FESTIVAL GUIDE: Glastonbury

Name: Glastonbury Festival Of Contemporary Performing Arts

Where: Worthy Farm, Pilton

When: 25th – 29th June

Headliners: Florence + The Machine, Kanye West and The Who.

Also Featuring: Alt-J, Pharrell Williams, Paul Weller, Future Islands, Jungle, Motorhead, Mary J. Blige, Groove Armada, Father John Misty, Lionel Richie…

A Brief History: In 1970, dairy farmer Michael Eavis hosted the Pilton Pop, Blue & Folk Festival, where 1, 500 attendees were treated to a T. Rex topped bill for just £1, including a bottle of milk. Over it’s 40 year plus history, Glastonbury has established itself as one of the most iconic festivals in the world, hosting world class acts but, perhaps more importantly, doing its bit to change the world; Bands who play the festival aren’t paid the huge amounts you might expect, with the majority of profits shared between Oxfam, WaterAid and Greenpeace. The original hippies may have moved on, but Worthy Farm remains a spiritual place to people from around the world, and with the sheer volume of acts and sites, there’s something for everyone. Following the death of Michael’s wife, Jean, in 1999, his daughter, Emily, has played a key role in the organisation of the festival.

How To Get There: With their constant focus on all things green, Glastonbury rewards festival goers who travel on public transport (coach, train) or cycle to the the site with vouchers to redeem against food or merchandise. Over the last few years the car park has opened at 7.00pm on the Tuesday (23rd), allowing the early risers to have their tents pitched by 10.00am on Wednesday ready for the long weekend ahead. Public transport information can be found here.

Gigslutz Top Tip: With a festival boasting over 100 stages it’s difficult to know where to narrow it down. Despite a killer line-up year after year, it’s sometimes worth missing the acts you might get to see at your local O2 Academy to wander wherever the path takes you and see where you end up. There’s an entire festival outside of the main stages, with sights that can only be seen at Glastonbury.

Memorable Moments: Years before Kanye-gate, Jay-Z’s huge headline slot gave an even bigger two finger salute to the haters, particularly Noel Gallagher (Jay-Z walked on to the stage wearing a guitar, miming along to ‘Wonderwall’). Gallagher headlined in ’95 with Oasis as part of an iconic year for Glastonbury, which also saw the first appearance of the dance tent, with performances from Massive Attack and Carl Cox. The Rolling Stones gathered one of the biggest crowds in the festival’s history when they finally headlined in 2013, however Dolly Parton reportedly pulled in a few more during her Sunday afternoon slot last year

What We Said Last Year: Gigslutz Editor Steve’s highlight was M.I.A., while for New Music Editor Mari it was all about the John Peel Stage.

Did You Know? Over 1 million people registered to attend this this years festival, with the 150, 000 golden tickets selling out in a record 26 minutes.

How To Get Tickets: See above…

The Playlist:

Dan Bull

@danbull7609

Dan Bull

Dan Bull

Reviews Editor
London. Likes: Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, Prince Charles Cinema, Duran Duran Dislikes: Soreen, All-hits setlists, "I liked them before everyone else..."