2019 - A vintage year

[vintagelaureate]

Sadly, I didn't make it to the farm until about 11.15pm on Friday night. It wasn't the best start - I managed to catch the very tail end of Tame Impala but completely missed the second IDLES set. I had a lot of fun in the evening down in the S.E corner. 

Saturday was a scorcher, I didn't get around as much as I wanted to but caught some stellar performances and some acts I would have if I hadn't been forced for shade. I got a massive migraine after The Chems set in The Glade and that put paid too my night. I got up to Fatboy at Pangea but felt like I was dying when Idris Elba was on, I also missed out on meeting up with @crazyfool1. Sunday was good too, but I'm a little too sunburnt and was soon wiltering. 

We had some of the best festival neighbours we've ever had and we all said if we get tickets we will aim for the same spec next year.

It was an awesome few days on the farm, and I'm feeling severely blue today! 

[Crazyfool01]

2 minutes ago, vintagelaureate said:

Sadly, I didn't make it to the farm until about 11.15pm on Friday night. It wasn't the best start - I managed to catch the very tail end of Tame Impala but completely missed the second IDLES set. I had a lot of fun in the evening down in the S.E corner. 

Saturday was a scorcher, I didn't get around as much as I wanted to but caught some stellar performances and some acts I would have if I hadn't been forced for shade. I got a massive migraine after The Chems set in The Glade and that put paid too my night. I got up to Fatboy at Pangea but felt like I was dying when Idris Elba was on, I also missed out on meeting up with @crazyfool1. Sunday was good too, but I'm a little too sunburnt and was soon wiltering. 

We had some of the best festival neighbours we've ever had and we all said if we get tickets we will aim for the same spec next year.

It was an awesome few days on the farm, and I'm feeling severely blue today! 

plenty of time this coming season .. and the 50th party still to come ... hopefully no inspections for you this time ?  did it go well ? 

[katiepougher]

4 hours ago, Yokel Again said:

11th Glastonbury for me. I think my favourite since 2010.

Found a really good balance this year between accepting I am getting older and the festival is changing, and picking and choosing what I want to go to /enjoy. Rather than trying to recreate versions of the festival I had when was younger. The heat helped hold off drinking during the day, meaning I think I appreciated some of the music a lot more.

 

 

 

This absolutely ^ 

15th festival for me, enjoyed it more than I have for years. The kids being older helped massively as the was much less time in the kids fields this year, and getting in plenty of walking practice beforehand also helped me cope with all the trekking about. #middleagedglastonbury

[Ryan1984]

Loved the weekend but just wish there was a bit more shade around - Thursday was a nightmare trying to find anywhere out of the sun.

Loved The Lionesses’ game and genuinely seemed to be a loving atmosphere around all weekend.

I did notice a lot of people brazenly doing cocaine around the Pyramid Stage. Seemed a bit strange.

[fuzzy_logic]

First time back since 2000 for me - wowser it's changed soooo much and feels twice the size it use to be. I absolutely loved the Park and Greenpeace area's, not so sure about the SE corner (probably my age..?!?) but it looked amazing. We camped up in South Park it was a great place everyone very friendly. Personal highlights - Idles, Black midi, Snapped ankles (twice including a quite crazy crows nest set at 2am), fontaines dc, altern 8 in spaceport, chems, vampire weekend and many many more. The weather was just ridiculous, zero rainfall - has that ever happened before ? In summary I absolutely loved being back, 19 years away was far too long away, I have so much love for the place and what Michael and Emily and everyone else has created. 

[LMK]

14 hours ago, kalifire said:

For me it was hit and miss. I saw some brilliant sets. In particular, Stormzy and Janelle Monae were fantastic. There seemed far fewer dickheads around and in all my travels I only saw one person peeing on the land and precisely nobody peeing up against (but not in) the urinals or against fences. I really hope those values are reflected in people taking home their stuff also. Sunday’s weather was perfect, there was a great atmosphere on site all weekend, and many of the changes were really good. I managed to nail the queueing strategy (6th from the front at PGA!) and when the gate opened, there was Michael Eavis to welcome us in! Lovely stuff  

On the flip side, the weather up until Sunday was so brutal it spoilt my Glastonbury, to an extent. The accumulative effect of four days of baking sun meant that by the busiest day of my itinerary (Sunday), I was broken. My energy had dissipated and I was a hobbling husk of a man. Sets were partially missed, or watched wishing I could participate more. I had a bit of a miserable time with tent neighbours and thought the SE corner (esp  Shangri La) was lacking. That field needs a complete makeover. 

I appreciate that’s subjective and some people will have loved the weather. I did not. I thought the line up was fine - not amazing but not too bad. 

All told, I probably preferred 2017. At this point I always question whether I’ll do it again next year. It’s physically gruelling, financially decimating and I tend to think once every few years might make it more special. But watch me try for tickets in October. 

This for me too. The heat killed me a bit (though Sunday was perfect); it was so draining and we were staying at Worthy View which always feels too far to go back to get changed, etc.

 

Also,  I was really missing an act who I love, have bought all their albums, know all the words to the songs.... When the lineup was announced I didn’t think I was bothered as there were quite a few acts I wanted to see. But over the weekend I really missed that special act.

