Vidsidasta

Apologies for the length of this post! I went on a bit of a ramble, so tl:dr; Glastonbury is a special place and is unlike any other festival. There be magic/dragons here, or something. So glad to see this thread still going strong! From my experience, Glastonbury brings a lot of emotions and experiences that I’ve just not encountered at other festivals. It’s not a bad thing - I think it’s just testament to how Glastonbury is truly something special, and connects to people in ways no other festival does. I’ve been to a number of other festivals in the last few years, and although I’ve had some great experiences at those, nothing is as era-defining as my attendance at Glasto every year since 2014. And so, this year is the first year since I started my Glasto journey that I WON’T be attending. In a way, it was a difficult decision to make - how could I possibly break my privileged streak of attending the most sought-after festival in Europe? - but in another way, I realised that I have always formed a potentially-unhealthy emotional connection to Glastonbury that I’m sure 99% of people wouldn’t relate to. I first started going to the festival with a “f**k it, I’m completely unhappy in my relationship and I need an escape” approach. Then a few years later, I was going to the festival with someone who I saw myself going to the festival with for the rest of my life. And then Covid happened, and we inevitably broke up (mostly amicably), and so when the ticket rolled over for 2022, I was still trying to keep the emotional spirit going. Then in 2023, she had moved on much quicker and easier than me, and brought her new boyfriend into our group, and I probably catasrophised the whole situation and made it more awkward for everyone than I needed to. I had also discovered ketamine (as a self-medicated antidepressant, because all NHS-recognised mediation wasn’t working for me) by that point, which in many ways has changed my life for the better, but at that time, I had no stable footing in reality and I’m kinda ashamed of how I might have come across to my peers. Why am I talking about this here? Well, Boomtown was a festival I started attending in 2022, with absolutely no emotional connection to anything. I was entirely unfiltered, made a great bunch of friends who were all as f**ked-up as I was (but in their own special ways). I don’t know which festival is BETTER on paper, but I know that I feel “safer” returning to Boomtown than I do Glasto. And so for this reason, I didn’t go for a ticket at Glasto this year, because I feel like I need a “mental health break”. I’d love to go to Glastonbury and not be carrying all my emotional baggage with me, and just attend the festival as a “normal” person, because there really is nothing like it. I just find that every Glasto, even at my happiest, I spend at least a day trying to hide from everyone - I thought I was doing okay in 2022, until I saw my ex on the screens during one of Kae Tempest’s most emotional songs, and a few days later, Sea Girls defined my life with their opening song, Sick. I don’t even remember 2023, when I was (in retrospect) at my worst. And trying to hide from everyone at a festival like this, camping in a wonderful, intricate group as I do, is quite difficult. Of course, I am strongly considering going for a resale ticket this year, because so much has changed in my life in the last year and anyone who knows me will probably say that I’m a completely different, more stable person now. But I’m just incredibly anxious that I’m going to have an “episode” at Glastonbury yet again, and I feel like it’s my own fault for setting this festival up in this way when I first started attending back in 2014, and so the cycle continues… This festival is truly unique, in that there is literal magic going on here somewhere and I’m not educated enough to explore it. Or maybe it’s just me. But yeah. Something so amazing and fun shouldn’t be so difficult, and so taking a year out is probably the right decision for me. (I’m also probably taking a year out from Boomtown, because I f**ked my back up last year and I’m still not sure if I’m recovered from that either) If you’ve read this far, thank you! I appreciate you! I don’t have any useful information to share, other than that Glastonbury is unexpectedly difficult and stressful for some people and it’s okay if you’re in the same boat - you can enjoy something and be dreading it at the same time. I think that’s the new “normal” now.

Darwin Deez made a song, Right When It Rains, which could be about Glastonbury - "I wanna be soaking wet in Somerset this summer, let's dance in the storm" - it's also a lovely song that deserves more recognition!

Are you sure you're not me? 😅 I think we have a lot to talk about! I got some post-grad credits through Fluence (based in the US), but put that on hold when I learnt about the University of Exeter starting up their own course (which begins Jan 2024 I believe). Psychedelic therapy absolutely has come to fruition! Just, not here in the UK yet... One of the many reasons why I am contemplating a move to the States - they just seem to be light years ahead of us when it comes to this field. We're catching up, of course! (I'm also signed up to a few upcoming trials, but there's not much happening up here in the north yet)

I seem to be cursed with "resting bitch face" (even in my profile pic, which is about ten years out of date now!), but I'm almost always welcoming to people coming to chat when I'm solo. I had a mild bit of (positive) local fame this year which has really put my socialising skills to the test, with people coming up to meet me because they saw my face somewhere, so this has really helped my self-esteem in that respect, but I'm still unlikely to approach strangers if I'm on my own - so if anyone sees me out and about, come say hi! I'm all about the "talking it out" thing, I just struggle to do it myself... Edit: I updated my profile pic, so feel free to dismiss the "resting bitch face" comment!

