Music festivals are one of the mainstays of the summer calender for many, and one of the most prominent aspects of musical culture.
Woodstock, the granddaddy that started them all, is associated with free love, good times, and historic musical performances. Gone are the days of enjoying off-the-wall artists in a drunken, drug-induced haze, sitting in a field with thousands of other music fans. Those days are numbered for a variety of reasons.
For one, it’s bureaucracy. The amount of red tape nowadays is just downright silly. For starters there’s this need to attach an image of yourself to tickets – I get that it’s to stop ticket touting but what about when you take ill, can’t get time off work or are otherwise engaged? That money’s lost and the purchasing of a ticket takes all that more forethought. Then there’s the noise curfews set by local councils that are cutting short sets by bands who aren’t on time, or who want to play an encore – festival committees can ignore these restrictions but the penalties can range from fines to cancellation of future festivals at that site.
The health and safety men don’t get off lightly either. We can take alcohol into the campsite with us – unless you’re one of the few festivals that limit our supply, for fear we’ll set up our own stall and undercut your vendors – what I don’t understand is why we can’t take it into the arena? There’s still ways of getting past the searches – just look at the amount of glass, drugs and other banned goods at any campsite – what I hate, is the constant suspicion and mistrust, as well as the amount of waiting as all these people get searched. If we break the rules, confiscate and punish us – but when I’ve traveled all night to get here, and we’re shambling along like animals at an abattoir – that’s annoying. There needs to be some way to speeding up the process.
Then there’s the financial side to consider. In this harsh economic climate, everybody is doing their best to save money. Petrol prices are up and public transport consist of two options – overnight coaches, or expensive trains.What do we get for our money anymore? We appreciate that we’re sleeping in our tent, and that everyones drinking and wanting to party – we’re not expecting VIP, but what about exclusivity? All the line-ups are roughly the same, even those at the top of the bill are headlining more than one festival in a year. They’re all the same. There’s no sense of identity anymore – no-one’s trying to do anything different, anything iconic. Not to mention the hot dog vans and the overpriced, warm lager. It’s no surprise that promoters, sponsors and fans are leaving festivals in droves.