Music Festivals

There are things to love and things to hate about large gatherings of people. The great thing about music festivals is the atmosphere and the buzz that comes from music lovers who want to have a great time. The negative side is the condition of the toilets, the queues for the toilets and the insufficient amount of...you guessed it; the toilets. There are also the fast food vendors to contend with. The food is ok generally but they charge exorbitant prices. I dread to think how much profit they make from a burger in a bun. Of course, any outside event is better in sunshine but you learn to love the mud eventually. Good live performances from the bands make up for everything.

The 1960s was the decade when music went outside to cater for the massive demand for tickets. The highpoint of the surge of music festivals came in 1969 when 400,000 people gathered in a field at the now famous Woodstock. It was the age of flower power and the counter culture. There are enduring images of naked people dancing in the mud and kaftan clad fans wearing flowers in their hair. Anti-Vietnam War feeling was high and people wanted to prove the point that large crowds could assemble peacefully with music as an international peacemaker. The music was great too with contributions from diverse artists, including The Who, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix and Joan Baez. The sponsors lost $2.4 million and no one seemed to care. Times change and an anniversary Woodstock Festival held in 1999 ended in riots.

The other iconic festival is held in the UK on a semi-regular basis at Glastonbury in England. It attracts the biggest acts and has been running since 1970. Michael Eaves is the dairy farmer who runs the event on his farmland. It started as a hippie haven with other activities, which were just as important as the music. Lately, it's been criticized for becoming too big and commercial. It's certainly come a long way from the first one, where every one got free milk from the cowherd! It's still held in fond affection and there is a New Age presence that has inherited the mantle of the hippies. The last one was held in 2004 and Paul McCartney topped the bill. Glastonbury was the inspiration for a lot of other music festivals, which showcase new talent as well as the stars.

In addition to the main rock festivals, there are niche events, which celebrate different musical genres. Fans of reggae, country music, jazz and folk music all have their own music festivals to go to. If there's no mud, that's a bonus.