Green Man 2023

[benali]

17 minutes ago, collectivisedfarming said:

No issue with properly supervised children or it being family friendly. But family friendly should also mean people with young families taking others into account. It's a two way street. 

My group included children who had a great time. Youngest had a small fold up pram. Folded away as soon as it looked like standing room was at a premium. You can't do that with a massive wooden trolley and people seem unwilling to move them when they're clearly being an inconvenience. 

When our kids were little we only ever used the fold up stroller/buggy things. Even managed the horrendous mud of GM 2007 with one of those.

Would never have considered dragging a huge trolly around all weekend, it seems like far too much effort, not to mention the expense of hiring them.

[benali]

1 hour ago, Nobody Interesting said:

So tickets on Sale 30th Sept for 2024.

We are going to go next year (hopefully) to give it a go as we drive right past the site every year on route to Beautiful Days so it seems rather sensible to try our 'local' festival. No idea really why we never have before,

Anyway, any tips etc appreciated. We want to try for Settlement tickets and presume they go fast. is that the case?

Yes they will sell out very quickly, likely in minutes.

GM use Ticketline for some reason and this year it was a bit of a shambles as the site crashed, so you have to add that into the mix too!

[Nobody Interesting]

12 minutes ago, benali said:

Yes they will sell out very quickly, likely in minutes.

GM use Ticketline for some reason and this year it was a bit of a shambles as the site crashed, so you have to add that into the mix too!

Blimey, that is quick. I guess a Ticketline account will speed it up a bit if you are lucky enough to get in to the booking page.

[retromoz]

17 minutes ago, benali said:

When our kids were little we only ever used the fold up stroller/buggy things. Even managed the horrendous mud of GM 2007 with one of those.

Would never have considered dragging a huge trolly around all weekend, it seems like far too much effort, not to mention the expense of hiring them.

OK....so.....*deep breath*

I am a trolley bastard. We have a kid. This was her third Green Man. IT was my.......er.....8th? WE had a lovely time.

I understand how they can be a bastard to negotiate. I, like im sure most others, are constantly aware of our surroundings. WE spent a lot of time in Far Out, right at the back. We only did this as there was space to do so. If it ever got busy, we would remove ourselves. Not all trolley users are cnuts.

(a separate point : it didnt help on friday when they seemed to section off most of the field at far out for the burning REALLY early! Like, at 4pm or something? Why so early? How are those with modility issues (and, yes, trolley bastards) supposed to negotiate to see something at far out? It was a bit naff. But i digress...)

We used a Mr Trolley which, despite being a LOT of effort (they are stupid heavy. Even without a 5 stone kid in it), was a godsend. For context, Our kid has lots of disabilities. One of them which necessitate the use of said trolley is right sided hemiplegia/Cerebal Palsy. She loves to have 'a boogie' (her words) but gets tired very easily due to said CP (which, with some of her other 'issues', can be fatal. Joy of joy's). However, she is in this 'half way' house where she isn't disabled enough (yet) to warrant a wheelchair but is disabled enough to need help. Hence the trolley.

Now.......Im not naive enough to think that the trolley haters are anti disabled, obviously. (I should also point out this is NOT a direct attack on Benali, who I have had lots of lovely discussions in the past. I'm just quoting his post to make a point) However....maybe have a little thought in the back of your mind to think that, just maybe, some trolleys might be needed? For whatever reason? Thanks.

Whilst Im typing a mini essay, I should also say thanks to the accessibility team for being so great. Luke & Co. work their socks off to make the event as hassle free as possible. ESPECIALLY on the viewing platform in Far Out, which enhanced my kid's festival no end!

Oh, and Crows smashed it. All else, no matter how good they were (And there was very good stuff. Obviously. Its bloody Green Man, innit) palled in comparison.

And it was great to see Big Jeff at the barrier for Les Savy Fav. Where he belongs. x

[slumberjack]

14 minutes ago, retromoz said:

OK....so.....*deep breath*

I am a trolley bastard. We have a kid. This was her third Green Man. IT was my.......er.....8th? WE had a lovely time.

