Ep 13: Pre-Download Festival 2026 - Big Dream Podcast with Smiley Dave

Ep 13: Pre-Download Festival 2026 - Big Dream Podcast with Smiley Dave

Dave is about to play Download Festival 2026 as part of his journey to sell out a night at the O2 Arena in over two years time. Times are stressful as the countdown to the first Live Festival Big Dream Podcast is underway but a forgotten side quest manages to get Dave out of his head as he tells you about canoeing on a 120Ft aqueduct while emails and phonecalls are non stop. Dave gives his usual funny take of going on a trip to North Wales and Wrexham to do what all good comedians should do. Experience life and report back! This is the calm before the strom as the next episode is a full account of everything that went right and wrong as dave takes to the stage at Download FEstival 2026.

Ep 12 : I attended the worst Gameshow ever - Selling out The O2 Arena

In this episode, we catch up on Smiley Dave's journey to selling out the O2 Arena and what's happened in the last week. Some old school marketing comes in clutch and Dave tells you the hilarious 'behind the scenes' stories of two of the worst Gameshows you've never heard of, that he attended, ending in a twist DAve didn't see coming.

Ep 11 : The Truth Behind the Viral Machine Gun Kelly story - Selling out the O2 Arena

With 29 months left on the clock to sell out the O2 Arena, Dave gets real about the realities of running a solo media production, The anxiety of upcoming gigs, and how a lesson in pottery is changing his approach to content creation. Plus, The best Festival stories you've never heard, the truth behind JaackMaate and the MGK viral story from a first hand experience plus the day 50 Cent came to Reading and Dave's absolute refusal to tolerate spiders or wasps.

Ep 10: I'm Playing Download Festival 2026 - Selling out the O2 Arena

Episode 10 - Two and a half years left to sell out an arena, and it’s time to pivot. This week, Dave announces his slot opening Download Festival with a chaotic new game show, shares the brutal reality of having a TV concept stolen early in his career, and revisits some wild backstage advice from Michael Starr. Expect rants on overpriced festival food, weird Viking weekend security guards, and why staying nice in a cutthroat industry is harder than it looks.

Ep 9 : Storm before the Storm - Selling out the O2 Arena

In this episode of The Big Dream, Smiley Dave checks in on his progress toward selling out the O2 Arena. He shares updates on his "May Challenge" to secure podcast sponsors and reflects on a busy week in comedy, from the "Netflix is a Joke" festival to his own experiences performing at Comedy Bingo, where he spent ten minutes reading off the wrong bingo card. Dave also dives into the world of impressions, discussing his favorites like John Mulaney and Mark Heap, while asking listeners for suggestions on who he should learn next. Between stories of questionable school assemblies involving towel-flicking "ninjas" and the financial hurdles of festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe, Dave teases a massive, "game-changing" announcement coming this Friday that has been 14 years in the making.