Thoughts on the weekend from a Glasto newbie

[Felix_g]

After attending other festivals in the past (TITP, reading & leeds etc) this was my first glastonbury.

Firstly - the sheer size and scale of the place is unbelievable. I couldnt get over that the whole weekend.
Secondly - even though it was massive, it felt SO busy. Very uncomfortable & dangerous at times. I didnt enjoy that bit

Finally - it was a totally different vibe than i was expecting. Being mid 30s now, i was hoping for a really chilled out experience, with everyone generally friendly and laid back. It wasnt aggro/aggressive, but there was definitely an edge to it and i was surprised by how many 18-25 year olds on coke/mdma the whole weekend...some of them not even watching the acts, just there to get fucked up. I enjoyed the visit to the healing fields and green futures, that seemed to be more in line with what i expected

 

Also the music...dont get me wrong, i know there has to be a mix to cater for everyone, but aside from the park/other stage the rest of it felt a bit like radio 1s big weekend...i guess thats what sells now adays.

 

Overall my experience was a solid 7/10 - i'd go back, but it didnt live up to the image i had of it in my head

[robbie1983]

38 here and every festival I’ve ever been too has loads of drug taking.

in over 10 years of glasto I’ve seen people wasted but never any fights. 

I actually thought it was one of the best lines ups I’ve seen there too haha

Opinions hey 😂😂

[FLB]

22 minutes ago, Felix_g said:

After attending other festivals in the past (TITP, reading & leeds etc) this was my first glastonbury.

Firstly - the sheer size and scale of the place is unbelievable. I couldnt get over that the whole weekend.
Secondly - even though it was massive, it felt SO busy. Very uncomfortable & dangerous at times. I didnt enjoy that bit

Finally - it was a totally different vibe than i was expecting. Being mid 30s now, i was hoping for a really chilled out experience, with everyone generally friendly and laid back. It wasnt aggro/aggressive, but there was definitely an edge to it and i was surprised by how many 18-25 year olds on coke/mdma the whole weekend...some of them not even watching the acts, just there to get fucked up. I enjoyed the visit to the healing fields and green futures, that seemed to be more in line with what i expected

 

Also the music...dont get me wrong, i know there has to be a mix to cater for everyone, but aside from the park/other stage the rest of it felt a bit like radio 1s big weekend...i guess thats what sells now adays.

 

Overall my experience was a solid 7/10 - i'd go back, but it didnt live up to the image i had of it in my head

Funnily enough that's exactly what I expected to see when I opened the thread. It's a real shame because that wasn't the first-time experience I had in 2016. I had a great time but it did feel like people might come away from this year feeling less certain about going back than they were previously.

[kemosabe]

I saw you posted on the reddit group as well right? 

All I would say is that perhaps as a first-timer you wouldn't necessarily of had the opportunity to know where to head to have the best time for you personally. I appreciate it was very busy and that needs to be addressed by the festival - it hasn't been like that in previous years. But, as you say yourself, there was the theatre and circus areas, craftfiedls, permaculture, strummerville, greenfields and the likes of Avalon - which all seem to cater for what you're after (that laid back vibe and less drum and bass). 

It's hard, because you want to do everything and see everything, but ultimately the festival has to cater for everyone. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to get fucked up and watch dance music all weekend and they deserve their part of the festival just as much as the hippies need theirs. So, personally I love the likes of left field, the speakers forum and the craftfields, but I appreciate they're not for everyone. But as i've been lucky to go a few times I know to head to them to have my own festival. 

I have to disagree about there being an edge though. People were doing drugs yes, but there is nowhere near the aggression I have seen at other festivals. Largely it is people just having fun and enjoying themselves. Not to diminish your personal experience at all, but I'm surprised you've done the links of R&L and think Glastonbury has an edge?!

Finally about the music, on the bigger stages of course it's going to be big names. But the pyramid stage's line up wasn't Big Weekend at all and there was hundreds of smaller stages with literally every genre of music. It's a matter of knowing what you're after and planning before hand. Of course the biggest festival in the world is going to have big pop names. But West Holts in particular had a hugely diverse line up you just wouldn't see elsewhere. I loved the line up on Avalon, thought the Mandala stage had some really cool stuff. The Truth Stage was really cool, the Theatre line up was great etc. 


 

Edited June 29, 2022 by kemosabe

[CaledonianGonzo]

9 minutes ago, FLB said:

Funnily enough that's exactly what I expected to see when I opened the thread. It's a real shame because that wasn't the first-time experience I had in 2016. I had a great time but it did feel like people might come away from this year feeling less certain about going back than they were previously.