I understand how they can be a bastard to negotiate. I, like im sure most others, are constantly aware of our surroundings. WE spent a lot of time in Far Out, right at the back. We only did this as there was space to do so. If it ever got busy, we would remove ourselves. Not all trolley users are cnuts.

(a separate point : it didnt help on friday when they seemed to section off most of the field at far out for the burning REALLY early! Like, at 4pm or something? Why so early? How are those with modility issues (and, yes, trolley bastards) supposed to negotiate to see something at far out? It was a bit naff. But i digress...)

We used a Mr Trolley which, despite being a LOT of effort (they are stupid heavy. Even without a 5 stone kid in it), was a godsend. For context, Our kid has lots of disabilities. One of them which necessitate the use of said trolley is right sided hemiplegia/Cerebal Palsy. She loves to have 'a boogie' (her words) but gets tired very easily due to said CP (which, with some of her other 'issues', can be fatal. Joy of joy's). However, she is in this 'half way' house where she isn't disabled enough (yet) to warrant a wheelchair but is disabled enough to need help. Hence the trolley.

Now.......Im not naive enough to think that the trolley haters are anti disabled, obviously. (I should also point out this is NOT a direct attack on Benali, who I have had lots of lovely discussions in the past. I'm just quoting his post to make a point) However....maybe have a little thought in the back of your mind to think that, just maybe, some trolleys might be needed? For whatever reason? Thanks.

Whilst Im typing a mini essay, I should also say thanks to the accessibility team for being so great. Luke & Co. work their socks off to make the event as hassle free as possible. ESPECIALLY on the viewing platform in Far Out, which enhanced my kid's festival no end!

Oh, and Crows smashed it. All else, no matter how good they were (And there was very good stuff. Obviously. Its bloody Green Man, innit) palled in comparison.

And it was great to see Big Jeff at the barrier for Les Savy Fav. Where he belongs. x

Loved this post and that your daughter enjoyed herself! 

We also hired a Mr Trolley and know what you mean about the weight of them! We also stood as far back as possible, especially later on in the day and had loads of space around them.  

I think the trolley issue can also be applied to groups of people in chairs/picnic blankets so not a trolley specific issue maybe...

[benali]

37 minutes ago, retromoz said:

OK....so.....*deep breath*

I am a trolley bastard. We have a kid. This was her third Green Man. IT was my.......er.....8th? WE had a lovely time.

I understand how they can be a bastard to negotiate. I, like im sure most others, are constantly aware of our surroundings. WE spent a lot of time in Far Out, right at the back. We only did this as there was space to do so. If it ever got busy, we would remove ourselves. Not all trolley users are cnuts.

(a separate point : it didnt help on friday when they seemed to section off most of the field at far out for the burning REALLY early! Like, at 4pm or something? Why so early? How are those with modility issues (and, yes, trolley bastards) supposed to negotiate to see something at far out? It was a bit naff. But i digress...)

We used a Mr Trolley which, despite being a LOT of effort (they are stupid heavy. Even without a 5 stone kid in it), was a godsend. For context, Our kid has lots of disabilities. One of them which necessitate the use of said trolley is right sided hemiplegia/Cerebal Palsy. She loves to have 'a boogie' (her words) but gets tired very easily due to said CP (which, with some of her other 'issues', can be fatal. Joy of joy's). However, she is in this 'half way' house where she isn't disabled enough (yet) to warrant a wheelchair but is disabled enough to need help. Hence the trolley.

Now.......Im not naive enough to think that the trolley haters are anti disabled, obviously. (I should also point out this is NOT a direct attack on Benali, who I have had lots of lovely discussions in the past. I'm just quoting his post to make a point) However....maybe have a little thought in the back of your mind to think that, just maybe, some trolleys might be needed? For whatever reason? Thanks.

