Slammin Vinyl - the end?

It was recently announced that after 20 years the Westfest event later on this year will be the last. For the past few years it's been one of just two events Slammin Vinyl puts on with the other being Tranzmission. With no Tranzmission event being announced this year it raises the question: is this the end of Slammin Vinyl?

If so then it really is the end of an era. Even 20 years ago Slammin Vinyl and the events they took over were pretty much the only big raves from the 90s still standing. It's amazing that Westfest alone has lasted so long let alone Slammin Vinyl themselves who started putting events on in 1994. 

No reason has been stated as to why they are stopping. A lot of comments I've read suggest they shot themselves in the foot by making it too focused on drum & bass. I would argue that is likely the main reason they lasted so long. We've seen many genres come and go over the years but drum & bass has just gone from strength to strength in terms of popularity.

In the early 00s Slammin Vinyl would put on most of their events at The Sanctuary in Milton Keynes. I was at some of those events myself. Then in 2004 The Sanctuary closed and Slammin Vinyl put on the last ever event there. I was tempted to go myself but I was no longer into the new music so decided against it.

Later on in 2004 they started putting on events in Shepton Mallet and a year later adopted the name Westfest. I never went to one because it was after my time and as the years went by the number of people I'd never heard of on the flyers would increase.

We're talking about 20 years of rave history here but the question is will there be nostalgia for those 20 years in the same way we have nostalgia for 90s rave nowadays?

If you look at music in general you'll have an artist who is big for a few years, then their popularity declines and they find themselves in the wilderness for a few years until the nostalgia kicks in and they find themselves back in demand.

Then you have bands like the Rolling Stones who have continued to be popular since their 60s heyday. But how many people go to a Rolling Stones concert to hear anything they've made in the last 40 years? Not many I would say, but that accounts for the majority of their existence.

Time will tell if we ever have Westfest type reunions in years to come.