Shambala 2024

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

14 minutes ago, Neil said:

 

no, never got to that one!

 

 

My memory is officially f**ked now. I know that I said hello to you at Wychwood once, but can't pinpoint the festival where we actually chatted for a fair while. That said, I'm wondering now if I was right in the first place in that it was Shambala. That's the problem with increasingly failing memory - you don't trust your own thoughts.

 

[Neil]

6 minutes ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

, I'm wondering now if I was right in the first place in that it was Shambala.

you might have ben right, my brain and memory is proper medically f**ked, so i don't have a clue.

[incident]

9 hours ago, Skip997 said:

Interesting post @incident Somehow it felt slightly less “Shambala” last year, couldn’t put my finger on why though.

 

Personally I’m massively in favour of the no meat/fish/baby cow food policy. The vote was overwhelming in favour of keeping it. 

 

Thing is I wouldn't argue against any of the things I listed individually. Just that being the first (decent sized) festival to shout about them it maybe creates a cumulative perception of "the festival that says no". Even if just subliminally.

Edited August 20 by incident

[Skip997]

41 minutes ago, incident said:

 

Thing is I wouldn't argue against any of the things I listed individually. Just that being the first (decent sized) festival to shout about them it maybe creates a cumulative perception of "the festival that says no". Even if just subliminally.

There’s also the loss of Chai Wallas and Kaleida, two very popular venues, with no replacement for the later. 
 

Plus the weather forecast is horrendous, which may have increased returns 

[Old_Johno]

13 hours ago, incident said:

 

I'm not really sure what's happened, but I'm wondering whether by being the festival that keeps pushing the ethical / sustainable aspect as much as they do, they've now hit or gone past a breaking point as to what people will accept on their escape from reality, and have inadvertently created some kind of perception that it's now more about that and is no longer the fun place to be.

 

No meat, no milk, no glitter, no branding on the bar cups (may seem minor, but plenty people did take them home to collect), and this year no cross dressing (not exactly what they're saying, but the way many will take it). I know there's other things I can't remember off the top of my head as well.

 

Plus on the venue side the loss of several places that provided something different over the past few years means it does feel like it's starting to get a bit more generic - Madame Bayou's, Barrio Afrika*, Lost Picture Show, and most painfully The Social Club.

 

*I know theoretically it was merged with Roots Yard, but really it's gone.

 

I think I’d agree they’ve hit the limit of people that will go to Shambala regardless of anything else. 
 

I was trying to convince a few mates to come, and they just said that’s a lot of money for for not a lot of line up. They can try and push the ‘shambala magic’ and ‘come along for the vibes’ but that’s been waning for a lot of regulars, and it’s £300 now, if it was still half the price of Glastonbury you’d probs get more people

rocking up and getting drawn in. 
 

Boomtown moved with the times, spammed the sh*t out of TikTok and sold out this year despite being more expensive, Shambala almost wants to be like a word of mouth festival semi speakeasy festival which isn’t sustainable in the current economic climate. 
 

They cancelled loads of coach tickets to free up general admission, but it’s still not sold out, and there’s hundreds for sale on Tixel, people on the Facebook page are offering them for half price just to try get something back. 
 

I like all the eco and veggie stuff but it’s bordering on inconvenient now, they were asking people to wash out their packaging before recycling it. They’ve reduced their emmisions by something like 98% and it’s really into fussy territory now, so can see how it turns people off. 

 

A famously sparkly and free festival banning glitter, sequins and feathers is a bit much. 
 

if ticket sales stay the same next year I could see them shifting fully to family friendly being the main draw. 

[Skip997]

6 hours ago, Old_Johno said:

 

A famously sparkly and free festival banning glitter, sequins and feathers is a bit much. 

 

if ticket sales stay the same next year I could see them shifting fully to family friendly being the main draw. 

Not sure they’ve banned them, just asked people not to bring them. I believe the ban is similar to the meat/fish/baby cow food ban, I.e. traders can’t sell them.

 

Anyway as I’ve already said last year didn’t quite feel right, not sure why. I’ll see how it goes, but could be my last. Especially if they go too far with the “family friendly” thing 

[Old_Johno]

14 hours ago, Skip997 said:

. Especially if they go too far with the “family friendly” thing 

Some parent told me off for swearing near her children last year, by the main stage at 9pm… which was just a bit strange. 
 

just seen someone get 2 coach tickets on Facebook for £160 each! Going to be some last minute bargains.

 

Guess £320 today is better than £0 tomorrow. 

[tarw]

On 8/19/2024 at 7:32 PM, Skip997 said:

It’s both staggering and worrying. 
 

Is Shambala going to struggle next year?

 

Anyway I’ll be going there on Wednesday if anyone fancies meeting up 

I’m on shift until midnight. But will be going for a pint after if the bus is still open 

[philipsteak]

Yuck.

 

Seasoned Shambalans, how well does the site voted with rain?

[Skip997]

Well that was incredible, so much for my pre festival concerns. 
 