Whilst Im typing a mini essay, I should also say thanks to the accessibility team for being so great. Luke & Co. work their socks off to make the event as hassle free as possible. ESPECIALLY on the viewing platform in Far Out, which enhanced my kid's festival no end!

Oh, and Crows smashed it. All else, no matter how good they were (And there was very good stuff. Obviously. Its bloody Green Man, innit) palled in comparison.

And it was great to see Big Jeff at the barrier for Les Savy Fav. Where he belongs. x

I'm definitely not a trolley hater. I didn't have any problems with them over the weekend, my post above was just my thoughts on our experiences with small kids at GM and our preference not to use them.

As you say there will be some who need to use a trolley due to accessibility circumstances, I can't imagine anyone would have an issue with that at all.

I also understand that some parents wouldn't be as considerate as you. We went to the first few Camp Bestivals and there were certainly people there selfishly annexing off large parts of the site with trolleys. 

I would like to echo your comments about the accessibility team. A bloke I know had a foot op not long ago and is wearing a protective boot. He emailed GM beforehand and they said they don't give out accessibility passes to people recovering from operations.

However on Thursday one of the accessibility team whisked him off in a buggy and got him a pass to use all weekend which absolutely made his festival a lot easier and more enjoyable.

I'm glad you had a lovely time.

Edited August 22, 2023 by benali

[bawlee]

It has been a few years since going to green man. This year didn't disappoint. Despite the rain, Comet is Coming were outstanding as were Self Esteem, The Outlines, Seb Lowe to name a few. The sound on the main stage was epic, food choices were great, really quick to get from one stage to another, beautiful surroundings, the walled garden, the art, the atmosphere, the organisation, the stewards, the friendliness of the bar staff. There were some negatives but nothing we couldn't put up with.

However, one particular issue significantly impacted our overall experience and has led to our decision, not to return next year....the Loos. Personally I don't have an issue with compost toilets so long as they are emptied and cleaned regularly. Maybe we missed something, but it seems they were emptied once on Friday morning and then nothing else all weekend. The last day on the campsite was horrendous. No hand sanitiser for most of Friday - urgh. and a loo roll lottery all weekend. 

Other festivals aren't perfect, EOTR for example, had a really bad year 2021, but last year got it properly sorted with flushing toilets for those prepared walk a bit further. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by bawlee

[jimbo_l]

Not a GM veteran; we went for this first time last year and loved it - 9/10. Had a great time this year too, but probably more like a 7/10. But my feeling overall is that these things swing on small margins, i.e. the rain on Friday, and also not being quite so into the lineup, and having a couple of annoying clashes. Love what they do overall and will be back again.

Did anyone else notice that the sound in Far Out seemed a bit off? We were about a third of the way back for Young Fathers, and there was really no definition in the mix, very hard even to hear the between-songs chat. Others in my group reported similar over the weekend. Those watching from the bar/tables outside say they could hear every word. Can anyone explain why that is ?

[Coopa]

As always, such a great weekend, everyone im great spirits(no matter the weather), so much fun. Couple of festival highlights:

The comet is coming, easily the most uplifting set of the weekend, somehow the rain made ot even better! Definitely should have headlined! 

Amyll & the sniffers, did a split set with sudan archives (devastated these were a clash) and really gave us all the shot of energy we were all desperate for on sunday night! 

The walkmen, proved they really have so much more to them than just 'the rat'....but screaming the rat so loud that a wrecked my voice was one of my fav moments. 

Confidence man, the perfect after dark party, wish more of the afterdark bookings were this uplifting. Oh and goat, and clipping... Actually that whole saturday night run was immense. 

Les savy fav, having caught a glimpse at privavera last year knew this would be entertaining, but dont think i quite how hilarious it would get. Wish they could be booked every year! 

Also really enjoyed in no particular order: spiritualised (first half mind-blowing/second half too slow), slowdive, floodlights, dur-dur, etran de l'air, obongjayar, lankum, horace andy, say she she, thus love, countless unknown chai wallahs bands and the classic Deptford closing party! 

