Closest thing to Glastonbury..

[Gashead86]

I wondered if anyone had any alternative festival suggestions that have a similarity to Glastonbury?

 

Was not able to be on the farm this year and as much as I will be doing my best come T day in Oct, I am also bracing myself for the possibility of not getting tickets... 

 

With this in mind, does anyone have a suggestion for a festival that has the same sort of feel as Glasto that may be worth checking out? 

 

The biggest plus points for me of Glasto over other festivals I have been to over the years are: 

 

• No 'arena', cannot stand being herded in and out of an area to see the acts! 
• Relaxed attitude to bringing your own beer in, ie not forcing you to buy their warm piss water 
• 'More than the music', cliche I know, but I do really love the fact that there is so much going on other than the music.. Cinema, circus, comedy, arts etc etc 
• Afters, I have been to several festivals in my time where everything basically stops after the acts and you either make your own entertainment or go to bed! 
• Atmosphere, the magical feel of the place makes it for me. Have again been to many an other festival (V, T etc) and always found them incredibly sterile by comparison 

 

Anyone been to any other festivals that tick at least a few of these boxes? 

 

Any suggestions greatly appreciated! 

[Rex2]

End of the road ticks all of them

[mario man]

1 minute ago, Rex2 said:

End of the road ticks all of them

As does Green Man

[amfy]

Sziget ticks all but the alcohol one, but it’s not an arena festival and if you can get alcohol in, you’re in. Also - beer and cocktails are cheap there so bringing your own isn’t so critical to the overall cost of being there. 
 

It has the multiple weird & wonderful areas to explore, multiple stages/varied line up/late night stages.
 

People come from all

over the world for it and it has a fabulous ‘world party’ atmosphere. Every next person you talk to is from somewhere else.

 

It also has almost guaranteed good weather (av temp about 30 at that time of year) & Budapest itself is fab too. It has 6 days of music and you can stay onsite for 10 days. 
 

With the price of Glastonbury now, it’s no dearer even with flights.

x

Edited Monday at 12:17 PM by amfy

[FuzzyDunlop]

12 minutes ago, Gashead86 said:

I wondered if anyone had any alternative festival suggestions that have a similarity to Glastonbury?

 

Was not able to be on the farm this year and as much as I will be doing my best come T day in Oct, I am also bracing myself for the possibility of not getting tickets... 

 

With this in mind, does anyone have a suggestion for a festival that has the same sort of feel as Glasto that may be worth checking out? 

 

The biggest plus points for me of Glasto over other festivals I have been to over the years are: 

 

• No 'arena', cannot stand being herded in and out of an area to see the acts! 
• Relaxed attitude to bringing your own beer in, ie not forcing you to buy their warm piss water 
• 'More than the music', cliche I know, but I do really love the fact that there is so much going on other than the music.. Cinema, circus, comedy, arts etc etc 
• Afters, I have been to several festivals in my time where everything basically stops after the acts and you either make your own entertainment or go to bed! 
• Atmosphere, the magical feel of the place makes it for me. Have again been to many an other festival (V, T etc) and always found them incredibly sterile by comparison 

 

Anyone been to any other festivals that tick at least a few of these boxes? 

 

Any suggestions greatly appreciated! 

 

Did Boomtown twice & it was mint

[Quark]

Beautiful Days is the only one I can comment on. It certainly ticks your first three boxes, but not so much the afters tbh. Personally I really like the atmosphere and vibe there, it's very laid back and has a feel of what Avalon was like before it got watered down and became just another field. Very family friendly if that's your thing. You'll also see some familiar faces from Glastonbury in the Bimble Inn and the Tiny Tea Tent.

 

There are definite downsides though.  The musical range can be quite limited and a wee bit repetitive at times, but then some years it's been properly good.  As much as I love them and get why they do it, the setup they have of the Levellers being the closing act every year and the other stages pretty much shutting down to get everyone in the same field at the end is a bit much if you're not a fan!

 

It's small enough to get around easily and move between stages (bonus) but it does mean that when nothing's catching your eye it can be tricky to find an alternative (not such a bonus).

 

This year is my fourth and happy to be going back, but prob not for everyone!

[majormajormajor]

25 minutes ago, mario man said:

As does Green Man

 

Officially you can't take your own beer into the festival area. But it's hardly policed.

 

Green Man is my 2nd favourite festival behind Glastonbury. It's just wonderful. Smaller site, beautiful surroundings, great crowd, partying options until 3am.

 

Line-up always has interesting stuff if you're less of a Radio 1 listener.

Edited Monday at 12:41 PM by majormajormajor

[mjfromthelane]

Another shout for Boomtown, although it's more on the hectic side of things compared to End of the Road / Green Man

[Jacko45]

Latitude is a fantastic festival. 

 

It ticks all your boxes barring it does have an 'arena' but with it being a hell of a lot smaller site, you can drink much more at camp and go back and forth. 

 

It's laid out brilliantly well, has that magic feel and has pulling power for some really good sized acts.

 

You'll be able to walk between stages, never miss anyone you want to see and it's never got that 'too busy' feeling. 

 

I'll be considering it again next year instead of Glasto. 

[amfy]

22 minutes ago, FuzzyDunlop said:

 

Did Boomtown twice & it was mint

Boomtown has Glastonbury’s old edge. Outstanding festival but very different to today’s Glastonbury.

[EFC1996]

Secret garden party,

ticks all but one. The beer. But we have took our own spirits in inside our tent and never had a problem. Such a good festival 

[_Tommy_]

Green Man all day long for this question. In fact the main booker is the chap who leads* on The Park booking team so you basically get the Park line up each year - so if you like the Park, double thumbs up for you.

