Glasto 2023 | The Review

Glasto 2023 | The Review. We were still standing in this paradise city because there were no mardy bums.

Magical, mad, huge, hot, special, amazing. Those were some of the words my friends said during Glastonbury 2023.

My 10th Glastonbury started in the longest queue I have ever been in and ended by being surrounded by the best crowd I have ever been in. In between were truly magical moments.

The first thing I noticed about Glasto 2023 was that people got into it way quicker than Glastonbury 2022. Last year’s festival took a while to find its groove. It was not surprising coming after 2 years of Covid and lockdowns.

The atmosphere across the site was buzzing from the start. Even though it took me longer to set up than normal, as soon as I was at The Village Inn, all was forgotten. I even got recognised when I was having my first pint! That was surreal.

Glasto Mates

This year’s Glasto was all about friendship for me. We had quite a few newbies on the farm and I was determined that they had a good time. We also met up with our Glastonbury regulars. Everyone hit it off straight away which is not surprising when you are on those magical fields.

One of my favourite days was on Thursday morning/afternoon when we were doing the Glasto Bar Crawl. At one point loads of us met at The Cockmill Bar. We ended up staying there for ages because we were all having so much fun. There were various people that I had met at different Glastonbury’s all coming together.

Which got me thinking. Glastonbury is a pilgrimage. Every year, people come together in The Vale of Avalon to connect, eat, drink, dance, sing and let go. For 5 days we are with our tribe and anything seems possible. Just like all pilgrimages, it can be hard, tiring and emotional. It can also be life-changing, ecstatic and magical.

The Rabbit Hole

Later on that day, we headed to our main meeting point. The brilliant Rabbit Hole. Even though it is located on the opposite side of our campsite, we loved having The Rabbit Hole as our base. All 3 areas of it are brilliant, it is one of my favourite places in the whole of Glastonbury.

That night The Rabbit Hole entertained us with The Mad Hatters Tea Party and Rob Da Bank in Funkingham Palace. It was such a great night. It was a real highlight and it set us up perfectly for the main 3 days of the festival.

The Music

Here is a list of the acts I saw over the weekend:

• The Sixsters
• The Hives
• Stefflon Don
• Texas
• The Churnups
• Royal Blood
• Fever Ray
• Rick Astley
• Kanda Bongo Man
• Holy Moly and The Crackers
• Beans on Toast
• Joanne Shaw Taylor
• Tinariwen
• The Pretenders
• Lana Del Rey
• Yusuf/Cat Stevens
• Blondie
• Lil Nas X
• Elton John

The biggest surprises for me were Texas, Rick Astley and Lil Nas X. I thought all 3 gave it their all and were great. The Hives blew me away. The 13:00 slot isn’t an easy one to play but they smashed it.

The Lana Del Rey fiasco was a shame. I really wanted to see the whole set but she has only herself to blame and I stand by the organiser’s decision to pull the plug.

The Foo Fighters always put on a great show and Royal Blood also impressed me with their set. Fever Ray was very trippy which worked perfectly at The Park Stage late at night.

We all loved the double legend slot with Yusuf and Blondie. A perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The Rocket Man

Which brings me to The Rocket Man. What a magical way to end the festival. I have never seen a crowd like it. The atmosphere was amazing, with people smiling, singing every song and dancing away. I kept looking around and people went all the way up to the tents. We had a great spot in the middle. Even with all those people we had loads of room. It seemed like most people stayed on the edges.

To watch a true legend play his last ever gig in the UK on The Pyramid Stage was very special. I loved the fact that he promoted new musicians instead of bringing out famous guests.

We The People

However, it is you the people that make Glastonbury truly special. I have been to loads of other festivals and nowhere comes close to the spirit of Glastonbury. It is a joy to be surrounded by so many people who love and respect the heritage of Glastonbury.

Yes, there are always a few bad apples but nowhere near what other festivals have. So thank you to the punter, the toilet cleaners, the workers, the organisers, the litter pickers, the bar staff, the food staff, the volunteers, the guy dressed as a suitcase, Karen my wife, Becki, Dave, Deano 1, Deano 2, Emma, Hamish, Helen, Jen, Jo, Karen 2, Kate, Luke, Markus 1, Markus 2, Markus 3, Michael, Rachel, Scott, and Trudy.

See you on the farm x