Only downsides: wasnt overly enthused by the mountain headliners this year (or last year apart from kiwanuka). We have really missed a big headline set to unite our group rather than being spread all over site. Devo sounded good but had missed the big hitters watching slowdive, and first aid kit really arent to my taste and was just a bit drab and taylor swifty after the raw energy of amyll. 

Anyway, cant wait for next year, hopefully we can get tickets! 

[Paul McM]

1 hour ago, jimbo_l said:

Not a GM veteran; we went for this first time last year and loved it - 9/10. Had a great time this year too, but probably more like a 7/10. But my feeling overall is that these things swing on small margins, i.e. the rain on Friday, and also not being quite so into the lineup, and having a couple of annoying clashes. Love what they do overall and will be back again.

Did anyone else notice that the sound in Far Out seemed a bit off? We were about a third of the way back for Young Fathers, and there was really no definition in the mix, very hard even to hear the between-songs chat. Others in my group reported similar over the weekend. Those watching from the bar/tables outside say they could hear every word. Can anyone explain why that is ?

Definitely agree with the comments on Far Out regarding the sound... one of the most noticeable was for Anna B Savage, although her and band did a fantastic job despite it! I was mainly between FO and Rising and comparing sounds got both, latter was much better - I know they are very different environments, but I hope GM can improve a little on FO as I do find myself there quite a lot. And having said this, everything was really enjoyable and it didn't really detract much at all.

[Paul McM]

How was Mr Avery on Friday night, anyone? We had to abandon things on Friday night (including Devo... arggh) due to the rain and I had intended seeing him.

[noisenoiseandmorenoise]

1 hour ago, jimbo_l said:

 

Did anyone else notice that the sound iin Far Out seemed a bit off? We were about a third of the way back for Young Fathers, and there was really no definition in the mix, very hard even to hear the between-songs chat. Others in my group reported similar over the weekend. Those watching from the bar/tables outside say they could hear every word. Can anyone explain why that is ?

Yes muddy on the floor and muddy in my ear was my "hilarious" observation. The positive is that I was completely wrecked on the Sunday morning but could still enjoy a great run of shows from the first table.

[benali]

38 minutes ago, Paul McM said:

How was Mr Avery on Friday night, anyone? We had to abandon things on Friday night (including Devo... arggh) due to the rain and I had intended seeing him.

He was good. I guess some may say it took a while to get going but I love the ambient soundscapes. I managed maybe an hour before tiredness and the mud got to me.

[BluesManP]

On 8/21/2023 at 2:33 PM, collectivisedfarming said:

The rain on Friday really put a downer on things, after Comet is Coming and Delgados I couldn't face Devo in the downpour. Hope they got a decent crowd. 

Had a decent time, really enjoyed Bricknasty, Arushi Jain, clipping, Confidence Man and Sudan Archives. Ate lots of great food at not completely unreasonable prices. 

Trolleys to transport children are getting bigger and bigger it seems and something needs to be done because it's a bit of a joke now. Can be hard to get in or around the bits of the mountain, walled garden or far out now because of whole areas blocked off by them. Banning them outside the camping areas after about 6pm would be a great move. General entitled behaviour of a minority, but a growing one, of parents not controlling their kids was noticeable and commented upon unprompted by a number of people I got chatting to so not just me being a misery guts either. 

Definitely. I tripped over several of them multiple times because some of them blocked the exits of the music stages. An evening curfew and having some no-trolley zones to avoid blocking exits and similar key points would be really good. Smaller foldable trolleys should be the standard while the bigger ones should require an actual reason to use (for example accessibility needs). In my opinion, the size wasn't that significant of a problem, the problem was that they were parked without regards to other people.

Apart from some woman getting her drink knocked out by a kid, I didn't see any behaviour issues. 99% of the time, it's the parents behaviour rather than the kids.

