Give it a Name

For the song by Jerry Cantrell, see Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2.

Give it a Name, also known as GIAN (and Give It a Name Incoming in 2009), named after an At the Drive-In song, was an annual British rock music festival, normally held on the weekend nearest to the end of April. The first festival took place on 2 May 2005 at Alexandra Palace, North London. In 2006, Give it a Name became a paired, two-day festival, taking place at the MEN Arena, Manchester, and Earl's Court, London. 2007 saw the festival extend to three days^[1] and six different locations, including events for the first time in Scotland, France and Germany. The festival tended to feature post-hardcore, indie rock and alternative bands.

Give it a Name
Genre	Alternative, Post-hardcore, Punk, Indie
Dates	April or May
Location(s)	London, England (2005–present) Manchester, England (2006, 2009) Birmingham, England (2007 only) Glasgow, Scotland (2007 only) Sheffield, England (2008 only) Cologne, Germany (2007–present) Munich, Germany (2008–present) Vienna, Austria (2008–present) Paris, France (2007 only) Berlin, Germany (2007 only)
Years active	2005–2010
Website	Official Website

Give It a Name went ahead in 2009 despite the controversy of it possibly being cancelled. Rumours were dismissed when the official Myspace page^[2] of Give It a Name was seen to contain only a countdown clock expiring on 4 February. It was then announced on 3 February that Taking Back Sunday and Enter Shikari will headline the 2 day festival over 2 venues by Kerrang!'s Myspace page and official website. In 2009, the festival underwent some slight changes, with it being scaled down from the usual arena venues to smaller sized academy venues, along with it being renamed to Give It a Name Incoming and with only 14 bands playing over the weekend. In 2010 for the first year in its history, there was no festival, only a small five band UK tour.

Give it a Name 2005

Main Stage

Monday 2nd - London
Funeral for a Friend Finch Coheed & Cambria Rise Against Alexisonfire Mae The Lucky Nine Fightstar MC Lars mewithoutYou

Give it a Name 2006

Main Stage

Saturday 29th - London Sunday 30th - Manchester	Sunday 30th - London Saturday 29th - Manchester
My Chemical Romance The Ataris Atreyu Thrice Panic! at the Disco[3] Underoath The Bled	Lostprophets[3] Angels & Airwaves Taking Back Sunday Goldfinger We Are Scientists Aiden Silverstein

Second Stage

Saturday 29th - London Sunday 30th - Manchester	Sunday 30th - London Saturday 29th - Manchester
Billy Talent Men, Women & Children Drive By Paramore The Honorary Title Taint	Hundred Reasons Say Anything Classic Case Bayside Gym Class Heroes The Blackout

Give it a Name 2007

Main Stage

Saturday 28th - London Sunday 29th - Birmingham	Friday 27th - London Saturday 28th - Birmingham Sunday 29th - Glasgow	Friday 27th - Birmingham Sunday 29th - London	Friday 20th - Cologne Sunday 22nd - Berlin	Tuesday 24th - Paris	Wednesday 25th - Paris
Brand New The All-American Rejects New Found Glory Motion City Soundtrack Enter Shikari Senses Fail Madina Lake	HIM The Used Alexisonfire Fightstar Biffy Clyro (Glasgow only) Juliette and the Licks (Birmingham and Glasgow only) Mindless Self Indulgence Kill Hannah Cry for Silence (London and Birmingham Only)	AFI Jimmy Eat World[4] The Automatic (London Only) Sparta Hit the Lights The Receiving End of Sirens Boys Like Girls Attack In Black	Jimmy Eat World Sparta Senses Fail mewithoutYou Lagwagon (Cologne only) Motion City Soundtrack (Berlin only) The Sleeping Mindless Self Indulgence MxPx Voodoo Glow Skulls Gallows Grown at Home One Fine Day	AFI Jimmy Eat World Enter Shikari Motion City Soundtrack Aiden The Sleeping Tracy Gang Pussy	New Found Glory The Used MxPx Sparta Saosin Senses Fail mewithoutYou Minimum Serious

Second Stage

Saturday 28th - London Sunday 29th - Birmingham	Friday 27th - London Saturday 28th - Birmingham Sunday 29th - Glasgow	Friday 27th - Birmingham Sunday 29th - London
Cute is What We Aim For Saosin Kevin Devine Zebrahead Kids In Glass Houses The Zico Chain	Fightstar The Sleeping Ignite The Pink Spiders LostAlone	Hellogoodbye The Audition mewithoutyou MxPx Beat Union

Give it a Name 2008

Failsafe were MC Lars' backing band.

Main Stage

Saturday 10th - London Sunday 11th - Sheffield	Sunday 11th - London Saturday 10th - Sheffield
Paramore Plain White T's Alkaline Trio Finch Set Your Goals Cobra Starship Chiodos	Thirty Seconds to Mars Billy Talent Glassjaw Silverstein The Blackout Strike Anywhere Envy On The Coast

Second Stage

Saturday 10th - London Sunday 11th - Sheffield	Sunday 11th - London Saturday 10th - Sheffield
The Audition All Time Low My American Heart MC Lars Mayday Parade Meg & Dia Broadway Calls	Anti Flag Armor For Sleep You Me At Six State Radio The Color Fred Four Year Strong Mexicolas

Give it a Name Incoming 2009

2009's scaled-down and renamed festival took place on 17 and 19 April at London's Brixton Academy and on 18 and 19 April at the Manchester Academy. A total of 14 bands played, with seven playing on each day on just the one stage. Tickets went on general sale on 6 February at 9am on all ticket websites across the UK.^[5]

Main Stage

Sunday 19 April - London Saturday 18 April - Manchester	Friday 17 April - London Sunday 19 April - Manchester
Taking Back Sunday Underoath Thursday Escape The Fate Innerpartysystem VersaEmerge Whole Wheat Bread	Enter Shikari The Blackout The Academy Is The King Blues Emery Lights In This Moment

Give It A Name Introduces 2010

Various Cities in the United Kingdom
The Swellers Anarbor The Dangerous Summer Rio The Wild

References

1. "Live!: The Week's Best Gigs – Give It a Name", NME, 12 May 2007, p. 45.
2. "GIAN Incoming 2009 (giveitanameofficial) on Myspace". Myspace.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
3. Jam, James (13 May 2006). "Live!: Give It A Name 06", NME, pp. 48–49.
4. Pill, Steve (27 April 2007). "Sure sign all's well with emo: Give It a Name 2007", Evening Standard, p. 17.
5. "Give It A Name Line-Up Announced". Rocklouder. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.