Yelo, the Parmiggiana

TBF, I do not think Sziget is really interested in the LGBT+ movement for any other reason rather than marketing. Maybe it used to, but it is not anymore, not that much anyway. In the last ten years they removed a lot of NGO panels, put less focus onto social discussion or critique, the Magic Mirror lost part of its edginess (remember when they invited the Pussy Riot? Right, try to do that now) and you can tell that they rejected to take a stance on any political/social situation (think of the Russian flags displayed the last year). Honestly, they strained further and further from anything that was not show-related. Generally speaking, they just went from having a social identity to using a social identity (that as a mainstream festival you are compelled to have) as a marketing leverage. I'm not saying that Sziget should have a social/political identity or that it is even good to have one to start with, but if Hungary at any point will block Sziget from happening because "it is pro LGBT+" or whatever it will be utter political b***shit.

I'm happy to see us on the same boat eventually 🙂 There is nothing wrong or bad in going in a festival for the vibes - not everything has to have a maxed-out ROI in life, and that is a lesson I've been trying to learn this past few years. That said, I think that anybody who went at least twice before (possibly pre- and post-pandemic) will recognize that the entire marketing & brand identity of Sziget as "this island of freedom where everything good and bizarre and odd can happen, where everybody can be who they truly experience to be, etc." has solidified especially post-2016. And this is ironic and hypocrite at the same time, as I personally- and in hindsight - consider 2017 the year where the creative decadence actually started ramping up (although I have fond memories of 2018's edition). Honestly, at this point in time, as an Italian, I consider Sziget too expensive an experience to be worth, especially when I have to pay top bucks and still have to dwell in the lower lines of the lineup to find something actually of interest (and maybe I also have lost the plot or the passion for the task). I hope maybe in many years things will change, but as I said before, I sadly doubt it will.

That is the way they are taking, tho. Such a shame. I find harder and harder to sympathize with those saying "I go to Sziget for the party and the good vibes". As an avid goer in the pre-covid era, I can tell that the general mood is less characteristic, the artists are always the same and generally speaking the pizzaz of the whole festival experience is lacking. Only thing improving (as in "rising") are the prices. On one hand I understand and justify the financial aspect: covid made festivals harder to sustain and that must have an impact on the visitors, I get it. On the other hand, though, I cannot miss to think that the last time Sziget made a breakthrough lineup, where they found artists bound to become big before they actually made it (Stromae and Bonobo in A38, Imagine Dragons and Bastille at 17.00 in the Main Stage). After that, specifically after Dan Painatescu passed away, the artistic direction has taken a lazy turn, and we are here, with: - Macklemore 3rd time headlining, 4th appearence (2014, 17, 19) - Mumford & Sons, 2nd time headlining (2018) - David Guetta, 2nd time headlining (2015) - Florence + The Machine, 3rd time headlining. (2015, 2019) The only ones saved from this analysis are Imagine Dragons (2nd appearence, tho), Lorde (not really headliner material for anywhere outside Primavera) and Billie Eilish. And bear in mind: Billie Eilish was a new sensation in 2019, nowadays it has been fully critically acclaimed and recognized, so Sziget is really taking no risk in the booking - same goes for Girl in Red and Yungblud (also present in 2019): yeah, they are the new generation, but nothing to write home about for their eccentricity, nowadays - Yungblud has 3 LP out, and Girl in Red only one, but she has been doing festivals since 2018 maybe. This pattern is also similar to the last year's one, where we had Dua Lipa (2nd appearence, 2018), Kings of Leon (2nd appearence, 2015), Calvin Harris (2nd appearence, 2014) and Arctic Monkeys (2nd appearence, 2018). This should be enough to critic a festival that basically increased it's price tag by over 150% in 10 years, with evident diminishing investments / poor investments made in the artistic and logistic departments (2022), but wait, I am only looking at the "countable" portion of the festival - making assumption on economics, agent networking and so on. There is another huge elephant in the room that needs to be addressed that is a direct consequence of the artistic "lazyness": when that the music variety plummets, the crowd variety plummets as well. When metal/rock acts (more generally, underground genres) disappeared from the festival the first thing I noticed was that the crowd was lacking on metalheads, punks, weirdos, experimental freak, so on and so forth, which REALLY made the festival breath. Sziget 2014 and prior were something else because you had the chance to experience a variety of music and a variety of people in every possible scenario, without question asked. Now you still can, I mean, nobody prohibits it, but the problem is that you have no longer the tools to make such experiences, as the crowd is less edgy, in any possible sense. They tried to make a european Coachella, but they have completely missed on the artistic direction so far, and this will eventually lead to a new Exit Festival as a main, possible scenario.

