It was Valeria's first visit to Glastonbury Music Festival (my 4th visit) and it is hard to not have a good time at what is considered by many to be the best festival of its kind, worldwide. Not only a great place for live music with dozens of stages with concerts happening at the same time - there is also a great choice in terms of alternative entertainment including performance arts, such as acrobats, circus comedians and relaxation areas. The festival these days also attracts a number of families particularly with the Kidz field and friendly atmosphere.
Below, Valeria an hour after we arrived as she ponders the excitement of having to put up a tent with me. Luckily we bought one of the 3 second pop up tents. Below right, a sample of one of the dozens of acts daily who walk around the festival.
All photos by Valeria Lo Iacono & Paul Symonds - 2009
Among the live performances walking around, one that we found particularly funny was a Scotsman with his sheepdog. The Scotsman was on stilts and a woman in a dog’s costume, behaving like a dog and playing up to unsuspecting people (that is actually water I am sure in the picture below right).
Below, more of the performers we enjoyed: a guy with a mobile piano who cycled as he played (left) and on the right a juggler, who ended his performance cycling on a unicycle with just one foot, whilst with the other foot, flipping a saucer, a cup and a spoon onto his head. We really enjoyed this guy’s performance and he was also a bit of a comedian.
Valeria and I saw a lot of concerts at Glastonbury 2009, including popular singers such as Lily Allen and Bruce Springsteen. For the most part though, we mainly listened to a lot of world music and the festival meant the chance to see two of our favourites live: Seun Kuti and Khaled.
In the pictures below you can see the Tuareg group Tinariwen on the left and, on the right, Seun Kuti who is one of Fela Kuti’s (the legendary Nigerian musician) sons. Seun Kuti’s performance was fantastic and with a space near to the stage, a good night was had by all.
Below you can get a feeling of the Glastonbury spirit, as Valeria and I chill out between concerts.
At Glastonbury there are so many interesting things to see as you walk around, such as the giant Scrabble in one of the many fields. Below right you can see a small section of a camping area. With 175,000 people attending, Glastonbury is a massive event and the camping areas are huge. It can easily take +30 mins to walk across the site.
Glastonbury would not be the same without the tepee area (below left) and without the infamous toilets. Valeria said it was worth braving the smell of the festival toilets in order to attend the festival.
Alas, there is of course music at the festival and below, two concerts we watched. On the left the sun setting on the crowds as everyone waits for Bruce Springsteen’s to come on stage. The beauty of the festival is that there is so much going on at once that some of the small tents also offer excellent music and the 'Fluffy Rock Cafe' was a venue where we got to see an excellent band called '360'.
At Glastonbury we managed to catch up with our friend Hannah White and her boyfriend (picture below left), who were working at the festival. On the right, Valeria gets to meet and have a picture taken with the famous Algerian singer Khaled, nicknamed ‘The King of Rai’: Khaled performed at the Jazz/World stage.
Surprises at Glastonbury never end; another interesting performance was one by a group of teenagers playing rubbish bins as though they were drums and they were very good! (below left). On the right you can see one of the attractions in the kids area.
Food at Glastonbury is extremely varied and was surprisingly very good. You can find a lot of stalls selling every type of food, from Italian, to English, Caribbean, French, Chinese, Thai and all at affordable prices. You can even find ostrich and kangaroo steaks! (on the left - Hayden if you are reading this - you'd have been at home).
In Glastonbury it is also possible to relax, between a concert and another, going to the sauna. Below one of the saunas in the Tepee Field.
More stages below: the Glade Stage below left and one of the smaller stages on the right, with a group performing Balkan music.
Below, the Astrolabe Stage, in the circus area, where comedians and various acts performed. The performance below was by 6 guys who sang pop and rock songs a cappella and also mimicking the sounds of different instruments with their voices. Another food stall on the right.
...and finally, Valeria befriending a human Zebra!
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