). But just like a real festival, you can't just watch anything at any time. It won't be like Youtube ....
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How many stages will there be?
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You're joking, right? It's a virtual festival.... but then then the CRF has three, doesn't it? And we said we wanted to make it like a real CRF didn't we? So.... three! Cunningly named, just for this year, Amber, Topaz and Jade.
Amber - featuring high definition (full HD, 1920x1080 pixel) video. Virtually all is fan-shot with good quality cameras!
Jade - featuring the same sets as the Amber stage but in lower definition (1280x720 pixel), running on a different server
Topaz - different sets, mostly in DVD quality 4:3 ratio from the 'pro' cameras used for the side screens at CRF09-16.
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I don't remember some of the bands listed having played the CRF...
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Ah. Well spotted! We made a few up.... but don't worry, behind each name lurks a veritable cornucopia of bands you know and love! We had some space left and for some bands we only had one or two tracks in good enough quality, so we've mixed them up into compilations. We could have called them 'Compilation 1', 'Compilation 2' etc. But that's a bit boring, isn't it?
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By the time we start, you will be able to see who's in each from the website line-up by clicking the name.... slthough we challenge you not to peek!
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I don't have fibre - can I still watch the event?
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Absolutely! But if you only have a standard broadband connection offering less than 10 mb/s (megabits per second) then we would strongly recommend watching the Jade stage rather than the Amber stage. The Topaz stage should be fine though.
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Will there be camping?
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We already know some of our regulars are going to set up tents in their gardens. If the lockdown has ended you can, of course, get together to enjoy vCRF20 too. Let us know your plans via our Facebook group!
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Where do I get tickets?
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You don't! It'll be free for everyone to watch; a thank-you from us and the bands!
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Where do we get beer tokens?
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This year's even easier... you won't even need them. Your nearest fridge, or cupboard, may just have what you need! However if your drinks seem far too cheap, please feel free to donate any savings to the C.R.F. - whilst we're not charging any "admission" to the event, it will cost us a bit to run it and of course we've already incurred set-up costs for the now delayed CRF20, so anything you donate will be welcome and go straight towards CRF21.
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The bands are all allowing us to use the footage of their performances too, and we're sure you'll be aware of their difficulties in these times. So please also consider going to their websites and buy those CDs, DVDs, T shirts that you've never quite got around to...
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What time will the virtual festival be running?
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Exactly when the real CRF should have been ... starting 5.30pm Thursday 18th June, until 11pm, then 11am to 11pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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