 

Vibe is exactly the same as Glastonbury, maybe a few more kids running about during the day, but otherwise I bet it is a 99% cross over, in fact if you sit in the beer festival bit at one of the benches with the line up in front of you, you can set your watch by the 14 seconds it takes for someone to lean in and say "I recommend ActX, I saw them at Glasto this year, they were great". 

 

Alcohol is technically not allowed to be taken into the stages areas but really not policed, at all. I've seen some lads lugging in crates, which is a bit uncouth for me, rather favouring a few cans in the backpack which are transferred to my Green Man plastic cup - but shows the level of intervention by the stewards. 

 

*Might have promoted him, but he's definitely part of it

 

[Gashead86]

Ah man, thanks so much guys! What a lovely community you have here. 

 

It is looking like Green man is the one then.. I will take a look at that now. It is not too far from me either (Bristol) which is another huge appeal of Glasto of course, just down the road. 

[grumpyhack]

You'll find Green Man tickets sell out in hours, very similar to Glastonbury.  For me GM is Glastonbury without ther hassle (apart from getting tickets).  Good stages, good food, lovely chilled vibe.

[mario man]

2 hours ago, grumpyhack said:

You'll find Green Man tickets sell out in hours, very similar to Glastonbury.  For me GM is Glastonbury without ther hassle (apart from getting tickets).  Good stages, good food, lovely chilled vibe.

There’s usually a fair amount of GM tickets on Fanticks or Twickets, at face value, in the weeks leading up to the festival. So whilst it is sold out, it is possible to get a ticket unlike glasto 

 

I’ve been the last two years and going again this summer & it’s quickly become my favourite festival along with Glasto, but so much easier to get around. A wonderful setting and a great crowd - it has its own beer festival and lots of Glasto food favourites as well

[Memory Man]

8 hours ago, Rex2 said:

End of the road ticks all of them

Yes, have to agree!

 

i dont like the lineup this year that much but i know id still have a good time

 

almost every single person that attends is lovely as well!

Edited Monday at 08:23 PM by Memory Man

[majormajormajor]

7 hours ago, majormajormajor said:

 

Officially you can't take your own beer into the festival area. But it's hardly policed.

 

Green Man is my 2nd favourite festival behind Glastonbury. It's just wonderful.

End of the Road - less partying. Still great though.

[ourkid1984]

8 hours ago, amfy said:

Sziget ticks all but the alcohol one, but it’s not an arena festival and if you can get alcohol in, you’re in. Also - beer and cocktails are cheap there so bringing your own isn’t so critical to the overall cost of being there. 
 

It has the multiple weird & wonderful areas to explore, multiple stages/varied line up/late night stages.
 

People come from all

over the world for it and it has a fabulous ‘world party’ atmosphere. Every next person you talk to is from somewhere else.

 

It also has almost guaranteed good weather (av temp about 30 at that time of year) & Budapest itself is fab too. It has 6 days of music and you can stay onsite for 10 days. 
 

With the price of Glastonbury now, it’s no dearer even with flights.

x

I would also recommend Sziget, and although I really like Green Man and Beautiful Days, they don't have anywhere near as much after hours stuff. Lowlands also ticks a lot of boxes.

[DDave]

Beat Herder. Loads of fun. 

Edited Monday at 09:08 PM by DDave

[Beerqueen]

Beaarded Theory is much smaller but has a similar vibe, including being able to take your own booze in.  Not so much to do after hours, as you'd possibly expect from a smaller festival.

[Superscally]

24 minutes ago, Beerqueen said:

Beaarded Theory is much smaller but has a similar vibe, including being able to take your own booze in.  Not so much to do after hours, as you'd possibly expect from a smaller festival.

Agree on this. Heard Truck is a mini Glasto...so I'm trying THAT theory in a month!

[BookAngel]

For people looking for a festival further north, Kendal Calling is pretty good on everything except, you guessed it, the own-alcohol policy (only allowed in campsites).

[irnkrtn]

On 7/1/2024 at 1:45 PM, Jacko45 said:

Latitude is a fantastic festival. 

 

It ticks all your boxes barring it does have an 'arena' but with it being a hell of a lot smaller site, you can drink much more at camp and go back and forth. 

 

It's laid out brilliantly well, has that magic feel and has pulling power for some really good sized acts.

 

You'll be able to walk between stages, never miss anyone you want to see and it's never got that 'too busy' feeling. 

 

I'll be considering it again next year instead of Glasto. 

I didn’t enjoy Latitude at all. Found it too brand-y and was bored after 9pm. Horses for courses of course, but definitely didn’t give me a Glasto feel!

[irnkrtn]

On 7/1/2024 at 2:53 PM, Gashead86 said:

Ah man, thanks so much guys! What a lovely community you have here. 

 

It is looking like Green man is the one then.. I will take a look at that now. It is not too far from me either (Bristol) which is another huge appeal of Glasto of course, just down the road. 

If you like the hippy aspects, Green Gathering is pretty much everything north of the railway! Not big big names but the magic healing fields and green fields vibes, and really close to Bristol. 
 

EDIT: I realise geographically speaking I mean South of the railway but as it’s uphill I assume it must be North 😂

Edited 17 hours ago by irnkrtn

[BluesManP]

On 7/1/2024 at 1:24 PM, FuzzyDunlop said:

 

Did Boomtown twice & it was mint

Isn't boomtown full of 18 years olds like Reading and leeds?

Edited 16 hours ago by BluesManP