So why hold back on announcing the line-up?

[podge52]

because its mostly been this way especially before the days of the internet when you could just walk into a hmv store and buy your tickets

i would say that most of us old timers go to glasto not for the music but for the whole experiance of the festival.

no one makes you buy your tickets before you know who,s playing but the whole essence of the festival is that its not just that important

[sifi]

edit: Im only 32, and dont count myself as the 'older generation'.

[eFestivals]

I would be really f**ked off. 'Cos I'm going to Glastonbury primarily for the music, as do most people who are around my age I should think. Perhaps I got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning but I'm getting pissed with the older generation on here who seem to think us youngsters are going to be as keen on the Artsy fartsy side of stuff as they are.

artsy fartsy? Or is it just that we've realised that a great act doesn't have to be on the cover of nme, or even mentioned within it?

Edited February 5, 2009 by eFestivals

[eFestivals]

I don’t buy into this “couldn’t care whos playing, wont effect my Glasto” attitude. Obviously not music fans then!

whoaaaaaaa......

A music fan DOESN'T care who's playing - there is music of which a large proportion will be great, I'm a fan of that.

You're not talking about "music fans", you're talking about "fans of particular bands".

[sifi]

There is a lot more there other than the music. One year I only saw three bands.

[robith]

its not naff and if it deters halfwits like you who haven,t a clue what glasto is all about the all the better

[robith]

I totally disagree. Other uk festivals usually have far better line-ups in terms of big names, glasto has had some shit line-ups

BUT THAT IS THE POINT OF GLASTO, ITS NOT JUST HEADLINING BANDS.

edit: Im only 32, and dont count myself as the 'older generation'.

[robith]

artsy fartsy? Or is it just that we've realised that a great act doesn't have to be on the cover of nme, or even mentioned within it?

[micawber]

What's this now? The chap just said he wanted to know the line up because he likes to know who's playing and suddenly all he's interested in is acts in the NME in spite of him not having mentioned said publication at all?

This site really annoys me sometimes. It's like "THIS IS OUR VISION OF GLASTONBURY. ANYONE WHO DISAGREES AND GETS SOMETHING ELSE FROM GLASTONBRY OTHER THAN WATCHING BANDS THAT HAVE MOST DEFINITELY NEVER FEATURED IN NME AND MOST DEFINITELY NOT PLAYING ON THE PYRAMID STAGE ARE 100% WRONG AND WILL BE MERCILESSLY HARRASED FOR DARING TO HAVING CONTRARY VIEWS SUCH AS WANTING TO KNOW WHO'S PLAYING AT A FESTIVAL THEY'VE PAID £175 FOR."

People go to Glastonbury and they may never watch any bands and have a great time. That's great.

People go to Glastonbury and watch loads of bands, some may even have been in NME, and have a great time. That's great.

People want to know who's playing because it's exciting and some people like to know so they can maybe discover bands in advance because that's how they like music. That's great.

Some people do what they want and in some tiny tent discover a tiny band they've never heard off who play them away. Some people go to the pyramid stage and have sing alongs with massive bands. Both of these things are great.

Sometimes people on here talk to other people like they're doing Glastonbury wrong. You don't get extra points for not watching bands on the pyramid stage.

Different people enjoy Glastonbury in different ways. Isn't that great? There's no other festival you can say that about. I first went because of the bands but I come back because of the place itself. If other people do it differently, I don't care as long as they're having fun doing it! No other festival is like it, where two people who may even be camped next to each other, or even in the same group(!) can have such radically different festivals. We should be revelling in that, not coming down on people because tey like things differently.

Phew. Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

[bunchy]

What's this now? The chap just said he wanted to know the line up because he likes to know who's playing and suddenly all he's interested in is acts in the NME in spite of him not having mentioned said publication at all?

This site really annoys me sometimes. It's like "THIS IS OUR VISION OF GLASTONBURY. ANYONE WHO DISAGREES AND GETS SOMETHING ELSE FROM GLASTONBRY OTHER THAN WATCHING BANDS THAT HAVE MOST DEFINITELY NEVER FEATURED IN NME AND MOST DEFINITELY NOT PLAYING ON THE PYRAMID STAGE ARE 100% WRONG AND WILL BE MERCILESSLY HARRASED FOR DARING TO HAVING CONTRARY VIEWS SUCH AS WANTING TO KNOW WHO'S PLAYING AT A FESTIVAL THEY'VE PAID £175 FOR."

