MUSIC FESTIVALS

if we add this to what happened in Woodstock in 1999, it’s arguably understandable that some people furrow their brow when there’s chatter of a music festival. After all, music and drugs have always seemed to be part of the same deal for media, who’s blamed tunes for making people aggressive and even murderous before. The blossoming of Acid House probably didn’t help make the case. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why security has increased and that would be one of the reasons why costs have gone up too. The peace and love community feeling has been stumped and some festivals are now lacklustre for some just because our apparent need to fit everything in little organised boxes. The Burdens don’t attend Glastonbury on purpose, as they’ve always seen it “as a corporate money-making event first and foremost” although they give the organisers props for sheltering the Peace Convoy after the ‘85 incident.

But even if getting tickets for Glastonbury nowadays seems as hard as winning the lottery, one can’t talk about music festivals in the UK without talking about its longest-running festival. Established in 1970, its origins can also be traced back to the chimerical ideals of the late 1960s, when founder Michael Eavis hosted a free one-day event called the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival on his dairy farm in Somerset. Inspired by the ethos of counterculture and a desire to unite people through music, Eavis transformed his farm into the now-legendary Glastonbury Festival. Initially rooted in folk and acoustic music, Glastonbury – or “Glasto”, like most people know it – gradually evolved into a multi-genre cel- ebration, featuring diverse acts ranging from rock and pop to electronic and world music. The festival’s immersive atmosphere, eco-conscious ethos, and iconic Pyramid Stage have become synonymous with the UK festival experience very much so that most end up whimpering after trying to buy a ticket. In the 70s, a £1 ticket got you free milk from Eavis’s farm and, in 2022, £280 got you a Greta Thunberg speech in the Pyramid Stage on climate change and four days of music by Calvin Harris, Paul McCartney, Ziggy Marley, Kacey Musgraves, and Primal Scream all in the same space. That line-up could either be mixtape curated by a group of drunk friends or a music festival that’s trying to make everyone happy: from the ones who take the tube to the ones that drive a Tesla.

Anna Chan, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultancy founder and director from Asian Leadership Collective in London, waited three years to finally get tickets for Glastonbury because of Covid, but she gets why “Glastonbury lives up to the hype”. The festival has managed to accommodate the most basic needs like access to drinking water, toilets, and a co-op store.

“The whole festival, for the best part, has a very chilled vibe – everyone is there to have a good time. The crowd is friendly and gives each other space. I didn’t experience or witness any aggression, beer/ or ‘other’ being tossed into the crowd. Everyone is very willing to help each other. This shows through the community of ‘leave no trace, love the farm’. Everyone is tidying up and taking their items with