Wilderness 2021

[adequate8]

Simon Amstell is on the latest insta post but can’t seem to find out where he is. Also Letters Live is on both Sat and Sun! App is constantly changing proving the clashfinder difficult to maintain!

[Joshuwarr]

Couldn't find him on the app either! 

If you look on the website they have the times for the live silent disco DJs and their late night sets if you wanted to add them too https://www.wildernessfestival.com/programme/massive-live-silent-light-rave-disco-show/?pillar_id=43431&location=43431

[incident]

Letters Live being both Sat and Sun probably isn't an error - I'm pretty sure it was on twice (with a different cast + letters each time) in 2019 as well.

[T_wizzard]

Hiya, a couple of my friends have got live in camper tickets whilst the rest of us have got general campsite tickets. How strict are security letting them come visit us in general campsite?

Cheers

[adequate8]

8 hours ago, Joshuwarr said:

Couldn't find him on the app either! 

If you look on the website they have the times for the live silent disco DJs and their late night sets if you wanted to add them too https://www.wildernessfestival.com/programme/massive-live-silent-light-rave-disco-show/?pillar_id=43431&location=43431

Good spot, added

[gibble]

I'm excited now... but also very slightly concerned by the weather forecasts!

[Leyrulion]

49 minutes ago, gibble said:

I'm excited now... but also very slightly concerned by the weather forecasts!

Heading down today for Oxfam volunteering. Basically packed for everything.

[Joshuwarr]

Here we go

 

[adequate8]

14 hours ago, Joshuwarr said:

Couldn't find him on the app either! 

If you look on the website they have the times for the live silent disco DJs and their late night sets if you wanted to add them too https://www.wildernessfestival.com/programme/massive-live-silent-light-rave-disco-show/?pillar_id=43431&location=43431

Thursday night at Forum for Amstell

[incident]

Should mention given that (the previous lack of) mobile coverage was mentioned a while back - there's a few booster masts on site this year, which haven't been previously, not sure which networks they cover though.

[Leyrulion]

5 hours ago, incident said:

Should mention given that (the previous lack of) mobile coverage was mentioned a while back - there's a few booster masts on site this year, which haven't been previously, not sure which networks they cover though.

Posting from the site now. No issues so far. Maybe different when thousands arrive.

[adequate8]

Sports Team in for Franc Moody

[Joshuwarr]

13 minutes ago, adequate8 said:

Sports Team in for Franc Moody

Quite a big upgrade. Happy with that tbh!

[VanderlyleTea]

17 hours ago, T_wizzard said:

Hiya, a couple of my friends have got live in camper tickets whilst the rest of us have got general campsite tickets. How strict are security letting them come visit us in general campsite?

Cheers

Yeah I’d like to know this as well. Anyone able to help us out?

[Leyrulion]

17 hours ago, T_wizzard said:

Hiya, a couple of my friends have got live in camper tickets whilst the rest of us have got general campsite tickets. How strict are security letting them come visit us in general campsite?

Cheers

Difficult to call. It's all new really but from what I've seen of the set up you shouldn't have an issue. It's not quite the same as other festivals in terms of strictness of security. 

 

[philipsteak]

7 hours ago, incident said:

Should mention given that (the previous lack of) mobile coverage was mentioned a while back - there's a few booster masts on site this year, which haven't been previously, not sure which networks they cover though.

I'm on EE and currently getting prefect coverage

[March Hare]

8 hours ago, incident said:

Should mention given that (the previous lack of) mobile coverage was mentioned a while back - there's a few booster masts on site this year, which haven't been previously, not sure which networks they cover though.

Got 4G on Vodafone at the moment and it’s rapid. Huge mast by the family camping. 

[adequate8]

Self Esteem great yday despite being annoyed at the beach balls, queue for valley is crazy long. Met Joe Cole from Peaky Blinders in the queue, nice bloke. 

All about BICEP tonight! 

Russell Brand knocking about too.

[March Hare]

Security are being really strict with booze checks/bag searches this weekend at general camping gates.

Edited August 8, 2021 by March Hare

[Leyrulion]

2 hours ago, March Hare said:

Security are being really strict with booze checks/bag searches this weekend at general camping gates.

It's non existent at family camping.

[adequate8]

3 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

It's non existent at family camping.

None existent at entrance to arena by top of the lake too, more interested in wrist bands 

[WestOxonwards]

Real drop in quality of acts, quantity and general vibe.

Yes post pandemic, yes the weather but after four previous vivists can't but feel wholly underwhelmed. 

Big lack of bands, lots of solo acts, not many other live venues to stumble up bands, lots of djs (Craig Charles is good but come on he'll DJ at a drop of a hat for a few hundred) and as for Saturday evening.....four hours of two blokes hiding behind their laptops/decks. Great individually, great down the valley but back to back on the main stage?! Shoddy thinking around the line up and smacked big cost cutting and a whole lot of a lack of imagination/knowledge of the music scene to get bands.

 

The valley was very badly managed on Friday night too and didn't want to risk the entry crush again. As for the sanitation....and absolute disgrace.

We left on Sunday and can't help feel that the new management have utterly messed up what used to be a great and relatively unique experience. 

[WestOxonwards]

On 8/7/2021 at 12:48 PM, adequate8 said:

Self Esteem great yday despite being annoyed at the beach balls, queue for valley is crazy long. Met Joe Cole from Peaky Blinders in the queue, nice bloke. 

All about BICEP tonight! 

Russell Brand knocking about too.

Somewhere Bicep is still playing a 49.5 hour song, running off a loop on his laptop. Great at 3am but Saturday early evening? Nah thanks. 

[adequate8]

49 minutes ago, WestOxonwards said:

Somewhere Bicep is still playing a 49.5 hour song, running off a loop on his laptop. Great at 3am but Saturday early evening? Nah thanks. 

Agreed, should’ve headlined Friday instead of Carner who didn’t do it for me. 
 

2nd mention I’ve seen about new management (Instagram comments being the first), what has changed and when? 

Our 4th time there and thoroughly enjoyed it, after Latitude with nowhere near enough food stalls/bars/toilets, Wilderness was a breath of fresh air. 
 

Valley always seems to be chaos which they haven’t managed right in years, they massively missed the boat with Silent Disco as that couldve split the crowd if had numerous channels/sing a longs as opposed to a DJ set?!

Found the vibe to be great, met lots of good people ✌🏻

[incident]

1 hour ago, adequate8 said:

2nd mention I’ve seen about new management (Instagram comments being the first), what has changed and when?

Previously, MAMA Festivals were operating as kind of a "niche" company within Live Nation, and were able to do their own thing in a lot of respects - which sometimes meant doing things differently than the more "mainstream" events operated by Festival Republic.

At some point in the past few months, Wilderness was internally transferred from MAMA to Festival Republic, and FR were running the show top to bottom this time - quite a few suppliers / contractors were replaced with the ones FR use at their other events, which led to some serious operational problems (chaos wouldn't be an overstatement). Security and Toilets being the two biggest issues.

I don't think there was an actual overall reduction in toilet provision - just that there was significantly more people on site this year (was told 24,000 inc staff) and that the previous supplier used to empty/clean them about 3 times more often than A1 did this year.