The Future of Glastonbury

[DeanoL]

From what people are saying, it sounds like the festival is attracting the "wrong sort" of young people. I don't mean that in a negative way, people should live how they want and stuff, but just compared to what it's been in the past. 

Like, Glastonbury should be the obvious home for politically fired-up, environment-conscious Gen-Zs. But rather than the alt-kids, we're getting the "cool" kids. 

(Again, nothing against either group, but when I was in my 20s, Glasto was where us weirdos went, the cool kids wouldn't have been seen dead there)

[4AssedMonkey]

29 minutes ago, moogster said:

There was a survey this week in the Netherlands in which a depressing amount of young people said they'd do more drugs and eat less at festivals because it was cheaper that way...

Think I may have my new weight loss regime....

[fred quimby]

12 minutes ago, Cleetus said:

Hahaha! Good analogy. 

44 now. Hate being one of those guys that claim everything was better in "back in my day".

 

 

 

It was though wasn't it 😉

[FloorFiller]

4 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

From what people are saying, it sounds like the festival is attracting the "wrong sort" of young people. I don't mean that in a negative way, people should live how they want and stuff, but just compared to what it's been in the past. 

Like, Glastonbury should be the obvious home for politically fired-up, environment-conscious Gen-Zs. But rather than the alt-kids, we're getting the "cool" kids. 

(Again, nothing against either group, but when I was in my 20s, Glasto was where us weirdos went, the cool kids wouldn't have been seen dead there)

Glastonbury and festivals in general are a lot more mainstream and ‘cool’ with the general population these days, which I’m sure is in no part due to the change in bookings from largely rock/indie bands to a lot more pop leaning stuff as rock itself falls out of the mainstream in general. I think 2011 with Beyoncé and Coldplay topping the bill caught a lot of people’s attention that wouldn’t have usually considered it and it’s continued to hold that type of person’s attention since as it’s booked more acts in that vein. 

[Skip997]

3 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Glastonbury and festivals in general are a lot more mainstream and ‘cool’ with the general population these days, which I’m sure is in no part due to the change in bookings from largely rock/indie bands to a lot more pop leaning stuff as rock itself falls out of the mainstream in general. I think 2011 with Beyoncé and Coldplay topping the bill caught a lot of people’s attention that wouldn’t have usually considered it and it’s continued to hold that type of person’s attention since as it’s booked more acts in that vein. 

Could be, but not so sure.

Simply "fucking" Red played in 1986

The Smiths played in 1984

Boomtown Rats 1985

etc

Glastonbury has always has mainstream acts.

[gooner1990]

19 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

From what people are saying, it sounds like the festival is attracting the "wrong sort" of young people. I don't mean that in a negative way, people should live how they want and stuff, but just compared to what it's been in the past. 

Like, Glastonbury should be the obvious home for politically fired-up, environment-conscious Gen-Zs. But rather than the alt-kids, we're getting the "cool" kids. 

(Again, nothing against either group, but when I was in my 20s, Glasto was where us weirdos went, the cool kids wouldn't have been seen dead there)

When I first started doing festivals in the dying embers of the 90s my brother called me a 'dirty grebo'

In 2013 I met up with him for a pint at Glastonbury.

🙄

 

[Tranquility of Solitude]

Most young people don't have a lot of spare cash, and Glastonbury is now an expensive endeavour no matter how you do it. I suspect many/most of the young people attending are only able to do so courtesy of the bank of Mum and Dad. That in itself excludes a good many of the left leaning politically charged youth. Sadly.

[Cleetus]

22 minutes ago, fred quimby said:

It was though wasn't it 😉

Obviously yes, 100%

[Skip997]

The relative difficulty in "sneaking in" since the introduction of the "big fence" has had a big influence in the demographic.

I know a lot of people who were regular attendees who no longer go as a result.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Skip997

[Barneym]

This thread has got ridiculous. Glastonbury is still one of the friendly places you can ever go, kids are still kids people here are just getting old. Yes coke is more prevalent now but twenty years ago people did things like speed which wasn’t exactly a laugh a minute for people not on it because coke was way too expensive/not available. It’s also not a major issue at Glasto like it has become at football 

for full disclosure I’m 42 and was far more into Reading as a kid because that was my music, I went for a day last year as I thought Fontaines into Wolf Alice into AM was a fantastic line up and if anything it seemed a lot tamer than when I was going as a 16 year old but again most people were really friendly even to a bunch of dads.

[uscore]

My first Glastonbury was over 20 years ago and people then were moaning that the festival was attracting the wrong type of new people and was selling out and booking all the wrong bands.  And older people then were also pointing out that when they first attended people were saying the same thing too.

Basically young people are always terrible.  Are we so out of touch?  No, it is the young people who are wrong, obviously.

[Isaact]

3 hours ago, Neil said:

It's much more available now because it's much more crap now.mostly speed and gak filler.

Absolutely incorrect. In fact, the opposite is true.

Quote

 

United Kingdom drug situation 2019: Focal Point annual report states that the mean purity of cocaine at user level in England and Wales decreased steadily from 51% in 2003 to a low of 20% in 2009. Purity has since increased to 63% in 2018, the highest level on record. This reflects high production rates in source countries and increased availability of cocaine across Europe.

The two tier market in cocaine continues with prices at ‘student’, ‘pub dust’ or ‘monkey dust’ purity (the name depends on location) at around 40% and costing about £30-£40 a gram going up to around £80 a gram for purity in excess of 70%.

 

Which makes absolute sense - you aren't going to notice more cocaine-related bad behaviour if the purity has fallen through the floor.

