There are how many Glastonbury Alternatives?!

There were over 450 UK music festivals at last count – and that was back in 2007. Add to that the fact that Europe now offers a multitude of international music festivals with guaranteed sun and cheap booze and you’ll soon start to realise that Glastonbury isn’t necessarily the be-all and end-all. But with so many festivals to choose from, how the hell can you ever know if you’re spending your money in the right place?

It’s a concern that we at the Bristol Beats Club share, and one we take perhaps a little too seriously. A plethora of emails, Facebook messages and Tweets have flown between Beats Club colleagues since September last year… and we’re only just finalising the festivals (yes, plural – skipping Glasto allows you to do that) we’ll be frequenting as punters this summer.

“We’re only just finalising the festivals (yes, plural – skipping Glasto allows you to do that) we’ll be frequenting as punters this summer”

But far from being tedious, deciding on where to go has actually been a lot of fun. What has become abundantly clear is that there’s more to consider than we initially thought.

We’ve sweated the small stuff and as a result we reckon we’re better off. Work your way through our list of considerations before parting with your cash and missing out on this year’s Glastonbury won’t matter one bit – you’ll end up frequenting a very viable Glastonbury alternative instead.

1. Availability

Top priority when deciding on your festival has to be availability – not just your availability but your friends’ availability. It’s something that can’t really be changed but can be influenced if you get yourself organised early enough.

“We’ve been to festivals where there’s been a ‘group’ of two of us… we never look back on  such times fondly”

And it’s definitely worth getting organised early. We’ve been to festivals where there’s been a ‘group’ of two of us before now… and have attempted to play one-on-one drinking games on arrival. We never look back on such times fondly.

2. Location (… and transport)

All able to get time off work? Cleared it with significant others? Excellent. Now… where (geographically) do you want to go? Do you want to stay local? T In The Park up in Scotland always has a corking line up, but a train fare from Bristol is likely to rival the cost of the weekend pass. Similarly, car park charges can be extortionate in some areas (we’re looking at you, Reading).

In our opinion, unless you’re jetting off abroad it’s worth keeping things local… no matter how alluring the Kendal Calling line up may be.

3. Weather

Weather is important to us. Decide how important it is to you. The chances are you’re picturing yourself sat on the grass donning a sun hat and shades with a glass of chilled cider this summer. In reality, rain, wellies, cold and mud are much more likely when you frequent a festival in Britain. To avoid miserable conditions, just get yourself abroad. It’ll probably be cheaper.

4. Average age

The Bristol Beats Club are getting on a bit, and never has this been more apparent than when an unruly youth uttered the immortal line ‘fuck off mate, you’re like 50’ to us in a comical exchange we encountered last year.

“An unruly youth uttered the immortal line ‘fuck off mate, you’re like 50’ to us in a comical exchange we encountered last year”

In our experience, it pays to be surrounded by people of the same age bracket as you… and average age can vary wildly from festival to festival. Do your research before parting with your cash.

5. Ticket price

Last year, netvouchercodes.co.uk did a bit of research on the best value festival based on how much you extra you’d spend if you were to see the festival line up individually. Isle of Wight came out on top, with Latitude down at the bottom. That aside, there’s a misplaced pre-conception that all UK festival ticket prices cost the same amount: ‘expensive’.

That’s simply not the case. With smaller festivals usually costing no more than £70, it takes three LeeFest’s (pictured above) for every one Glastonbury… worth bearing in mind when booking your tickets.

6. Line Up

Surprisingly, we believe that only after considering the above five points should you begin considering the line up. And that’s because there’s just so much choice these days.

“We believe that only after considering the above five points should you begin considering the line up”

Yes, it may mean you miss out on some of your favourite bands but that’s OK – you’ll get to see some of your other favourite bands. And of course, you’ll have the pleasure of listening to some of the lesser known acts on the bill in the run up.

7. Length

You might be working from the ‘the longer the better’ mantra, but as we say, we’re getting on a bit. We’ve before now revelled in the seven night long Serbian marvel that is Exit, but consider such a length somewhat excessive these days. Anything above three nights is gonna floor us. Ideally, we’re looking for two. Think it through.

8. Size

This one usually goes hand in hand with length. If you’re planning on out-and-out debauchery and disgrace, it’s probably best to avoid a smaller festival as you’ll be bumping into the same people each day.

“If you’re planning on out-and-out debauchery, it’s probably best to avoid a smaller festival”

Similarly, if you want to make new friends – real friends, who you actually share interests with – then a smaller festival such as 2000trees might appeal. We reckon a small festival is good.

It saves you the 50 minute journey you can expect when crossing Glastonbury at peak times, which is just not what you need when you’re missing your favourite band.

9. After hours entertainment

Glastonbury’s nightlife goes on til the early hours, and European festivals follow suit (headliners come on around midnight). Other festivals get slammed with noise pollution restrictions and are forced to put on silent discos – or worse still not bother with any night time entertainment whatsoever. We can’t just go to bed after a headline set. Make sure you know what happens after dark.

10. BYOB

For us, this is the holy grail, yet scant few festivals allow you to bring your own booze. Some let you stash it in the campsite, but we neither want to travel in and out of arenas constantly nor drink from a can that’s seconds before shared an abode with our (communal) scrotum.

“Surprisingly few festivals offer bring your own booze… and we don’t want to drink from a can that has shared an abode with our scrotum”

European festivals are particularly tough on prohibiting bring your own booze, with Benicassim being the worst offender – and they charge upwards of €7 a pint once you’re in. If you find a festival that’s BYOB (and in fairness Glastonbury does this particularly well), you’re on to a real winner.

Our Glastonbury alternatives…

So, after considering all of the above, where do we suggest you check out this summer?

Although we haven’t booked our tickets just yet, we reckon Truck festival in Oxfordshire comes off pretty favourably in almost all the above fields. Central location, cheap tickets, great line up, good size, live DJs after dark… and even though it might not be the out-and-out spectacle that Glastonbury always is, it’ll certainly be a lot less stressful. Best of all, it’s BYOB.

The jury’s as yet undecided on the European front. Both Optimus Alive, and Primavera Sound are big contenders… but the fact they’re in Western Europe (where things are both more expensive and less interesting) is holding us back. Open’er will probably be a little chilly… Sziget or Outlook may just nick it. What you reckon?

Image credits – Outlook: Benjamin Eagle;  LeeFest: Gem Redford Photography; Exit: Exit Festival; Truck: Truck Festival