Happiness is Glastonbudget
My idea of happiness is being sat in a field, with the sun out, lager in hand, listening to great music. And this past weekend, happiness came in the form of the mega tribute festival that is Glastonbudget.
For the uninitiated, Glastonbudget is an annual three-day event that takes place in Wymeswold, Leicestershire, and has been going for 19 years. This past weekend was our first time and it did not disappoint. I went keen to enjoy it, but I never thought I’d enjoy it this much. The performance quality was outstanding and the sun was definitely shining on an incredibly friendly and superbly organised team.
Whilst we’ve been to other big festivals before, we arrived at this one not really knowing what to expect. We unpacked the car and realised that we’d forgotten the tentpoles. True story. It’s not even the first time that we’ve done this. We’ve got form. But, in an unexpected benefit of going to a festival in our home county, Mr D could nip home. Waiting, I got to sit and read my book in the sun, listening to the music start up, plenty of homage being paid to Tina Turner long before the planned headline Sunday night slot.
After tent pitch take two, we headed in to hear the end of the Ed Sheeran Experience and on a perfect English summer evening, we enjoyed our first cold beers. We tucked into pork cobs (Leicester folk will understand; it’s baps or rolls for the rest of you). We listened to The Fillers from the back of the festival. We inched closer to the stage and our toe tapping turned into full on boogying. A joyous Take@That performance left me very happy indeed, although clearly reminded me of my age when my teenage daughter didn’t know any of the songs. Not one.
I’ll be honest and say I was a bit non-plussed when I’d read that a Michael Jackson tribute was going to headline on Friday. But how I was wrong! Michael Starring Ben was a crowd filling performance of the highest quality. What a show! It made me check my surroundings – this now felt like so much more than I’d been expecting. This wasn’t a small production in rural Leicestershire. This was a great festival that clearly attracted some great performers. I went to bed (reality check: I got onto a deflating lilo) happy and very much looking forward to the next day.
After a scorching day, it was a freezing night. A huge diurnal swing meant my feet and nose were so cold that even many pints of lager hadn’t been able to keep me warm. After desperately putting it off most of the night, I popped out to the portaloo as an epic orange sun spectacularly rose. At 05:00 it was a perfectly still camp but for the sounds of the countryside. Birds tweeting, sheep baa-ing. It was going to be another beautiful day.
Saturday, we went to watch The Mercians. Not a tribute band, but an act in their own right, they did a top job of opening the main stage. Next, we gently wandered. Taking in the superb fancy dress efforts that many had made. Must try harder on our part if (when) we return next year.
I went to watch Young Elton in the Big Top. I’ve never seen actual Elton John live, and I’m not sure I now need to (but on the off chance that Elton is reading, I’ll absolutely take some tickets to check). Young Elton’s stage presence and performance was off the charts. It was a performance so good that it almost brought me to tears. I love that music has the power to make you feel that kind of emotion. (Or maybe it was just the lager and lack of sleep kicking in?).
As Elton left the stage, I was about to move on when the compere said that a Whitney tribute was up next. I’d not seen that on the programme! I decided to stay because to even try and sing Whitney, you’ve got to be pretty good, right? Marcia Lynette was incredible, another excellent performance, but honestly, it was the vibing security guard living his best life who stole the show for me.
Still in the Big Top, Forever 80s took to the stage and I’ve never seen so much Dad dancing from the crowd in all my days. Sunshine + 80s music + beer clearly equals Dad dancing extraordinaire. Depeche Mode’s ‘Just can’t get enough’ started, and in a perfectly timed moment, a younger couple next to me packed their chairs and moved on. They had definitely had enough.
Back on the main stage Oasish took me back to my university days, and the Antarctic Monkeys were the draw for the teens. A festival for everyone, we all went to bed happy.
Sunday was ladies’ day. We set up to enjoy the sweet sounds of Fleetwood Bac before the black clouds rolled in. But, even with the sun missing and an incredibly cold wind, nothing could spoil the spectacular line up. Pure Paloma was fully on brand, hilariously fun alongside a powerhouse vocal. Abba Revival made everyone sing and dance their hearts out, and we were all pleasantly surprised to learn just how many Dolly Parton songs we knew.
It was Vicky Jackson as Pink who finally left us wowed. It was such a sublime performance, made brilliant by her commanding stage presence and truly authentic smile. I didn’t think the weekend could get much better and it just did. And then, in the week when the world lost a legend, Totally Tina closed the weekend with one epic show. Touchingly opening with a minute’s applause to the late star, and touchingly closing by bringing her own 80 year old mother on stage.
I was freezing cold by the time Tina left the stage. After a massive weekend, I needed a very long, hot shower and my own bed. I was fairly broken – three days, 90,000 steps (Fitbit tells me that was mostly dancing) two nights in a tent and a weekend full of sun and wind burn. But, I left incredibly happy and wanting more…
At many points throughout the weekend, I thought about how you create something like this? What is the spark? The drive? How do you decide that you’ll shoulder the initial cost, risk the weather, engage the neighbours? But when you think about it, a tribute festival is a genius idea. The performances are excellent, not only because they are great performers (although they definitely are), but because that’s their very raison d’etre. To do it well is to perform as the very best version and the very best songs of the person they’re paying tribute to. A great tribute festival is how to make sure you have fields full of people having the very best of times.
Glastonbudget is 20 years old next year and now I’ve tasted it, I absolutely want to be part of its future.
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