People go to Glastonbury and they may never watch any bands and have a great time. That's great.

People go to Glastonbury and watch loads of bands, some may even have been in NME, and have a great time. That's great.

People want to know who's playing because it's exciting and some people like to know so they can maybe discover bands in advance because that's how they like music. That's great.

Some people do what they want and in some tiny tent discover a tiny band they've never heard off who play them away. Some people go to the pyramid stage and have sing alongs with massive bands. Both of these things are great.

Sometimes people on here talk to other people like they're doing Glastonbury wrong. You don't get extra points for not watching bands on the pyramid stage.

Different people enjoy Glastonbury in different ways. Isn't that great? There's no other festival you can say that about. I first went because of the bands but I come back because of the place itself. If other people do it differently, I don't care as long as they're having fun doing it! No other festival is like it, where two people who may even be camped next to each other, or even in the same group(!) can have such radically different festivals. We should be revelling in that, not coming down on people because tey like things differently.

Phew. Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

[Hubz]

I personally would be pissed if they hold onto the lineup info until June but can understand that at the moment there are probably a lot of acts that are not set in stone and acts who have other tours to sell.

April - after the re-sale should be when they announce. Everything should be finalised by then and it gives those who want to give a listen to acts that theyve not come across plenty of time to do get up to speed. It also gives those who love the guessing game another 2 months of fun!

[Boris]

I guess nobody is quite as extreme as they may sound. It's a forum and it's fun to spout off about something even if it's just to scoff at Pyramid watchers... I doubt anyone means it quite as harshly as you take it. We all like slagging other people off... let's be honest! Don't deny it!

[eFestivals]

What's this now? The chap just said he wanted to know the line up because he likes to know who's playing and suddenly all he's interested in is acts in the NME in spite of him not having mentioned said publication at all?

This site really annoys me sometimes. It's like "THIS IS OUR VISION OF GLASTONBURY. ANYONE WHO DISAGREES AND GETS SOMETHING ELSE FROM GLASTONBRY OTHER THAN WATCHING BANDS THAT HAVE MOST DEFINITELY NEVER FEATURED IN NME AND MOST DEFINITELY NOT PLAYING ON THE PYRAMID STAGE ARE 100% WRONG AND WILL BE MERCILESSLY HARRASED FOR DARING TO HAVING CONTRARY VIEWS SUCH AS WANTING TO KNOW WHO'S PLAYING AT A FESTIVAL THEY'VE PAID £175 FOR."

<snip>

Phew. Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

How does what I said take away from that? He said "artsy fartsy", as tho any band that's not in his favourites list is artsy fartsy. While I might have been off the mark, it's very normally the case that people with that attitude only want to see the bands they've been told to like else they're not cooooool maaaaan, and god help them if they're not the identikit of all their friends.

It's a music festival (along with other things). This means there's lots of music on THAT YOU CAN GO AND DISCOVER WHEN YOU'RE THERE.

Having a listen beforehand to something studio recorded tells you almost nothing about how a band is live. There's bands I hate on record that I go out of my way to see live; there's bands I hate live that I love on record. The only way to find these things out is to experience it.

The only way way to get that experience is to do it. Sadly, there's too many people who would go and see the same handful of acts at every festival if they went to every festival, and who don't open themselves to music by doing so.

Two great examples last year would not have hit on very many people's "must see" lists via the "I'll have a listen and if I like what I hear I'll go and see them" method (Joan Armatrading, and Eddy Grant), yet I suspect there's very very few people that stumbled upon them who walked away or who felt they hadn't seen outstanding performances

Yes, have a few (just a few) "must see bands", but then go with the flow. You'll enjoy the experience a million times more because of it I guarantee.

[eFestivals]

I personally would be pissed if they hold onto the lineup info until June but can understand that at the moment there are probably a lot of acts that are not set in stone and acts who have other tours to sell.

I very much doubt that any more than about 20% of the line-up is booked currently.