Also, people standing up and dancing in a mostly seated area and blocking the view happened a lot in the Mountain Stage. If you want to dance, you can go downstairs.

One thing I noticed was that the crowds in general were a bit stiff (with some minor head bopping). Reminded me of the FatM set at boardies where she told people to put their phones away and actually dance. But I guess, that's just the zeitgeist

Edited August 22, 2023 by BluesManP

[Jeel]

35 minutes ago, BluesManP said:

Apart from some woman getting her drink knocked out by a kid, I didn't see any behaviour issues. 99% of the time, it's the parents behaviour rather than the kids.

So, the biggest plank of the festival was a parent. On the Friday kids were sliding down (on their feet) the mountain stage in the rain (which I guess is the wet equivalent to rolling down). One dad trying to show off took a run at it, kept going, and then went headfirst into a (luckily) empty trolley. 

I actually had fewer issues with kids this year than normal, but that might have been the weather and the lack of acts I wanted to see on the main stage. As you say though, it's almost always the fault of the parent(s) either allowing/encouraging them to do things or simply abdicating responsibility and letting them do whatever. The kids themselves, other than being kids, are largely very well behaved. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Jeel

[Jeel]

Enjoyed GM again this year. Lots of good things that make it stand out against other festivals, but I think the accessibility considerations are outstanding. Impressed with the additions of viewing areas on all stages. The BSL dancers were really great, especially in the rain. The litter-pickers did a fantastic job. 

Lots of good stuff, but the sound was poorer than normal. 

Much of the festival is great, but there are always areas for improvements.

Drink and food excessive for what it is in a lot of cases. There should be cheap meals for £10 and not just parts of meals (how you can charge than much for a basic burger or fries and some stuff on top is beyond me. I know it's a captive audience but for a festival interested in diversity they seem less interested in making it affordable for anyone not pretty well off. Ditto to the beer. Growler (and its cousins is not great to start with), but to charge £6-7 for a pint of poor local ale (with £2 for a reusable cup) is beyond me and strikes of profiteering. Although, the beer festival was decent as per usual, but again you're paying £6-6,50 for a pint costing a couple of quid less, and in a glass, in a pub a few miles away). £5-6 would have been fairer pricing and I'd but I'd love to see how much profit the festival makes here because the breweries aren't and the staff are volunteers. 

All this did was encourage people to bring their own. I've never seen so many cans being drunk at GM. I can empathise with people doing it though given the costs involved. However, a huge moan at people who just dump their cans and food on the floor. There are plenty of bins and it's simply unacceptable. The volunteers did a great job with the litter picking. 

The toilets. There are disabled toilets scattered around for accessibility users, which is good, but the cubicles being a, on stairs is not good for accessibility and b, rarely cleaned made for an aromatic experience. Plus, the cups for sawdust relied on people throwing in cups and toilet roll seemed to be a bit of Russian roulette. We all want Andy's back, let's be honest. Extending the female urinals is a good thing and there were noticeably far smaller queues to use cubicles. It would have helped to put signs on the men's urinals as well as the women's though. I've been several times so know where they'll be but newbies would I assume just follow men and hope for the best?!!

The contingency for the rain was poor, imo. I was flabbergasted to arrive on site Saturday morning to see that the bare minimum seemed to have been done by chucking a bit of hay on it. Big areas (outside babbling tongues is a prime example) were left either untreated to just be mud or barely touched. I realise woodchip is bad for grass but it would have done a much better job. I'm not sure how the site would have coped if we'd had significant rain on Saturday or Sunday. Struck me as cost-cutting.

The amount of parents bringing babies and toddlers seems to have shot up this year. There are always a lot of kids which bring their own challenges (how long until a child running/rolling/sliding/throwing seriously injures someone on the Mountain stage?) but having screaming babies is something else. Parents carrying them to wards the front and then loudly playing with them while people are trying to listen to the music. I question the experience children have watching music they can't hear because they're wearing ear defenders. It seems to me that their parents are much more concerned in enjoying themselves. It has to be said though that the feral children are remarkably well behaved, considering!

