© Larry Busacca
Culture & Living
Yes, Glastonbury and Coachella have been cancelled, but there are some positives. From going big in 2022 to your bank balance thanking you, here’s why having another year of no festivals isn’t so bad
We hate to break it to you, but if you’re currently deciding which pot of environmentally friendly glitter and dry shampoo to pack for a weekend spent with your friends and favourite bands at one of the world’s leading music festivals this summer—then it’s time to put the brakes on.
The chances of anyone going to a massive music festival and being in close contact with 300,000 strangers over the next few months are slim, even if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere like the COVID-19 free-ish utopia of New Zealand. Even at the best of times, festivals aren’t the most hygienic places—but right now, attending a glorious yet grubby music event is asking for trouble. There’s not enough hand sanitiser in the world to make Glastonbury a germ-free proposition.
© Rich Fury
The US festival season normally kicks off in March with South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, followed by California’s Coachella in April. In June, Europe flies the festival flag with the UK’s Glastonbury and Spain’s Primavera, before Japan’s largest outdoor party, Fuji Rock Festival, starts in August and Mexico’s Corona Capital in November.
However, this year, these festivals look increasingly unlikely to happen IRL. In January, Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis had to announce the cancellation of the UK festival for the second year in a row and in February, Coachella declared the desert-set fest was also off.
While there might be some meagre hope for smaller festivals later in the year—new Dutch techno and hip-hop festival Frontier has been granted a permit, provided everyone going shows a vaccination certificate or negative test on entry, while Florida’s Frontyard Festival in May will see fans in private, elevated boxes—clearly now isn't the time to be investing in a new tent and sleeping bag. However, we will be keeping a close eye on how things turn out with Primavera’s PRIMA-CoV clinical trials, which are gauging how helpful antibody tests can be in permitting large events to go ahead without social distancing.
Don’t despair, though—such a blow to your social calendar might make your heart sink, but here’s why another summer without festivals might actually be OK.
After a decade of hammering the global festival circuit, I took a break from them two-and-a-half years ago. I was desperate for a breather. Not only did the ligaments in my calves need to knit themselves back together after weekends pounding through muddy fields with the limited arch support offered by wellington boots, but my heart no longer skipped a beat at the thought of catching a much-loved band with a pint of warm cider in hand.
Am I angry about the fact that by 2022, it’ll have been a full four years since I’ve gotten to go to a festival? Definitely not—I’m excited. I won’t waste time dithering at the bar. I won’t skip out on a headliner to make sure I’m at the front of the queue for an oversubscribed mac and cheese vendor. I won’t head home on Sunday afternoon to beat the traffic. I’ll appreciate every single second, even the ones when I’m exhausted, sweaty and stomping around at 3am in search of the secret Dolly Parton set that’ll never happen.
Last summer proved that not all arts-based entertainment has to come to an end in the age of lockdown. Socially distanced gigs from London to Nashville proved to be a powerful escape for those lucky enough to attend them, with regulated venues hosting concerts at a decreased capacity, showing that it was possible for live music to happen in a secure environment.
These shows weren’t just safe, but the comfiest I might have ever been to. Everyone gets a seat, there’s no tall man blocking your view, no one treading on your toes, and with enforced table service, the threat of missing your favourite song because you are queueing at the bar is eradicated. It’s hoped that these will return later this year, proving a cosy alternative to three days getting lumbago in a lumpy field.
Though a fully seated version of something as massive as, say, Chicago’s Lollapalooza, would be impossible, much smaller bespoke outdoor events may be given a chance to flourish this summer, allowing up-and-coming artists a chance to perform in front of intimate audiences. The virus is thought to be harder to transmit when people are outdoors, which means there’s lots of potential for small, one-day events in parks and fields, giving new artists a much-needed platform—as well as an opportunity to work—at a time when so many tours have been cancelled.
There’s always a major worry at the start of every festival season—have you picked the right one? With so many options, nailing the correct event for you and your friends can often turn into a testing tug of war. Do you go for a full-on EDM rave-up, a gentle folk gathering in some woodlands or the headbangers ball that is an all-out heavy-metal festival? Whatever happens, you always know one of your crew is settling, glumly grabbing onto a glow stick in front of a laptop DJ when you know they’d rather be deep in the middle of a mosh pit.
The average cost of attending a festival isn’t cheap, factoring in the cost of a ticket—if you stump up for a swanky VIP Coachella ticket, that’ll be a whopping $929. Fuji Rock Festival costs about $470, while Sweden’s Way Out West is around $260—as well as actually getting there and your spending money on top. Those frozen margaritas won’t pay for themselves and neither will three meals a day from assorted food trucks. In a year where everyone’s budgets have been stretched to the limit, the fact that there’s now one less thing to throw money at can only be a blessing in disguise.