2015

[benus80]

So glad I did not go to v festival his year as it sounds like it was a poor year for atmosphere, facilities, food and especially weather at Weston park. I just hope they turn it around but I am not hopeful as deep down I would like to go back one year. 

[efcfanwirral]

I went - weekend camping and thought it was fine. Enjoyed it:

- atmosphere depends who you see

- if people can't find food there to suit them then I don't think festival food is for you. Plenty around if you make the effort, it's only Glastonbury due to size and food-orientated festivals that would have any more.

- bar prices are the same at all festivals

- weather - actually Saturday was lovely apart from a couple of hours near the end, and there was a few hours of rain Sunday. Nothing weekend-ruining and its to be expected in this country.

- lineup - when it comes together it's usually good, I'm not into the DJ thing but you don't have to see them.

I'll put full thoughts later but 4 of us went (staffs), all 28 and 29 and we had a good weekend away. Yeah I wouldn't pick it as my only festival (though last year I would've done) but if you like enough of the lineup its a pleasant enough weekend. Definitely better than being sat in manchester!

It's always been pop music, but in the past it was guitar based pop music now it's all moved on a bit.

[Cappo Smiffy]

4 of us went to Chelmsford, camped in red camp. (ages 25/25/30/30 all lads)

 

This was my 8th in a row! Last year the campsite was full of 15-18 yr olds off their tits on balloons and various stuff, didn't bother or affect me especially as my crowd are hardly innocent, but was remarkably noticeable, this year it felt older across the board, early 20s avg age I'd guess in both camp and arena (noticed more people closer to their 40s there too) and def less people around - We camped with so much room and didnt rock up till 3pm on friday with a small field behind us empty

 

Lineup, - I have 4 main thoughts here,

1) the rise of music festivals in the US means their bands/artists don't need to chase the $$$ over here any more as the US festival market is saturated atm (and the UK is too) its been reflected in the acts of V & Reading last couple of years (imo). 

2) the growth of new festivals starting up has seen the same pool of artists thinly spread, allowing smaller acts to appear higher up the bill & more xfactor junk to seep in.

3) The rise of dance/house/rave music has simply seen a shift in demand for what the younger festival attending crowd want. Hip Hop/RNB had a rise (in a mainstream festival sense) years ago at the likes of wireless (or JayZ headlining Glastonbury) in a similar fashion. Older crowds more likely to be aggrieved at such changes

4) V have been slow to evolve - They only brought silent discos in a year or 2 ago (Reading had it before them, and it runs until later), other festivals offer a 3/4 day experience, V just 2.5, other newer festivals coming from an EDM background (EDC in the states and over here & TomorrowLand in belgium, Ultra in USA) have all gone big on stage production and festival 'experience', V's mainstages/production is very dated and there's little innovation in the stalls/interactive elements in the arena

 

But saying that I still enjoyed it, bought my ticket below face value a couple of weeks beforehand as always, so for me represents great value especially as its just 30mins down the a12. 

 

It's roots are as a pop music festival but despite my rant above I do feel they somehow need to up their game on the lineup a little, there are big bands (foos, coldplay, RHCP,) pop divas (taylor swift, lady gaga, adele, katy perry) and a ton of DJs who would all fit in nicely with their 'cater for all' demographic, but I don't think it's at crisis level yet. 

[Toon Army]

Five of us from newcastle went to hylands, aged 20,20, 20, 53, 55 (me)

Had a great time

Stayed off site in brentwood

Weather was great

Line up was average

Food and drink very good if a bit pricey, lamb and potato curry was my favourite

Highlights - Echo and the Bunnymen in the rain, Kodaline just as the sun set

Met lots of nice people

[phil the shrew]

Any more reviews of this years festival from anyone? Normally get loads in the week after the festival but just a trickle this time

Interested to hear from regulars how they felt it compared to previous years, particularly at Weston. Tempted to book up for next year but lack of positive reviews is putting me off

[Hello1]

Was only my second time, but really enjoyed it. Definitely fewer people though. Got the shuttle bus from Wolverhampton at the exact same time as last year. Last year we only had the time google maps said it would take to get there to go on, and ended up getting there much later than we expected because the traffic was so bad. Was expecting that this year but it was fine. No traffic until the roundabout at the bottom of the road into the entrance, and even then we were in within ten minutes of reaching the roundabout and in the queue before the campsites had opened. Also pretty sure there was no campsite where I'm sure there was last year (to the left of the path to the blue campsite, where red campsite is on your right).

 

Was near the front for alot of acts, including Calvin Harris, where you'd expect to run into alot of dickheads but for the most part everyone was lovely and spoke to far more people than last year. Camped in blue and people were very friendly there and came over when they saw us struggling with our tent. Showers were grim on Sunday though.

 

Prices too high, but you know that's gonna happen. Even so, £4.90 a pint and £8 for a meal is really pushing it now and we'll continue to sneak booze in. And £5 for a fair ride, one of which lasted literally under a minute. Also wish the lanyards included finish times. We're paying £10 to try and plan our weekend but we can't do that properly if we don't have finish times.

 

Was nice to have something to do on Friday night, would like them to continue down this route.

Stewards were lovely and took great care of me when I ended up in the medical center and were very pleasant to people during performances. Made countless trips to fill water bottles and saw some hand out ponchos. One particular steward kept dancing and talking to the crowd and kept spirits up between acts and during the rain.

 

Was nervous after seeing the weather forecast but Friday and most of Saturday was lovely. Rain started during Ellie Goulding but the vibe was incredible and the rain seemed to add to it and made it more fun. It was a bit miserable on Sunday but a couple of drinks and you forget about the rain.