[strudders]

Two great examples last year would not have hit on very many people's "must see" lists via the "I'll have a listen and if I like what I hear I'll go and see them" method (Joan Armatrading, and Eddy Grant), yet I suspect there's very very few people that stumbled upon them who walked away or who felt they hadn't seen outstanding performances

Yes, have a few (just a few) "must see bands", but then go with the flow. You'll enjoy the experience a million times more because of it I guarantee.

Edited February 5, 2009 by strudders

[Scott Martin 88]

There is far too much Glasto snobbery on these boards. Why can't we just let everybody do what they want or share whatever opinion they want? Come the end of June im sure everybody would have had an incredible festival, no matter what bands they saw or on what stage they saw them.

[tylerdurden]

totally agree with the, difference between an act on record and in a live environment. however, thats sort of what youtube is there for, its a pretty simple argument, they should release the lineup as soon as they can, if you dont want to find out, dont. i also agree with the comment that the people who have been going to the festival for a long time on this forum or the ones who have been members here for a while, can sometimes go too far telling people why they bought a ticket, i'm sure i read someone say "you bought a ticket to see more than bands", maybe he didnt? everybody gets different things from everything, especially glastonbury, to each his own and all that. anybody can do what they want as long as it doesnt infringe on someone elses time. rant. over.

[strudders]

OK just a couple of lines on this from me.

First off we would not be having this debate if T day was in April as it has been for years. Therefore why should the organisers change the line-up announcements because of this. We all chose to purchase our tickets now, if we had not I am sure T day would have the same as it was before last year.

Second Its not about snobbery, its about answering a question to somebody who has paid their money, then say well we should know what we have bought. Read the T's and C's.

I agree there are those who love headline bands and expect Glastonbury to deliver (which it will) but there are those who also like the experience because of the event. Like me.

If you think we are having a go at you because you like headline bands then come back when they have been officially announced in June then we can have the debate.

However I am sure we will not.

Glastonbury will not change the way it operate its artist release just because we all bought tickets early. And why should it.

[pedmills]

Yes, have a few (just a few) "must see bands", but then go with the flow. You'll enjoy the experience a million times more because of it I guarantee.

[benisright]

It sounds like a lot of people get very ill on the friday and only end up seeing a couple of bands. Am worried that might happen to me

Imagine if we didnt have the rumour of springsteen or neil young and only got the lineup in june. There would be a lot of people here that wouldnt have given them a chance and wouldnt now love them. Thats why the line up should be released in april/early may.

Edited February 5, 2009 by benisright

[Scott Martin 88]

That's true if you're by yourself but if you're in a reasonable sized group then that can be very difficult. If you're just going with the flow, then you'll inevitably end up either wandering around doing nothing or going to see a band that everybody has heard of. If you felt like going to the Avalon Stage but was it was on the other side of the site and a band no one had heard of was playing then its very difficult to get the group to go there, in the end you'll probably end up watching the Fratellis because everybody knows their songs. Sure you can go off by yourself but things are always more fun when you're with friends. If I've spent lots of time getting to know bands on smaller stages then I can choose some must-see bands and then say to people that I've listened to this band before and think everyone will enjoy watching them etc rather than saying they they might be good, which is never going to convince people. The first year I went to Glasto I didn't bother looking at the lineup and just decided to 'go with the flow' and ended up watching mainly Pyramid Stage acts. Having the lineup out in June is not really enough time to listen to lots of new bands, so the earlier the better. It will help the lesser-known bands as well.

[strudders]

That is a very good point sir.

Can somebody clear something up for me...

I constantly hear people say things like 'I don't go for the bands, i go for the experience.' Is music not a part of the Glastonbury experience?

[pedmills]

I constantly hear people say things like 'I don't go for the bands, i go for the experience.' Is music not a part of the Glastonbury experience?

[Scott Martin 88]

It is but it is not the be all and end all, The circus tent, the healing field, its all relative to what goes on.

Music is a big part of it and if you want music then you are more than well catered for.

However Glastonbury has not marketed itself on being a music festival for years. Its much much more.

[robith]

How does what I said take away from that? He said "artsy fartsy", as tho any band that's not in his favourites list is artsy fartsy. While I might have been off the mark, it's very normally the case that people with that attitude only want to see the bands they've been told to like else they're not cooooool maaaaan, and god help them if they're not the identikit of all their friends.