There are many aspects to consider when choosing the right festival for you. With hundreds of choices I find it easier eliminating festivals, with the hope the list shortens!
By Category - Music taste is obviously massively important and line up will probably push your decision. Check out the festival listings by catergory, thats shortened the list already! However, the bigger festivals are catering for a wide variety of genres, so don’t totally rule out festivals that don’t fall into your ‘normal’ category. Be BRAVE when searching, you might find a gem you wouldn’t have usually considered! With Jay Z appearing at Glastonbury anything is possible!
By Artist – if you have a particular band or artist you desperately want to see, keep an eye on line-up updates on your favourite site www.UKFestivalGuides.com (going for browning points ?). Headliners can set a festival head and shoulders above the competition! Watching Rage Against the Machine at Reading 08’ gave me no choice but buy tickets!!
By Location – if you’re not lucky enough to live next to your favourite festival, the distance you need to travel can be a major factor. For some a 4+ hour journey home after a weekend of carnage isn’t fun or advisable! If you’re not up for camping there are still options: consider public transport, day car parks can be a nightmare and eat into your valuable festival time, check on the website for advice as they normally have buses from train station especially. OR Stay local! With the advent of the ‘smaller’ festival there are bound to be festivals happening no further than an hour away! London offering a fantastic range and reasonable public transport.
By Price – Is it me being old or are they really expensive now?! Saying that its cheap when you look at some of the line ups and then add up individual gig ticket cost to replicate an entire festival. Barring the fact each event is genuinely priceless! Prices vary, needless to say the big events ie. Glastonbury, Reading cost the most around £160. However some of the smaller festivals ie Ben and Jerry's Sundae at only £10 a day!
Published on 06 February 2011 by Wayne Feltham
