A summer of festival fun

by Caisa Ederyd

For some of us, standing in a crowd while someone else is breathing heavily down your neck, pressed against another guy's sweaty back may not sound like the best moment of your life, yet others consider going to concerts as heaven on earth.

Festivals are great social happenings, whether it’s for the music or for the experience as a whole.

They can be every music lover’s wet dream.

However, weather issues can sometimes ruin the event.

“I love the whole experience of festivals; everything from running in a panic to catch the train trying to get to there, to finally lying in the grass in the sun with a cold beer in your hand,” says former London College of Communication student Paula Davila Alvarez, who has attended two festivals each summer during the past five years.

Justin Hallstrom studied Graphic Design at LCC.

Just like Alvarez, he spent most of his teenage years going to traditional festivals with big camping areas.

After ‘almost drowning’ during Roskilde festival in Denmark in 2007 – recorded to be the rainiest festival in 20 years – he started to look for festivals where the traditional experience could be achieved without risking getting stuck in a puddle while walking to his tent.

Primavera

Two years ago, Justin and his friend Andreas Ljung went to go to the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain.

“It’s a great festival in so many ways,” says Justin, “The weather is almost guaranteed to be sunny, as well as offering all those things you’d like from a holiday; sun, beach and concerts – all in one.

“I asked myself what the hell I was doing on a muddy field in the middle of nowhere seeing some shit bands hyped by the NME, drinking grime vodka from a Tetrapak with crusty types crawling around outside our tent when you can see good bands in a nice city,” says Andreas.

Going to festivals in warmer countries that offer visitors the chance to spend time on the beach is a good way to get more out of the whole experience.

Apart from Primavera, Spain offers other festivals where you can find cheap hotels, or if you’re a keen camper, dry spots to camp.

Benicassim

Benicassim Festival, located outside Valencia in Spain was launched in 1995.

It’s a sunny alternative and is known for booking great bands such as Suede and The Chemical Brothers.

This year’s Benicassim offers headliners such as The Prodigy, Vampire Weekend and Klaxons.

Sonar

Another Spanish festival that is getting more and more popular is Sonar in Barcelona.

Sonar is famous for being the world’s most important festival for electronic music and has been visited by 90,000 music lovers every year since 1994.

It is divided into two parts, ‘Sonar by Day’ and ‘Sonar by Night’, which transforms Barcelona into three days and nights of non-stop music.

This year, Sonar will have such a big line-up that it will be hosted in two cities.

As well as Barcelona, visitors can go to Coruna in north-west Spain and experience the one-day-only event: Sonar Galicia.

Serbia 

As well as Spain there are options in other countries.

Exit festival in Serbia is getting increasingly popular with sun-seeking citizens.

But the lack of a beach can make Exit almost too hot to survive unless you rent a flat or hotel room with excellent air-condition and showers – something that can get expensive for students living on student funding and part-time wages. 

Croatia

The small Soundwave Festival in Croatia is running for the second time this summer.

It offers beach and boat parties, nightclubs as well as traditional stages with emerging artists from all over the world.

There you can either camp, stay at a hotel, or even rent a boat.

These kind of festivals are getting more popular. “They offer a wide range of activities that you normally would have to go to several places to experience,” says music producer Nick Agha, who will play at the Stop Making Sense Festival on a beach in Croatia in September for the first time.

The ultimate festival doesn’t have to cost a fortune nor be on a field in the middle of nowhere.

Consider your options and think about whether or not you want to meet new exciting people and see some good bands live in the mud – or somewhere warm where you’re the one who is choosing whether you want to get wet or not.