Music festival season might not quite be upon us, but for anyone looking to buy tickets for this summer now’s the time to choose which festival you want to head to. Every year thousands of us Brits don our wellies and straw hats to rave in a muddy field for a few days, paying up to £200 for the privilege. As a keen-festival goer myself, I know just how important it can be to choose the right festival for you, whether that be a small folky gathering of bearded hippies, a band-bagging race to tick off your live set wish-list, or a hedonistic weekend of (controlled) mayhem.
Britain is THE number one location for music festivals, with Glastonbury, the world’s largest music event, being held annually at Worthy Farm in Somerset. The daddy of all festivals, the event’s history spans back for over 40 years and it is without a doubt the number one festival destination, with past headliners including everyone from Coldplay and Jay Z to Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder.
This year Worthy Farm is taking a well deserved year out to let the land recover, but will be returning in 2013. Until then, there are plenty of festivals to choose from this summer to suit all budgets and musical tastes. Some of the main ones include:
Reading and Leeds
Where:Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Yorkshire
When:24th-26th August 2012
A personal highlight of the festival season, Reading and Leeds are paradise for music lovers. THE place to see the biggest and best rock and indie acts, past headliners have included The Strokes, Pulp, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Kings of Leon and Blink 182. The two events happen simultaneously with line ups swapping between sites across the three days.
Tickets are due to go on sale towards the end of March, with the line up being announced at the same time. Expect tickets to be priced at around £190.
http://www.readingfestival.com/
http://www.leedsfestival.com/
Isle of Wight
Where:Seaclose Park, Newport
When: 22nd-24th June 2012
Often seen to be aimed towards the slightly older generation, the Isle of Wight has featured performances from a range of artists over the years and has been running since 1968! This year’s line up includes Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Jessie J, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Example, Elbow, Madness, Tinie Tempah, Magnetic Man and Groove Armada.
Tickets are already on sale, priced at £190 for adult camping.
http://www.isleofwightfestival.com/
Download
Where: Donington Park, Castle Donington
When: 8th-10th June 2012
Download is heaven for metal-heads, with some of the biggest names in rock and metal playing the three day event each year. This year’s line up promises to cater for all ends of the rock spectrum, with scheduled performances from the likes of The Prodigy, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Chase and Status, Soundgarden, Biffy Clyro, Tenacious D, Trivium, Lamb of God and You Me At Six.
Tickets are currently on sale at £180 for 3 nights camping, or £190 for 5 nights.
V Festival
Where: Weston Park, Staffordshire and Hylands Park, Chelmsford
When: 18th-19th August 2012
Often seen as one of the more commercialised festivals, V is a hotspot for street fashion and celebrity spotting. It caters for a wide variety of musical tastes from heavy rock through to chart-topping pop music. Previous performances have included Rihanna, Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris, Dizzee Rascal, Eminem and Kasabian. The line up for this year is yet to be released, but like Reading and Leeds, each act will play both sites on separate days of the event.
Tickets are due to go on sale Friday 2nd March, and you can expect them to cost around £170.
http://www.vfestival.com/
Creamfields
Where:Daresbury, Cheshire
When:24th-26th August 2012
One of many Creamfields events to be held around the world, the bank holiday weekender in Daresbury is the pinnacle of the summer for dance and electronica fans. The last few years have seen the likes of David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, Chemical Brothers, Dizzee Rascal, Kasabian, Fatboy Slim, Calvin Harris and Deadmau5 take to the stage.
Early bird tickets are on sale now for £120, with the line up soon to be announced.
http://www.creamfields.com/
Benicassim
Where:Costa Azahar, Spain
When:12th-15th July 2012
Finally, if you can’t be doing with all the mud and rain that British festivals will inevitably involve, why not head abroad to sunny Benicassim? Cheap flights plus seven days worth of camping mean you can treat it as a beach holiday – not bad considering the line up tops the majority of British weekenders! So far this year’s bill includes performances from the Stone Roses, New Order, Florence and the Machine, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Vaccines, Crystal Castles, Katy B, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Horrors and Example.
Tickets are currently on sale priced at £155 for four days music and 7 days camping.
http://fiberfib.com/
Those are just a selection of what’s on offer during the festival season, if you check out www.efestivals.comyou can find out what’s happening closer to where you live or further afield if you can afford it. For music fans festivals are a brilliant way to see your favourite bands all at once, and as long as you don’t mind roughing it for the weekend or getting drenched in the odd downpour, festivals are well worth the time and effort. Seeing the sunrise over a muddy field of tents, or singing along to Beyoncé in unison with hundreds of thousands of people are just two of my own favourite festival memories and for just a couple of hundred pounds you can create your own this summer.