Day 1 is the only one stacked with names both on A38 and Main Stage. The following days either have a good main stage (Billie Eilish's days) or a good A38 (Moderat's and M83's days). Most of the time I spent reading the lineups for the two stages, I felt like I was trying to convince myself (like "this is a good live, I dont know them but I heard of it" or "I know two songs, not too shabby", or worst of all "from the 30 secs preview it sounds good"). It is never a good omen. Coliseum looks dope, Party Arena looks more decent than usual to me (must be because few Coliseum-A38 names leaked there god knows why - Tale of Us, Jamie, etc). The World and the Europe stages are decent. Didn't mind much with the Urban one, whatsitsname. Generally speaking, it's sad being 28 and feeling left out of the target. When I started festivals I was 21 and I felt like the target pointed to 25-30 (the people who usually can actually pay themselves for this kind of experience, without having to rely on savings or parents). Now that I am in that niche, the festival shifted towards 20-25, I guess sic transit gloria mundi

Yep, they will round up the stages. Usually there are few good undercards between the names, but generally is nothing to write home about. Given the strategy Sziget adopted this year, and the fact that the first wave of announcements drew a fair structure for the Main Stage and A38 (I refuse to call it Freedome, because it's corny and cheap), I'd be surprised to see Placebo in the wave 2. They made it clear: Main Stage: BIG POP MAINSTREAM TIKTOK-APPROVED A38: Middle tier alt music, not too edgy cause we don't want to scare nobody, but fancy enough to give an options to the old/odd fellas and maybe provide some new options for those who went to Sziget for the Main Stage. Everything else, Colosseum, Party Arena, Europe (etc.) will play as usual. TBF, as an outside spectator, I'm kinda bored because this concept is mild at best - but hey, whatever floats the boat

You are sleeping on the Village People, man

As usual, might I add. August's circuit is usually less crowded compared to June-July's. Can't tell why, maybe it's because there are more main festival during june-july (PS, MC, RW, etc.)

Can somebody provide some more intel about the location and how to reach it? It looks a little far from Malaga and as far as I saw, Booking already run out of options and I'd like not to camp (ah, my poor back...). Do I need a car or is the public transportation efficient? How is the taxi situation and what is a likely expense for it per route?

Reasonable option The 10th is stacked but will have some painful clashes for sure (which is something Sziget can't allow itself this year tbh). I predict the MS to be filled with Los Bitchos - Foals - Sam Fender - F+TM and the A38 still has to release the headliners, with Viagra Boys and The Comet is Coming splashed as some interesting undercard that will surely clash with Foals and Sam Fender 11th has Yungblud - Imagine Dragons to set the demographic they aim to target very clearly. Jamie XX, Partiboi69, Mall Grab makes for a nice night, but so far the day time does not look promising (which is a shame because 3 days forces you to attend such a day after the very strong 10th) 12th has a strong demographic hint as well, with the Main Stage comp (Mimi Webb - Neill Horan - David Guetta). Honestly, to my tastes, it follows the same pattern the 11th does: interesting night (Moderat - Kelly Lee Owens - Jungle By Night) and nothing of interest during the day. I would not spent the 800-ish euros that 3 days experience require on this. 13th suggests a rock field-day, with Nothing But Thieves and Frank Carter on the Main Stage. M83 and Dixon during the night is just class, but since the 14th only has Amyl & The Sniffers and Sven Vath released (interesting names, but nothing I would spend money on), I would not go for the bet to buy 12-13-14, since Sziget tends to be often inconsistent with latest name release 15th can be interesting. Billie Eilish and 070 Shake are surely two performance I'd be glad to watch, but there is too little released so far. I'm sure it will sell well, but it will be based on Billie Eilish alone. All in all, I'm not planning on going this year, because money is tight, BUT if I had the budget to do 3 days, either I'd wait for 13 headliners and 14 whole day to be released to aim for a 13-14-15 three days. 10-11-12 seems nice but it looks like a trap for a 25+ year goer. On the other hand, 10th has the best Main Stage and it might be the only day the field does not look like Mad Max (the cough will not be forgotten, nor forgiven)

Not that I really pay attention to that, since when that happens I tend to leave those people alone (all in all, it is their free time...) and most of the time the musicians spend time in the private area, anyway I remember that in 2014 I met Caparezza (biggest italian performer of that edition) at the main stage after Skrillex (although he went to A38 for Miles Kane) and Skrillex himself some minutes later in the back of the Main Stage (he was high as a mountain). At least in the years 2016-2018, an Italian could have a lot of face-to-face time with minor italian performers playing on the Lightstage. Probably with the VIP pass nowadays you can get access to some backstages. Honestly I believe it feels like watching animals at the zoo to pay money to force somebody to chat with you for some minutes, but to each their own.

I'd rather say I'd watch them indoor, but the crowd they draw is by far superior then the one the average A38 headliner does

That would be a first time

Lived in Milan for 5 years now: as long as your on the subway line you are good to go, the city is not that big and very well connected, although: A) Hotels will be kind of expensive, depending on were you are staying and (of course) depending on your budget B) Infrastructure is wide but there will be overcrowding on the Line 5 (the one that brings to San Siro area), because it is the single point of access via public transportation C) The city is generally safe but my suggestion is to be wary of pickpocketing and to avoid the terminus of the subway for your stay: generally less safe areas (I'm thinking Rogoredo, Corvetto) - Milan does not have many bad neighborhoods, but has this weird way of having terrible roads in otherwise perfectly touristic areas (I'm thinking Via Gola in Navigli district)

Blur would cost double or triple Tame Impala and would have his same reach this last year. Demographic shift is wild

I'd be quick and discard the whole announcement as a PR nightmare, but damn those undercards are wild. Foals, Jamie XX, M83, Moderat, Sven Vath, Viagra Boys, Dixon, The Comet is Coming, 070 Shake, Frank Carter, Kelly Lee Owens and Partiboi69 are all Primavera Sound level of names and would buy me a ticket instantly IF I wasn't still coughing sand and having nightmare for the soundsystem in the A38 that completely butchered any band that was not a solo girl singing on electro pre-recorded beat