Highlights - Bea singing with Bob Vylan, Damn, Sampa the Great, Jungle Cakes takeover, Osric Tentacles, Roots Corner takeover and Crystalmess.

 

Still the best, friendliest and most loving festival out there. Still the UK’s best party. 
 

Special shout-out to @kerplunk for bringing the tent 

[kerplunk]

No probs Skip, glad you had a good one.

 

I thought it was great too. The new Solasta stage is ace and more than made up for the loss of Chai Wallahs imo, not just as a great covered space/stage but for the quality of the acts there too.

 

Stewarding went well and I would do it again, apart from the downer of having my bag stolen from Oxbox on friday night when I turned my back on it for 5 minutes!

[Skip997]

Another shout out to Solasta. Absolutely superb sound quality 

[philipsteak]

Bea was an absolute little superstar.

 

What a great little festival. After the disappointment of having to pull out of Glastonbury (and a generally sh*tty few months/nearly a year) that was properly restorative. Lovely crowd, some great acts, not just music I spent a bit of time in Phantom Laundry too (did anyone else see House of Figs. f**k me that was good. Connected with me in a way I've never experienced before from a creative work. Needed about an hour to decompress before meeting back up with my friends).

Shifts weren't great. No shift Thursday and stuck supervising in the Oxfield you feel you're missing out, but worked some great little teams so that helped.

Not sure it'll be every year but it'll definitely join the rotation (usually Glastonbury plus one, occasionally two)

 

And yes Solasta was superb. Seemed to work better there than at The Glade. 

 

@kerplunk, that's properly sh*tty about your bag

[philipsteak]

Having said all that about how good it was, I've just remembered I saw probably one of the most aggressive incidents I've seen at a festival. 

Outside Swingamajig on Saturday night, dunno what this guy was on but he'd clearly taken all of it. Don't know what started it. Possibly thrown out of the venue, I don't know. But he was really crazed, eyes all over the place, squaring up to Oxfam stewards and I think someone from the venue, getting right up into their faces. He didn't actually swing at anyone but he had that coiled spring, could explode at any moment vibe. Was trying to force his way back into the venue, absolutely couldn't be reasoned with. A customer (who looked like he could've torn this guy in two if he wanted to) then got involved and basically dealt with the guy until security turned up and cared him off.

Thankfully no actual physical violence but it can't have been nice for the stewards. The festival goer who intervened just looked annoyed that this prick has disturbed his night. Former festival security so it wasn't his first rodeo.

[King James]

If anything I would say there were MORE people there this year than last year? Seemed to have opened up more camping capacity at the back as well ? Certainly did not seem quiet.  

 

Good mix of ages as well - not just old people like Beautiful days.  I think it seemed in pretty robust health as a festival.  New stage was a good addition I agree.  

[Skip997]

11 minutes ago, King James said:

If anything I would say there were MORE people there this year than last year? Seemed to have opened up more camping capacity at the back as well ? Certainly did not seem quiet.  

 

Good mix of ages as well - not just old people like Beautiful days.  I think it seemed in pretty robust health as a festival.  New stage was a good addition I agree.  

I met more “first timers” than ever before. There seemed to be a fresh energy around.

 

Good point about Beautiful Days, IMO it’s really suffering from too many oldies, surely it’s days are numbered. Mind you it’s designed for old gits with only a token attempt at providing for the young 

[kerplunk]

3 hours ago, philipsteak said:

Having said all that about how good it was, I've just remembered I saw probably one of the most aggressive incidents I've seen at a festival. 

Outside Swingamajig on Saturday night, dunno what this guy was on but he'd clearly taken all of it. Don't know what started it. Possibly thrown out of the venue, I don't know. But he was really crazed, eyes all over the place, squaring up to Oxfam stewards and I think someone from the venue, getting right up into their faces. He didn't actually swing at anyone but he had that coiled spring, could explode at any moment vibe. Was trying to force his way back into the venue, absolutely couldn't be reasoned with. A customer (who looked like he could've torn this guy in two if he wanted to) then got involved and basically dealt with the guy until security turned up and cared him off.

Thankfully no actual physical violence but it can't have been nice for the stewards. The festival goer who intervened just looked annoyed that this prick has disturbed his night. Former festival security so it wasn't his first rodeo.

 

I heard that as it was happening on the radio, seemed to take a long time for security to arrive, or perhaps it just felt that way!

 

I had an incident free saturday night shift in Pink camping - tending the fire at Rimski's Yard for most of it

Edited August 28 by kerplunk

[kerplunk]

20 minutes ago, King James said:

If anything I would say there were MORE people there this year than last year? Seemed to have opened up more camping capacity at the back as well ? Certainly did not seem quiet.  

 

Good mix of ages as well - not just old people like Beautiful days.  I think it seemed in pretty robust health as a festival.  New stage was a good addition I agree.  

 

You could've landed a plane in the empty space in Pink

[philipsteak]

50 minutes ago, kerplunk said:

 

I heard that as it was happening on the radio, seemed to take a long time for security to arrive, or perhaps it just felt that way!