 

Wasn't sure about the idea of the dance tent but it's actually quite nice to have somewhere you can go when there's no one on you want to see, or even between acts. Is it worth losing the futures tent for? Not sure. I also wasn't sure about a DJ headlining as for me a festival is all about live music, but ended up giving it a go and actually loved it. Great atmosphere and great show. A chance to just get drunk and dance and alot more fun than I expected. Felt for him when the power went during the set but he got everyone going again in no time.

 

Managed to get tickets for £150 by waiting till near the time but would happily of paid full price. I understand that dedicated goers are annoyed of the change in music, and I understand other festivals offer more to do, but for me it's perfect. I'm into mainstream chart music tbh and V is the only festival which has the type of lineup I enjoy and throughout the day there's always someone on that I want to see.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Hello1

[watsonjm]

This was my 12 year at Weston on the trot.  Other than Phonics and Kasabian the line-up wasn’t hugely to my taste but I was taking my 2 nieces (line up was perfect for them) as this was their first festival. 

 

Had a brilliant time as always, line-up has been only half of it for me for a while now as its always a good weekend away with mates and lots of beer and merriment.

 

Few things I noticed.  The campsites were smaller than ever.  They closed the top half of green based on ticket sales.  Even with the generally smaller sites and some of green shut off there was a hell of a lot of space.  We were up the top of green (as far as we were allowed) and had massive gaps all over this to the point they let us have our gazebo up where we normally have to put it up and down when the security come round.  Thought the loo's were much better than years gone by particularly in the arena where they seemed to be cleaned every few hours.  

 

The arena itself had shrunk again.  They have added an extra row of stalls taking up some of the main stage area and the fair had increased in size as well.  They have also massively shrunk the 2nd stage space and completely removed the food bit and Guinness bar that used to be up the back (very annoyed about Guinness bas as this was my hang out when there wasn’t anything I wanted to see).  Getting round was easier than I’ve ever known it.  We walked to just in front of the sound stage for phonics and kasabian (30 mins before they come on) without any issues and getting out the crowds after was a complete none issue. 

 

Queues.  It took longer to get into the campsites from the car park this year than in all my previous years combined.  We parked up about 8:30 and didn’t get through till nearly 10:30.  I think for the first hour they were fully searching everyone but this seemed to relax as the morning went on.  For the first time ever I had to queue to get into the main arena.  We went down at 12:30 on the Saturday and about 14:30-3 on the Sunday and it took 15-20 mins both times.  Not long I know but still was a first at V for me. 

 

All in all I had another great year and best of all for me both my nieces loved it and are planning on buying their tickets for next year at the weekend.  I think If it had been sold out it would have been far to squashed in the arena but I guess they had enough time to judge ticket sales and shrink the arena given how late they set V up.  Not sure if this is the case though.  Thought the cash bars worked very well and never had to queue for a beer. Price for beer was in line with Glasto and other majors events (£4.80) food was a bit silly if you wanted anything more than chips or a basic burger but that seems to increasingly be the case where ever you go.

 

Next year will be the first year in over a decade I’m not in the fields of Weston Park in mid-august for V.  My mate has very annoyingly planned his stag do for that weekend but my nieces will be there in my place.  Given the reduced price.  If I didn’t have to be else where I would have brought my tickets already.  

[Mr Nasty]

Nice review there Jim. I've not been since 2013. Is it still easy to get booze into the arena or have they got tighter?

[Hello1]

Nice review there Jim. I've not been since 2013. Is it still easy to get booze into the arena or have they got tighter?

 

I can't speak for being patted down or such but this year they were checking seals on bottles which they didn't do to us last year. Even saw one steward emptying bottles regardless of whether they were sealed.

[watsonjm]

Nice review there Jim. I've not been since 2013. Is it still easy to get booze into the arena or have they got tighter?

 

Tbh it depended which guard you got.  I saw people getting full bag searchs, patted down etc but then i got in with 3-6 cans in my bag wrapped in a hoody with a waterproof on top and a guard that just look in the top and moved my coat a bit.

 

Didnt have any problems with bottles.  I took half filled water bottles in, one with water, one with gin.  The guard just said 'Those bottles are empty right?' to which I obsviously replied 'Yep, they are'.  If anything i thought they were more chilled out on that then years gone by. I may have just got lucky

[rzwodezwo]

On 2 March 2015 at 7:17 PM, Pothuthic said:

You see I know one Drake song and don't know any by the dreadful Kendrick.

 

 

[Gucci Piggy]

On 02/03/2015 at 6:17 PM, Pothuthic said:

You see I know one Drake song and don't know any by the dreadful Kendrick.

You think he's dreadful but you don't know any of his songs? What a tool.

[Pothuthic]

4 hours ago, Will-2609 said:

You think he's dreadful but you don't know any of his songs? What a tool.

Hi Will, thanks very much on quoting me on a year old post on which I've clarified before., I've listened to Kendrick before to try him out, but I couldn't name you any of the songs I've listened to, they've been mostly forgettable other than not being my type of music.

[Pothuthic]

On 3/2/2015 at 6:27 PM, Will-2609 said:

Probably the dumbest post I've ever seen. He's dreadful but you don't know any of his songs? Nice.

(and which you've already replied to)

[Gucci Piggy]

Incrediscenes.

[watsonjm]

.

Edited August 18, 2016 by watsonjm

[watsonjm]

On 9/3/2015 at 2:22 PM, watsonjm said:

Next year will be the first year in over a decade I’m not in the fields of Weston Park in mid-august for V.  My mate has very annoyingly planned his stag do for that weekend but my nieces will be there in my place.  Given the reduced price.  If I didn’t have to be else where I would have brought my tickets already.  

Couldn't do it.  Stag do moved to July so I've picked up a late ticket.  Line up is tosh but Nieces and the Mrs will love it, looking forward to a few beers with my older brother who at 43 is coming to his first festival