The obscure charm of the open-air music festival (Part One)

(First part)

It’s summertime and that can only mean one thing – thousands of sleep-deprived people herded together in fields with inadequate sanitary facilities. No, this is not a description of troops or refugees coping with life as best they can in some war-zone, but a fairly accurate summation of existence at a music festival.

Probably the most famous festival of this type was held at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near the tiny hamlet of White Lake, New York State, in August 1969. Better known as Woodstock, this event was described as “3 Days of Peace and Music”, was later listed among Rolling Stone’s “50 Moments That Changed the World” and set the tone for what was to follow.

These days music lovers can choose from a huge variety of open-air music festivals covering every musical genre. Britain’s hard rock Monsters of Rock gatherings were originally held at Castle Donington racetrack, but proved so popular that identical events grew up in locations as distant as Argentina, Brazil and Chile, where acts such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Kiss are as popular as they are in North America, Scandinavia and Europe. Monsters of Rock has now become The Download Festival, still attracting top names from the world of hard rock and metal.

Currently the four largest music events in Europe are Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, Glastonbury in the UK, the Paléo Festival de Nyon in Switzerland and Rock Werchter near Brussels. These festivals normally showcase a wide spread of popular music acts from dance and electronica to traditional rock and pop artists.

The Parkpop Festival in The Hague, started in 1981, is a free festival but more than its cost sets it apart from the competition. Since its inception it has been drawing huge crowds and attracting some of the world’s best acts. Its Zuiderpark setting is the perfect place to enjoy the best of Dutch and international music.

Spain’s Festival Internacional de Benicàssim near Valencia is one of the highlights of the festival calendar. During July this popular beach resort briefly abandons its laidback ambience to play host to some of the world’s best indie rock, pop and electronica. It was first held in 1995 and every year seems to become larger and more popular. Its beachside setting is certainly more appealing than Glastonbury’s mud, portaloos and acres of pup tents!

For the more laidback customer there is The Big Chill, a specialist festival for lovers of ambient, chillout and trance music, founded in 1994 by DJ Pete Lawrence and Katrina Larkin. Its rural setting, in the grounds of Eastnor Castle near the small town on Ledbury in Herefordshire, perfectly reflects the nature of the music performed there.

From June to September, in fact, it should be possible to follow one’s favourite acts around Europe; a pleasant, if expensive, way to celebrate the summer.

Read the second part of this interview.

New post on at Tuesday, 6 July, 2010, 9:15 am and is archived in Culture, Lifestyle. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.