ArcTanGent x SIX: NEUROSCIENCE OF FESTIVALS

Proof of Concept: Immersive Audience Engagement at ArcTanGent Festival

At this year’s ArcTanGent Festival, we are piloting a new approach to audience engagement rooted in the principles of immersive design. Working with the Six Immersion framework, we explored how deepened participation could enhance the emotional and communal resonance of the live music experience.

ArcTanGent has always been more than a music festival. It’s a carefully curated space where audiences arrive open-minded, ready to discover not just new music but a sense of belonging. That openness made it the ideal environment to test how light-touch, non-disruptive immersive elements could elevate the audience’s connection to both the performances and each other.

Instead of pulling focus from the music, the pilot unlocks insights into the additional layers of the existing festival flow—subtle moments that encouraged reflection, co-creation, shared discovery, and emotional investment. The aggregated and anonymised data will show when meaningful immersion and experience optimisation. When festivals and their connected experiences are designed with care, it becomes an integral part of the event, deepening rather than distracting, building communities, memories and life-long stories.

This pilot serves as a proof of concept—not just for audience participation mechanics, but also for how immersive thinking can enhance the live event experience without compromising its core. The intention is to roll out the audience participation immersion analysis across the wider festival industry.

Goc O’Callaghan says, "Working with SIX to delve into the neuroscience of the audience of ArcTanGent has the potential to unlock some insights regarding their immersion at the festival. In this pilot experiment, together SIX and ArcTanGent are testing the process for gaining data in a festival environment and will be looking into how the data harnessed can optimise the experience of the audience." 

A huge thanks to Laura Bevin-Yates from SIX for supporting this work and helping to shape the vision. 

Photo credit (c) Snaprockandpop