Today, on almost all posters you can see the word "Headliner". Who is it? The answer would seem to be simple. Popular DJs, singers or bands invited as guests of honor to a music event. They are also called the “highlight” of the program, the star of the evening. This is the main meaning of the term, but it can be used in a different context.
Headliner: meaning of the word
He has an English origin and is written in his native language as follows: headline or headliner. Initially used in journalistic terminology, as it meant “headline”, “top of the article”.
Today, this term, while retaining its deepest meaning (“basic”, “higher”, central ”), is used in a broader sense.
So headliner ...
Who is this in the business of show business? “Promoted” musicians (one or the whole group), who are at the peak of fame and success and are gathering thousands of people at their concerts. They are invited as the main, "leading" performer and star guest to festivals, competitions and national concerts to attract attention and ensure attendance of these actions.
The performance of the headliners is prudently placed at the end of the program in order to “support” the audience until the end of the evening (not everyone is interested in listening to the creations of beginner talents). It is usually limited to performing 2-3 of the most famous compositions.
The name of the brand artist on the posters is written in capital letters, and the names of the secondary participants are indicated in small print below.
That's what a headliner means in show business.
Moscow rock festivals
It is at these large-scale events that the term “headliner” is used most often. These events usually last several days, offering the audience performances of little-known and beginner groups. In order to prevent financial and organizational failure, and at the same time to enable debutants to “light up” before the general public, festival organizers invite recognized and famous rock music stars.
For example, in June this year (June 27-29, 14) in Moscow, on the territory of the All-Russian Exhibition Center, a successful rock project called Park Live will be held for the second time. According to preliminary data, 25 artists and groups from around the world will participate in it. Most of them are familiar to only a small circle of listeners and rock lovers.
Headlining Honor Mission
Performances of stellar guests are "metered". On each competition day no more than two declared headliners appear on the stage. This approach provides intrigue and allows you to maintain general interest throughout the campaign. Park Live will also visit the headliner. Who will it be?
It is already known that such mastodons of rock as MARILYN MANSON, THE PRODIGY, DOPE DOD, DEFTONES, Skillet will be the highlight of the program.
Last year, the headliner of the first concert day was Limp Bizkit, on the second day they lit the Killers band, and for starters, the most coveted and rarely performed headliner. Who it was, know those who attended the event. Unrivaled Zemfira!
This year, the performance of the top participants is also scattered by the day. The great and terrible Manson, the cult Skillet will perform on the first day. THE PRODIGY and DOPE DOD are expected on the second day, and the Deftones will appear before the public on the final day.
Who and what is also called the “headliner”
The word "headliner" is used in other meanings related to the world of cinema, fine art, literature.
It can be a theatrical production, an object of fine art at an exhibition, a venerable writer invited to a literary evening, a status and famous person at the award ceremony.
"Main" in the world of art
In 2012, the festival "Bright People" was held in Moscow, telling children and adults about what to do in the summer in a metropolis if you have not left it anywhere. One of the directions of the action is urban art, which implies installations, graffiti, asphalt drawings.
The headliner of the festival was Edgar Muller, a fashionable, well-known and already iconic 3D graphic artist who places the fruits of his creative imagination on the most ordinary decorations of the stone jungle - asphalt squares.
Megalopolises line up behind his creations, and he visited Moscow. He left behind a huge dragon jumping out of a waterfall right on the paved path. But he promised to return to make his dream come true - to make graphics in the snow.
In February 2014, another significant event, the photo biennale, started in the capital of Russia (for the 10th time). The structure of the exposition is 19 diverse exhibitions located at six separate venues. Critics highlighted the headliners of the Biennale. They became a collection of photographs made by original and unsurpassed masters of photo art.
This is the exposition “The Power of Images” by Erwin Blumenfeld, “Women are Beautiful” by Harry Vinogrand, “The Invisible” by Jessica Lang and oriental revelation in photographs from the Iranian Shirin Neshat. The headliner among the headliners was dubbed a collection of photographs called “Another London” (the life of the city in the lenses of world famous photographers).
This is what a headliner means. This term allows you to emphasize and highlight the exclusivity and importance of a particular person, project, event at a public event among all its other participants.