Another top tip, from my experience at Glasto 2022 - it turns out, I don't like crowds, and getting stuck in the Park/Arcadia crush (to the point where I couldn't feel the ground beneath me) has just confounded that. I am certainly still working through PTSD from that experience, but at least I know now that I'm not good with crowds. And that's fine too. It means I don't get to see as much as I would have tried to see before, but also means I can plan my time better and (hopefully) have a better time because of it. It might mean that I'll be stood separately from my group for an act we're all going to see, which does feel a little strange... But it's better than that feeling of turning around and seeing no way out of a crowd, thus sending me on a spiral and ruining my experience entirely.

Oh don't worry, I'm a huge Coldplay fan too... And I was in bits at times during Glasto 2022 (Kae Tempest, mainly because the camera operator decided to focus on someone important (to me) in the crowd during a particularly personal lyric - and also Sea Girls opening with "Sick", which seemed to describe me perfectly). I'm making a point to avoid some sets this year, because I just don't feel like crying in public anymore... But I'm sure it'll happen accidentally, somewhere.

It's also worth noting that the festival has a couple of "Sensory Calm Spaces" on the Vodafone app map - don't recall seeing these in previous years. They're there for a reason! Don't be afraid to try them out if you just need a bit of a reset. As for me... I had a particularly rough year in 2015 and left early, and I'm in similar circumstances this year (but I am NOT leaving early this time!). I have a tendency of attaching Glastonbury Festival to emotional situations (namely, relationships), and it doesn't matter how perfect the weather is, or how great the lineup is - if I'm not in a happy place going in, that's just something I have to accept, and just make sure I do things I enjoy doing while I'm there (even if that involves doing absolutely nothing for a little while). I'm treating this year as my final Glasto - for aforementioned emotional reasons, I think it's time for me to move on (and I've found "my people" at Boomtown, but absolutely no disrespect meant to those I go to Glasto with! It's a complicated beast). So because it's my "final" Glasto, I'm going to make absolutely sure I make the most of it, because that's what I WANT to do. Also, contrary to popular belief, having family and friends telling me that "you should be happy cos you're going to Glasto" doesn't actually help! If only it was that easy. I'm also in the process of changing professions into helping others with these things (started a postgrad in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy), and have a lot of respect for people who have been through similar challenges in life and are now looking to help others.

It's generally going to be a DJ set, in which he'll drop a few of his own original songs, and a bunch of remixes he likes and has worked on - lots of visual elements, instructing the crowd to crouch down and jump up, things like that. It's a lot of fun if you're in the mood for it. I'd suggest checking out any of his live sets on YouTube from this or last year - that's pretty much what to expect!

I have a spare ticket for Boomtown, with Wednesday entry and coach transport from/to Manchester. Price listed is £280.50 (including Eco bond), and the link is here: https://ww2.theticketsellers.co.uk/q/78e93eea8a9f4ce1a87e7a403a0994bc

I feel personally attacked.

Is there any way to predict if an event will have seatfiller tickets offered? I’d really like to see Kings of Leon in Manchester again next week, but £55+ is a bit steep in the middle of festival season - it would suck to buy a ticket today (there are many still available), only for a free ticket to become available tomorrow…

I noticed this at the time - I think it might be based on where you were stood. I think the front screen (or something on the front of the stage) was blocking part of the screen for a song or two, if you were looking at it from a certain angle. After that, I think I noticed the top half of the rear screen was further forward than the bottom half, so that could have added to the confusion as well. What a great set though! I had only a passing interest in PSB, but it turned out to be a perfect end to a terrific festival.

The Avalanches. I enjoyed them back in 2017 on West Holts, but it wasn't the set I wanted - too much emphasis on it being a "live band" performance, so it didn't really stand out to me. But this year, on The Park stage, just a straight-up DJ set... Perfect summer vibes.

I had a similar feeling re: Camelphat at Creamfields last year. Only stayed for an hour because I didn't usually get to the front of the Steelyard stage and wanted to make the most of it. I enjoyed their set, but no way does it warrant two hours. Can get what you want out of it within 20 mins or so, and then go find something else.

I love how opinions can differ so much from one person to the next! I went to Easy Life - wasn't on my agenda, only knew one song, but had some time to kill, and it was one of the most pleasant suprises of my weekend - loved it!