If it boosts my chance of getting a ticket then sweet.

[pedmills]

Glastonbury is basically a festival of mini-festivals - at certain times and places it will get a bit edgier or you will see quite generic pop acts that are booked elsewhere. You do get quite a mix of people in terms of ages and personalities, but certain types are more noticeable than others.

I think most of us who keep going, keep going because it gives you a chance to sample lots of different experiences. Occasionally I want a quieter time and at other points I want something feels a bit edgy and more exciting. Sometimes I want to watch a weird cult act and other times I want to watch somebody huge. I get bored easily. It keeps me buzzing through the weekend that I can have so many different types of experiences.

If you prefer the green fields vibe and more alternative/diverse music then there are definitely festivals that specialise in that - but then you don't get Paul McCartney & Arcadia.

There are certainly people that spend most of their time in the green fields or T&C or West Holts or whatever, and then occasionally venture out for a headliner or Shangri La. Obviously they decide the ticket price and hassle is still worth it. You could try that next time and then decide afterwards if you still think it's worth it or there is a smaller festival that is better suited to you.

[jimbo_l]

Hi everyone - my first post here after browsing lots of the post-weekend comments/opinions.

My 2nd proper Glastonbury - first was way back in 2007 which I don't think is considered a classic, so always felt I had unfinished business with the place! Went with MrsJimbo, her first time after many years watching from the sofa. Neither of us have many other festivals under our belt.

So although not a first time for me, it was always going to be interesting to see what had changed since I'd been away, and how we'd cope with an extra 15 years on the clock (now both mid/late-30's)!

• The production value has come on leaps-and-bounds. Thought the sound was really good at most of the stuff I saw. The repeaters are fantastic. Definition of the screens was great. SE Corner obviously takes an immense effort. Park has grown into it's own mini-festival (2007 was it's debut I think). Really could spend all day in there.
• Felt it was clear that the 'new chapter' as they referred to in the doc. of diversifying the headliners has changed the feel of the weekend. The soul of the alternative festival is still there I think, but I wonder if fewer people are engaged with it? There were 5 or 6 absolutely magical moments for me, so it's still got that spark, but I found people on the whole a bit less open and chatty. Maybe I need to make more of an effort too 🙂
• As with the rest of Real Life, I noticed a lot more Coke around. Each to their own, but it hasn't got a reputation for bringing out the best in people.
• Music on Thurs needs a bit of a re-think. Folks are absolutely gagging to get started, so anything with a beat coming out of it is rammed. We couldn't get near anything and I think MrsJimbo (5'2") was a bit concerned that she wasn't going to be able to see anything all weekend. As others have said, maybe put on more stuff, or nothing at all and let people make their own fun, that might ease the Weds queues as well?
• People talking a lot on here about crowds and crushes. Got out of Arcadia/Park Friday just in time I think. We probably underestimated how early you have to arrive for some of the top attractions like Arcadia & NYC Downlow - didn't do either of them in the end.
• Secret Sets are a nice idea, but I wonder if they're run their course now? See also queues for Rabbit Hole & Downlow - they're heavily documented as part of an 'essential experience', but queuing for so long doesn't seem part of the 'get lost and find stuff' ethos that I thought was a big part of the vibe?
• Love the diversity of the DJ's playing after-dark, but everything we came across was pretty full-on. We're still occasional users, so get involved one or two nights, but the days of going 3, 4, 5 nights in a row are long-gone! I'd love to see something a bit more chilled/balearic for us oldies, DJ Harvey or ALFOS sort of energy level. If it was there and I missed it, let me know!!

tl/dr: loved it, will go back again (I'm SW born-and-bred, so feel like it's in my blood), but maybe I'll try something like GreenMan or EOTR next year to see if it's a better fit.

[GreyLaptopBag]

My first time too. I loved it. I thought the atmosphere was great - definitely way better than when I went to Leeds! Seemed like everyone just wanted a fun and friendly time. didn't see a single scrap or cup of wee thrown...

The exception to this might be up at Arcadia - lots of people on stuff and a bit more of an edge. Like a previous poster said, a fair few people on coke and that's never a good thing. There was also a lot of dance music on, particularly as soon as the headliners finished when it took us a long time to find anything that wasn't full on dance stuff. Might be that we didn't know where to go so ended up with the load on drugs at arcadia

Place was a touch busy too. A few times we couldn't get to toilets or through areas of the site, and we couldn't get to some of the acts we wanted to see on smaller stages

The place is huge. Couldn't believe the amount of stages etc. Feels like we barely scraped the surface!