GM need to re-think the cordoning off of the Green Man on the Sunday. It makes everything much less enjoyable and causes queues around the top of the site. This is not helped by the number of trolleys/prams on site. Like EOTR, they really need to be banned after dark/inside tents. It's annoying at times in daylight but becomes dangerous in the dark. And when the weather's bad tents are almost blocked off with them. Camping chairs (etc) aren't much better sometimes as well. These seem to get further forward every year, with people seemingly want to sit close to the stage and stay sat down.

I also think the scheduling and choice of stages needs a little think next year. Less acts that really pulled crowds to the mountain stage and some acts (the last dinner party/Mandy, Indiana etc) inexplicably on the smallest stage. 

The shuttle bus to the park and ride gets worse and more unreliable every year. Quite a few people stay off site and locals come over the weekend, but you end up having to walk 2 miles instead of waiting for a bus because whether there will be one within an hour is just a game of risk. It's a 10-15 minute journey each way, especially on the weekend when most people are on-site, why are these not every 30 minutes and stick to some sort of regularity so you know when they'll depart? I get there's costs involved so charge something per journey (£1-2) if it makes them reliable. I was walking 15 km per day which is not something everyone can do.

Great move to relocate the sessions to Round the Twist but there are only 3 songs so the people doing the sound need to understand that there shouldn't be a 30 minute soundcheck for standard instruments for a band to play 10 minutes. Madness. The sound was good, but there needs to be some common sense. Also, if you put times up on a board, stick roughly to them. It went to pot very quickly. 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Jeel

[bexj]

Actually @jeel we don't all want Andy's back.  Portaloos are thankfully gone now at most festivals, horrible, stinking, chemical ridden things.  The problem with the Compoost ones though is a) the steps are too steep b) they are slippery when wet and c) they are too small inside.  There are lots of examples of better composters around, Compoost really need to rethink their design especially with small children/parents or people with dodgy knees and hips in mind (but not so bad they need accessible loos). They've been a problem at 

The mud didn't bother me, despite it stinking in Far Out.  Its a festival, in a field, in Wales, its gonna be muddy - stuff washes. 

As usual there's a minority of self-centred folk, whether thats with trolleys, blankets, or just idiots but the majority are fine and lovely people.  Our camping area was quiet at night and left in a good condition, most people were happy to engage and be pleasant.  The chatting at the front is annoying, especially in quieter performances.  But on the whole its a good place.

 

[noisenoiseandmorenoise]

A couple of other observations-

The social media communication around what was going on was non existent. I'm thinking with the TBA and Round The Twist stuff. Things were added and removed shortly after or not added at all. Did anyone honestly know Rozi Plain was playing at 11 on Saturday until after it happened? I realise this is a bonus so not really a complaint as such however if they go to the effort of arranging some things, it seems strange to not communicate it better.

Merch/shops - Almost every festival I go to has a centralised festival & band merch tent. The decision to have festival merch only on the main stage is pretty annoying as a lot had sold out by the time I realised. The tiny shop near the courtyard added a few band things over the weekend but appeared to be mainly a random selection. I saw at least two acts comment on not having an area/option to sell merchandise. Perhaps regulars will know if this is a conscious decision or simply a "quirk" of the festival?

[lessthanwill1]

51 minutes ago, noisenoiseandmorenoise said:

Did anyone honestly know Rozi Plain was playing at 11 on Saturday until after it happened? I realise this is a bonus so not really a complaint as such however if they go to the effort of arranging some things, it seems strange to not communicate it better.

She played at 11.15 am and it was good!  They communicated it as normal i.e. via a notice board that is put out in the morning.

Will post some more detailed thoughts on here soon but am still shattered.  Had a brilliant time 💚.

