Glastonbury 2016

Glastonbury Festival is a staple of British culture and an internationally loved spectacle, for good reason. With 2016 being my second year exploring this huge festival I tried to be far more tactical in planning who I would see and where I would go…what a difference it made. I saw more artists than I ever have before and had an intoxicated adventure that you just cannot get elsewhere. The site really is like a 24 hour small city, there are so many areas to visit and lose yourself – both mentally and physically. Glastonbury is without a doubt my favourite festival, that is because the line-ups are always full of versatile talent from unknown gem’s to music legends. There are always a number of acts that any festival goer can appreciate, whatever your background or genre preferences. This year I was able to see so many amazing musicians and performers, if you are into the mainstream headliners then most notable would have to be Coldplay. They closed Glastonbury with a colourful set, incredible light show, and some unexpected cameos. When Coldplay brought Barry Gibb onto the stage I can safely say that, as a disco devotee, I completely lost my shit. Screaming and jumping along to Bee Gees disco classic ‘Stayin’ Alive’ at the UK’s largest festival, with around 100,000 other people, was a perfect way to end what was an extraordinary weekend.

Coldplay were just the cherry on top, there are so many great current bands at Glastonbury who are working their way up the line-ups of festival circuits. Such as indie rock artists like Two Door Cinema Club, Foals, and The 1975 who were a glimpse into how a recently established live band should perform and maintain a crowd. Maintain the crowd they certainly did, the atmosphere at Glastonbury is like that of any large festival…except times that by ten. Never at a festival of this scale have I felt so comfortable and content, the people are amazing (both staff and punters) and the venue is mind-blowing. Every little section of the festival has something to offer, be that imaginative stages, secret bars, magnificent views or even sensational food – I strongly recommend the Ostrich burger stall but I haven’t got a scooby where that was. The beauty of Glastonbury is that no matter where you go there is something new to try, especially if you want to discover new music. Wading through the excessive mud, the festivals worst in history according to Michael Eavis, we literally stumbled across the Pussy Parlure. A tent with a combined bar and stage, a genius idea in my opinion, where we overheard some funky bassline’s and sexy horns so we decided to check it out. On stage were Jenna & the G’s, a somewhat unknown band who merged drum and bass songs with a funk and soul sound, and lead singer Jenna G with some powerful sassy vocals (check them out below). They covered one of my favourite songs of all time, I Wanna Be Your Lover by Prince (one of many tributes this year) and it was at that moment that it really hit me I was back at Glastonbury Festival and reminded me how remarkable it really is.

Don’t get me wrong, the travelling to and from the festival is long and painful on the back, but it is worth every second of pain and every penny spent; from the mishaps of a drunken mud-dweller to a surreal emotional sing-a-long with Adele. When you get to dance like a muppet to Madness at the Pyramid stage, party at a B2B DJ set with Mark Ronson and Kevin Parker in Shangri-La, or witness the sheer talent of Jack Garratt at the John Peel Stage, it’s hard not to love every minute. Even the toilets are better at Glastonbury as they are open-topped, although they are still a bit grim. It may have been nearly a whole five months ago, but I am still raving about Glastonbury and getting excited for next year’s line-up to be released. There are bound to be clashes, I had to miss Earth, Wind & Fire’s set this year which broke my heart. However, I already cannot wait to be sat at the Stone Circle at 6am watching the sunrise, with a bottle of vodka, squash and water (great idea to avoid carrying beer crates) reminiscing on what a beautiful and unparalleled experience Glastonbury is. Radiohead’s announcement was a huge anti-climax for me personally but I’m crossing everything for Diana Ross’ strongly rumoured appearance in the legends slot, following ELO’s exceptional show this year. The thing is, it doesn’t really matter who is there, because the calibre of talent is always so high and the place is so rich in creativity that it would be impossible not to enjoy yourself. If you think that Glastonbury Festival is not for you, the sheer volume and variation of acts should make you think again because Glastonbury is definitely for everyone. I’ll see you other lucky sods who got tickets on the 21st June 2017, it’s going to be magnificent.