21st June 2023 – 26th June 2023

Glastonbury Festival 2023

This was my 13th Glastonbury Festival. I first started going to Glastonbury in 1998, and then 1999. I still have the T-shirts which I wore to Glastonbury. A few suitable comments were made by other festival goers. I took a break for a few years and started attending again. I’ve been to every Glastonbury held since 2009. The Glastonbury Festivals I have been to are 1998, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 ,2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023.

This year was another dry Glastonbury. A week or so before Glastonbury, showers were expected during the show. As the date neared, the rain disappeared from the forecasts. Those who arrived on Tuesday were rained upon. I arrived on Wednesday, and it was dry and hot throughout the whole festival, with only one exception of a very small shower early on Monday morning.

I drove to Glastonbury in my EV on Wednesday, arriving in the early afternoon. Stopped for a coffee and a quick charge on route. The Blue route, taken by campervans, was empty with no delays. I arrived at Love Fields and was soon installed in my yurt. Love Fields has installed a large building, called The Barn, replacing the Teepee for breakfasts and meals. Breakfasts served downstairs, and cocktails upstairs. The bar and stage area lower down the fields were still in place.

Met up with Ed, Mary, her brother, and Jon while they were still on shift at the Silver Hayes area. Afterwards we had a few drinks, and then watched the opening fireworks. This evening we wandered around spending time in the Green Fields. I was back in Love Fields at 4am.

Thursday

Some bands were playing today in the small venues. I started off at the Rabbit Hole, watching Prima Queen, and then spent most of my time at the Bread and Roses, listening to small bands, such as Duo, The Love Buzz, Frankie Morrow, N’Famady Kouyate. I rushed over to the Southwest corner to see some metal, but the place was so packed I gave up and returned to the principal areas. It’s a shame I somehow missed the Vlure playing at Bread and Roses. Not to worry, the Glasgow band was playing again on another day.

Friday

The main days of the festival open. I started off with an exercise class run by Joe Wicks. Twenty-five minutes, plus a warmup session beforehand. I met up with Ed and Mary, it was their day off. After a while I went my own way and headed to West Holts stage. It is my favourite area, good cider, decent food and good music. I watched Louis Cole, Young Fathers and the headline act Kelis.

Saturday

The first band of the day was The Last Dinner Party at Woodsies (the new name for the John Peel Stage). Here I met Mark and his daughter. They were standing two rows in front of me. After this show I rushed back to the Greenpeace Stage to watch N’Famady Kouyate., again. He was playing five shows during Glastonbury and had won the emerging talent show at the Pilton Working Mens Club. Then it was Sudan Archives before rushing over to see Vlure at BBC Introducing. At the Other Stage, I watched the Manic Street Preachers, Plenty of room. Next for me was Guns and Roses on the Pyramid stage. I was disheartened because the area looked full for Lizzo. But after Lizzo finished, space opened up and I was able to find room in front of the barrier. Despite the reviews, the show was enjoyable, the crowd were ecstatic. Rumours circulated that Paul McCartney may come on to sing Live and Let Die. This did not happen. Shame it would have been a nice touch. After the headline act, I went on over to The Glade to watch the The Steve Hillage Band.

Sunday

Already I was nearing the end of the festival. First off was a hike up to the Crow’s Nest to see Professor Alice Robers with Rebecca Wragg Sykes talk about early humans and archaeology. Now back to normal, The Chicks at the Pyramid Stage, Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen at the Acoustic Stage, followed by a fabulous show by Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp. I wasn’t going to miss the Mongolian Metal band, The Hu, at the West Holts. Saw them at Download. I then watched Barrington Levy at West Holts and headed over to the Other Stage to see the end of The War On Drugs and finally Queens of the Stone Age. It was a shame for the The War On Drugs, when so many people left to get to the Pyramid Stage to watch Elton John. Queens of the Stone Age were excellent.

Monday

Pack up and leave. Join the queue on Pylle Road. This can be slow as the mobile homes are allowed out onto the road from the same exit. It took me an hour to go the few miles. Once I was on the A37, there was no problem. I did hear that some people leaving the festival from the main car parks were held up for 7 hours. I count myself lucky. What I don’t understand is that despite all the walking, I seemed to put on a kilo.