You're noticing it because cocaine is both more pure and cheaper (in terms of price per %age purity) than it has ever been before. 

The price has also stayed static in a massive cost of living crisis, so in relative terms it's cheaper than it has ever been.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Isaact

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

57 minutes ago, Barneym said:

This thread has got ridiculous. Glastonbury is still one of the friendly places you can ever go, kids are still kids people here are just getting old. Yes coke is more prevalent now but twenty years ago people did things like speed which wasn’t exactly a laugh a minute for people not on it because coke was way too expensive/not available. It’s also not a major issue at Glasto like it has become at football 

for full disclosure I’m 42 and was far more into Reading as a kid because that was my music, I went for a day last year as I thought Fontaines into Wolf Alice into AM was a fantastic line up and if anything it seemed a lot tamer than when I was going as a 16 year old but again most people were really friendly even to a bunch of dads.

I remember in 2009 my friends and I got talking to this dad who was allowed to have the night off from his wife and kids and he'd gone out on his own after the main stages had ended and they'd all gone back to family camping. We pretty much adopted him for the night even though he was early 40s and we were all early twenties. Was amazing, went all over with him, to the Park, Rabbit Hole, the SEC. We lost him at one point but it was an amazing night, it didn't matter that he was at least 20 years older than us all.

Now I'm the dad.

It's the circle of life.

Hope the kids will chat to me still!

[Skip997]

4 minutes ago, uscore said:

My first Glastonbury was over 20 years ago and people then were moaning that the festival was attracting the wrong type of new people and was selling out and booking all the wrong bands.  And older people then were also pointing out that when they first attended people were saying the same thing too.

Basically young people are always terrible.  Are we so out of touch?  No, it is the young people who are wrong, obviously.

I remember, or at least I'm occasionally reminded, that in the mid 90's I said I'm done with Glastonbury because it's become too mainstream.

Anyway not all youngsters are terrible. I know some great ones that attend Glastonbury.

[Skip997]

4 minutes ago, Isaact said:

Absolutely incorrect. In fact, the opposite is true.

This is true.

Criminal gangs have adopted a relatively new policy of supplying quality products.

[Neil]

23 minutes ago, Isaact said:

Absolutely incorrect. In fact, the opposite is true.

Not in my own limited experience, 

23 minutes ago, Isaact said:

Which makes absolute sense - you aren't going to notice more cocaine-related bad behaviour if the purity has fallen through the floor.

You're noticing it because cocaine is both more pure and cheaper (in terms of price per %age purity) than it has ever been before. 

The price has also stayed static in a massive cost of living crisis, so in relative terms it's cheaper than it has ever been.

Same price as the eighties in my limited experience.

[The Nal]

So the festival (and cocaine) isn't as good as it used to be.

[BambooShanks]

24 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

This is true.

Criminal gangs have adopted a relatively new policy of supplying quality products.

It's  because they've realised it's easier and cheaper to import the cocaine paste (as this can be concealed far better) and then synthesise it into the finished product in a lab in europe - https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjv8e7/rise-of-coke-labs-in-europe-signal-death-of-the-smuggled-cocaine-brick

It certainly does explain how quality has improved while the price remaining largely static over the last decade.

It's a shame that weed isn't as popular as it used to be. It's a lot easier dealing with someone who's far too stoned than coked up to their eyeballs

[DeanoL]

2 hours ago, Tranquility of Solitude said:

Most young people don't have a lot of spare cash, and Glastonbury is now an expensive endeavour no matter how you do it. I suspect many/most of the young people attending are only able to do so courtesy of the bank of Mum and Dad. That in itself excludes a good many of the left leaning politically charged youth. Sadly.

I think that's part of it, but if you look at one of the big criticisms you see from older people of Gen-Z it's often "oh they're all bank of Mum and Dad vegans obsessed with trans rights and the environment" - and while that's a broad stereotype, I think it's fair to say that this group does exist and it's a group that in the past for whom Glastonbury would have very much been part of the calendar. And I'm not sure it's actually managed to reel them in as it stands.

(And just for the elimination of any doubt - I think those young people are great and very much support them!)

[fred quimby]

20 minutes ago, Neil said:

Not in my own limited experience, 

 

Is that just limited to every Friday 😉

[Gnomicide]

5 hours ago, stuie said:

Well this thread has gone a bit old men moaning about youngsters hasn’t it?! 

Not all lads with bags and bucket hats are twats… the same as not all old guys with grey hair are miserable bastards!

It’s absolutely vital that the festival attracts new recruits. If it doesn’t, it’s dead. 

 

What if you've got grey hair AND a bucket hat?

[Mardy]

If I was a teenage left leading politically charged youth who’d never been to Glastonbury (and believe me, many many years ago I was), im not convinced that AM, GnR and Elton would get me to part with north of 300 quid to lost my Gvirginity). Reeks of Boomerfest. 

[Skip997]

1 minute ago, Mardy said:

If I was a teenage left leading politically charged youth who’d never been to Glastonbury (and believe me, many many years ago I was), im not convinced that AM, GnR and Elton would get me to part with north of 300 quid to lost my Gvirginity). Reeks of Boomerfest. 

If I was a teenage left leading politically charged youth, with an extensive knowledge of festivals then there's one stand out choice and it's not Glastonbury.

[sime]

[Ommadawn]

5 hours ago, gooner1990 said:

When I first started doing festivals in the dying embers of the 90s my brother called me a 'dirty grebo'

In 2013 I met up with him for a pint at Glastonbury.

🙄

 

Hope you reminded him.