All hail Deathcrash 🙏 

[Cherrytree13]

Been to greenman many times over the years. With mates as a 20 something, a few times with my partner, and this year I became a trolley tw*t with our little one. Definitely did seem to be more kids than ever before, perhaps because many repeat attendees have followed the same trajectory. I didn’t really notice many getting in the way… but then with the trolley we stayed out of the FO tent (common sense?!) and away to the left hand side of the main stage. 
 

Toilets seemed clean to me. Yea they stunk, but I didn’t have to do any polishing of the toilet seats. As a man I probably didn’t see the worst of it.

 

I really appreciate how diverse the lineups have become. Although the lineup wasn’t especially tantalising for me personally at the outset, the range of sounds collated are definitely an improvement over the early years. Ironically, I’m sure the lineups are less kid friendly these days. 

 

slowdive really cheered me up after a very hard Friday. Also found lankum to be utterly fantastic. Every band we saw exceeded expectations, and we’ll be putting our name down for next year. 
 

 

 

 

[Jeel]

2 hours ago, bexj said:

Actually @jeel we don't all want Andy's back.  Portaloos are thankfully gone now at most festivals, horrible, stinking, chemical ridden things.  The problem with the Compoost ones though is a) the steps are too steep b) they are slippery when wet and c) they are too small inside.  There are lots of examples of better composters around, Compoost really need to rethink their design especially with small children/parents or people with dodgy knees and hips in mind (but not so bad they need accessible loos). They've been a problem at 

The mud didn't bother me, despite it stinking in Far Out.  Its a festival, in a field, in Wales, its gonna be muddy - stuff washes. 

As usual there's a minority of self-centred folk, whether thats with trolleys, blankets, or just idiots but the majority are fine and lovely people.  Our camping area was quiet at night and left in a good condition, most people were happy to engage and be pleasant.  The chatting at the front is annoying, especially in quieter performances.  But on the whole its a good place.

 

Oh, I'm not bothered about getting mud on me. I was more bothered about walking on it. I have full (ish) mobility, and it was dodgy in places. Unnecessarily so. Mostly fine though but the early afternoon cordoning off of the Green Man makes it much worse as everyone is forced to use the same paths. 

[collectivisedfarming]

Would echo some of the comments about communications, logistics and general organisation this year. It all felt a bit rougher around the edges than previously. The Friday rain obviously didn't help and there are things simply of out anyone's control of course. 

The lineups remain fantastic for me but there's a lot that could be done to improve the general experience for the punter whose spending about 250 quid on a ticket. Maybe there's not much incentive to improve now with the tickets selling out on the day of release before the lineup is announced and the obligatory five star review from the guardian. 

[JakeT]

4 hours ago, Jeel said:

Oh, I'm not bothered about getting mud on me. I was more bothered about walking on it. I have full (ish) mobility, and it was dodgy in places. Unnecessarily so. Mostly fine though but the early afternoon cordoning off of the Green Man makes it much worse as everyone is forced to use the same paths. 

Would love to know where the actual quiet camping is onsite rather than the Quiet Camping which placed us behind the Walled Garden and the Rising stages - the noisiest festival campsite I've ever encountered!! 

[JakeT]

On 8/22/2023 at 2:17 PM, Paul McM said:

Definitely agree with the comments on Far Out regarding the sound... one of the most noticeable was for Anna B Savage, although her and band did a fantastic job despite it! I was mainly between FO and Rising and comparing sounds got both, latter was much better - I know they are very different environments, but I hope GM can improve a little on FO as I do find myself there quite a lot. And having said this, everything was really enjoyable and it didn't really detract much at all.

Yes, I'm a GM first timer and I was shocked at the poor sound quality for Far Out - seriously indistinct! 

[JakeT]

On 8/21/2023 at 7:14 PM, collectivisedfarming said:

No coverage at all. Was glad for the greenman public WiFi although it was very patchy and seemed to depend a lot where you were when trying to connect.

I'm with EE and had a good signal the whole time - to my surprise