 

I had an incident free saturday night shift in Pink camping - tending the fire at Rimski's Yard for most of it

Yeah, it certainly took a while. 

Probably seemed an age to the stewards on duty there. 

Don't know how it would've turned out if that guy hadn't got involved. He'd run festival security in the past.

[Old_Johno]

1 hour ago, King James said:

If anything I would say there were MORE people there this year than last year? Seemed to have opened up more camping capacity at the back as well ? Certainly did not seem quiet.  

 

Good mix of ages as well - not just old people like Beautiful days.  I think it seemed in pretty robust health as a festival.  New stage was a good addition I agree.  

There was wayyyyy less people than last year, orange camping never actually filled up, compared with last year where we woke up to find someone pitched in our tiny sitting space.

 

I’d love to know the final ticket sales, I had a good time overall, Solasta is a nice new stage, didn’t really miss Chai Wallas at all.

 

Overall I found the demographic is drastically lacking in 18-30’s, which is probably not great news for the long term survival of Shambala, I’m 35 and I was feeling pretty young for the most part. There was people boasting on Facebook that the line up keeps the dickheads away, but it’s not sustainable to have the exact same people attend every year. 

 

Lots of families with kids/ teens then it jumps to late 20’s upwards. 
 

Only major downer was the crush to get into the house party AGAIN, both Friday and Saturday nights. zero reason not to open it earlier with just a chilled DJ, it’s got its own toilets and bar, they made some vague attempt to improve on last years, but all they achieved was moving the bottle neck further out, and did nothing to stop people joining from the side.

 

That said I saw some some brilliant acts, if I do decide to go next year I’ll get a last minute ticket, I can’t see it selling out without a major line up dropping. 
 

closing ceremony was also excellent! 
 

 

 

 

 

[Skip997]

29 minutes ago, Old_Johno said:

 

 

Overall I found the demographic is drastically lacking in 18-30’s, which is probably not great news for the long term survival of Shambala, I’m 35 and I was feeling pretty young for the most part. There was people boasting on Facebook that the line up keeps the dickheads away, but it’s not sustainable to have the exact same people attend every year. 

 

Lots of families with kids/ teens then it jumps to late 20’s upwards. 
 

 

 

 

 

I’m wondering where you got to over the weekend?

 

Loads of 20 to 30 year olds everywhere. I also met more “first timers” than ever before 

[Old_Johno]

19 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

I’m wondering where you got to over the weekend?

 

Loads of 20 to 30 year olds everywhere. I also met more “first timers” than ever before 

I was pretty fluid over most areas, I can only say what I saw. They usually publish some kind of feedback/ demographic summary so will be interesting if they do that this year.

[philipsteak]

This year was my first and it probably skewed slightly older than I was expecting.

It certainly did amongst my fellow Oxfam stewards. But I guess most youngsters would be at Leeds or Reading that weekend

[King James]

On 8/28/2024 at 12:05 PM, Old_Johno said:

Only major downer was the crush to get into the house party AGAIN, both Friday and Saturday nights. zero reason not to open it earlier with just a chilled DJ, it’s got its own toilets and bar, they made some vague attempt to improve on last years, but all they achieved was moving the bottle neck further out, and did nothing to stop people joining from the side.

 

 

To be fair I partly based opinion on how busy it was due to this !  Didn't really get the setup in there I agree was just a big crush and milling around.  They had the room within a room through the fireplace which was better.  

 

Big queues for the waiting room as well - I only managed to get in once as queues huge and was packed when i got in there.

 

It's still way bigger than it was 15 years ago of course but interesting what you say about lots of space in the campsite. I was in Family which was pretty busy lol 

I'm not sure you can really use big name acts to bring in the crowd - you could end up with Boardmasters ... 

I think the big factors in selling it out are a) cost / no-one has any money b) marketing - they probably don't do any ! c) competition - presumably a lot of young people who might be up for it are at Boomtown for example ? d) demographics - there's fewer young people around ... 😞

It's a great festival though and it deserves to have a bright future which I think it will as people are still very passionate about it.  So many vendors etc saying it's their favourite one etc. 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

23 hours ago, King James said:

 

  So many vendors etc saying it's their favourite  one etc. 

 

I went to Shambala once and had cause to rapidly make a birthday card. We (me and my wife) went to a stall that was allowing you to make such a thing, with beads glitter etc. We went up to the counter and asked if we could make a card. The bloke indicated that it was OK to do so - but seemed a little odd in manner to us both. So, we made our glitter card up for someone in the party's number. When we went back to the counter to the bloke running it we asked 'How much is that, please'. The bloke responded with something along the lines of 'We don't want your money, we don't want your money'. We now knew that he was tripping. We asked if he were the owner of the stall. he responded with 'No, he's over there on the grass laughing his arise off. We've both had mushrooms (or it could have been acid - can't recall properly). 

 

To have such a large pitch (for it were large) at Shambala must have cost a few pence. That they spectacularly 'blew it' kind of sums up Shambala.

 

I even went on the piss with the baker bloke that was there (and still may be). That was the year of the disco spacecraft thing - I think.