 

That said, I loved Mavis Staples and The Good, The Bad and the Queen. 

 

Bar prices were taking the piss. £5 minimum for 3.8% Carlsberg Pilsner? 

 

Regardless, still had a great weekend and of course will be trying for tickets in October ?

[JayBeeis]

Incredible, Glasto 2019 has been the best festival I've ever been to.

[barkley87]

Despite coming down with a stinking cold on the Friday (which I still have) that stopped me from doing a lot of stuff I was planning, I still had an amazing time. It's definitely in my top 3 years and would have been top 2 if I'd have been healthy.

[AdrianH]

A fantastic experience as usual but I wouldn't class it as one of my best (I've been to 8 now). I found the heat stifling and draining as the tents got unbearably hot from around 8am onwards which didn't leave much recovery time from the night before. The lack of shade on the Saturday was a major issue too with people collapsed in hedge bottoms, next to urinals etc in a desperate attempt for some respite.

Also I feel the Shangri La area has become a bit neglected now, was more fun when you could explore all the little bits. IICON was absolutely amazing visually but surprisingly underused whenever I passed. Perhaps I'm just getting old now (more than possible!)  but the whole SE corner needs a bit more variety music wise too - virtually every place seemed to play almost indistinguishable heavy bass

I hate to grumble as it really is an amazing festival (and there's nothing else like it) - just feel it needs a few tweaks for 2020

[MEGABOWL]

8th time for me and it’s right up there with the best. Just a great atmosphere all over the site.

[Keithy]

1 hour ago, fuzzy_logic said:

 Snapped ankles (twice including a quite crows nest set at 2am), 

That was a great set. One of my favourite Glastonbury sets if all time. Desperately hoping people have photos of it.

[Paul_F]

Only our third visit so not much to compare to, but enjoyed 2016 more despite the weather.

Things others have mentioned - the heat (scuppered Saturday plans), didn't drink as much as previous years (see previous point about heat),  crowds moving between stages seemed much bigger and at bit overwhelming at times. Oh and walking 50+ miles in the heat has knackered my feet too despite best preparatory efforts.

Things not mentioned - Michael Kiwanuka at the Park was superb, as was Wildwood Kin at Croissant Neuf (love that area). My highlight of the weekend was probably being inside the Wormhole on Saturday night having a proper time with my other half then realising the queue outside to get in was horrendous (we'd clearly got our timing right as we just strolled in for the second time). In fact most of what we saw was at least excellent with only a couple of exceptions.

Biggest let down - Jade Bird cancelling at Williams Green.

[Joshuwarr]

Friday and Saturday was just way too hot for me. On Saturday particularly I think I spent a good 5 or so hours during the day just sitting in the shade as I couldn't hack it. I was also sad not to once make it to NYC Downlow at all during the weekend. I'm usually fine to queue for a while but the two times I tried we were literally sent away after being told we wouldn't be let in due to the priority for re-entrants.

Those are the negatives. The positives make up for that massively. I feel the line up was perfect and struck a wonderful balance of classic alternative music, up and coming stars as well as some really nice surprising pop sets.

[eFestivals]

noticeably fewer dickheads.  

[Hugh Jass]

11 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

noticeably fewer dickheads.  

There really was.

[CaledonianGonzo]

It really was one of the all time greats.  A 5 star classic.

Would agree on the low walloper ratio.  The vibe was more wholesome than usual.

[Ohinever]

Less.dickheads, but less characters also. 

 

Some bloody annoying logistic decisions, like shutting off the entrance between avalon/cabaret field randomly, meaning having to walk right back to greenpeace to get to the north side. 

 

Knew on here about the new trader guy/rates putting off many old time stalls, but still found it upsetting how many had disappeared. 

 

Thought less opportunity to chat to randoms, but guess that is what happens when you swap quirky little bars for healing crystal stalls. 

 

Did feel more like any other festival than Glastonbury as a result. 

 

Amazed how clean site was, so big up everyone in that respect.I think the plastic/ocean revelations at the start of this year have actually changed a lot of people's behaviour. 

 

Still like Glasto, it's not as good as it was though, and I think my massive FOMO over it is cured. 

[DefLeppard]

5th Glasto in a row and definitely my least favourite. It's the only one where if I could take the £450ish that I spent on it back and not have gone, I think I would.

It definitely seemed more busy to me. Especially on Thursday. It was just relentlessly rammed anywhere you went. I used to go into the common area at 9ish and there wouldn't be that many people around. This year we weren't even allowed in the SE Corner at 10ish because it was too busy. Never had an issues like that on Thursday at that time before. 

The heat ruined me on Saturday. We just had to scramble around for available shady spots and wait around for 5 hours until it cooled down. 

My back was also really bad, for some reason, which meant I couldn't watch as many things from near the front. I don't particularly enjoy watching sets from far away as it feels like you're not really involved.

I liked the line up after scouting out new things but they pretty much clashed everything I wanted to see in groups of 3 or 4 half the time and then had lots of slots with things I thought 'guess I may as well go and see them' to.

Sunday was by far the best day for me. My back wasn't as bad, it was cooler so I could do some day drinking, and there were lots of things I wanted to see. I enjoyed the streets headline set a lot but the sound quality was dodgy, which was a shame because he killed it.

Stormzy was the major highlight. Think he absolutely killed it. 

If next year is a similar experience for me, I think I'll be hanging up my Glasto boots for a while. I'm sure it won't be though!

[manchestermusicreview]

For someone watching on the TV, the array of acts this year was brilliant. The Eavii really made the weekend putting bets on Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Pale Waves, Sigrid, and Loyle Carner into high positions, and boy did they pay off. Stormzy was terrific, the Killers potentially reinvigorated their career and Janelle and Christine both slammed the hits. It’s a shame that stages like Avalon and William’s Green weren’t televised, but having the likes of SWMRS, Shame, Snapped Ankles and Sundara Karma must have been terrific. Plus - having an hour standard set time really worked - it’s almost like you’re catching a whole gig. 

[thewayiam]

3 hours ago, DefLeppard said:

5th Glasto in a row and definitely my least favourite. It's the only one where if I could take the £450ish that I spent on it back and not have gone, I think I would.

It definitely seemed more busy to me. Especially on Thursday. It was just relentlessly rammed anywhere you went. I used to go into the common area at 9ish and there wouldn't be that many people around. This year we weren't even allowed in the SE Corner at 10ish because it was too busy. Never had an issues like that on Thursday at that time before. 

The heat ruined me on Saturday. We just had to scramble around for available shady spots and wait around for 5 hours until it cooled down. 

My back was also really bad, for some reason, which meant I couldn't watch as many things from near the front. I don't particularly enjoy watching sets from far away as it feels like you're not really involved.

I liked the line up after scouting out new things but they pretty much clashed everything I wanted to see in groups of 3 or 4 half the time and then had lots of slots with things I thought 'guess I may as well go and see them' to.

Sunday was by far the best day for me. My back wasn't as bad, it was cooler so I could do some day drinking, and there were lots of things I wanted to see. I enjoyed the streets headline set a lot but the sound quality was dodgy, which was a shame because he killed it.

Stormzy was the major highlight. Think he absolutely killed it. 

If next year is a similar experience for me, I think I'll be hanging up my Glasto boots for a while. I'm sure it won't be though!

I actually coped with the Saturday heat well, Friday killed me because I was working the morning shift prior and the lack of sleep due to Rythm of the 90s was mental. 

Money wise I tried to adapt but seeing some of the prices is just too much now...as times the amount of people did start to feel like a cash cow even if it's does do a lot for charity.

After Kylie the queues walking up the back slope behind were insane....it's 5pm in the evening and then the food queues were ridiculous which led me to make a dash to my campsite which is up a hill and killed my spot for Miley really but I think that was going to be the case wherever I went for food...hadn't eaten much though I don't think so.

I'm happy at this point to say 50th is next year, it'll be my 10th year and that's alright for me to hang it up and say I've done it.

[Winslow Leach]

Wish I was enthusiastic as you lot but the heat absolutely wiped me out on the Saturday and I slept through about four and a half hours of time I could well have spent having a vintage year. Only just woke up in time for Lizzo. Made a fair few poor decisions in terms of clashes as well. Plus the Thursday definitely seemed overly rammed.

Definitely fewer dickheads though.

[Winslow Leach]

On the other hand, I may just be on a comedown today...

[Smash1984]

One of the best for me, in the top 3 anyway (only out of 6 total though). It was definitely busier though, noticed it more on the Wednesday whereas usually didn't notice it getting busier until the Friday. Maybe more people arriving earlier due to the fallow year or people wanting to make the most of it. Didn't really notice it get any busier until the Sunday when the locals came in.

As others have said, only saw people once not using the facilities. Was in the JP urinals after the streets, blokes queuing to get in the urinals and then pissing up against the tarp. General improvement all round though

[Mozzer79]

Totally agree that it was a classic.

Great weather and good vibes.

Also concur that I saw no anti-social behaviour at all. Only one person barged past me all weekend.

[Lubic]

Loved it. It's hard to say whether it's my definitive favourite, as I've loved them all, but this ticked all the boxes. Met some lovely people, and the crowds around me were always great.

Saw some brilliant sets: On the barrier for Let's Eat Grandma, front centre for The Cure, partying to the Killers. And then there was Fontaines, Jeff Goldblum, Kylie, Vampire Weekend, Pip Blom... I could go on. Very happy considering I didn't have many absolute must sees when the lineup came out.

Weather was pretty great - no rain! The only negative was the heat getting to me a bit on Saturday afternoon, while sweating profusely, and hayfever kicking in. Eventually decided to just accept it, and throw myself into the WG tent for Fontaines, which sorted me out.

Oh and Let's Eat Grandma not doing their 3am set was disappointing. Waited at the front for nearly an hour before a rabbit-man emerged from his burrow and told us they weren't playing due to tech issues.

Will look back on this one with very fond memories. Felt particularly sad walking back to my tent after Fontaines' 3am set.  Hope to see you all at 2020!

Edited July 2, 2019 by Lubic87