Photo: WENN.com
Is it just us or is there a tangible buzz of excitement around this year's festival circuit? Last year, Glastonbury left a gaping hole in most of our summers and it was almost as if the other major festivals got together to collectively take their feet off the gas and agree to put on the same kind of shows because there was no huge threat of one festival blowing the others out of the water.
The return of Glastonbury brings that threat back again and it seems as though the other events have been forced to bring their A-game for 2013 in order to compete with the most popular festival of the summer.
Not so long ago we wrote a blog asking if the popularity of UK festivals was quickly dwindling as sales were down and people seemed disinterested, but that was after experiencing the 2012 lull of similarity that left us wondering if festivals actually had any originality left. It almost felt as if there was no point going to a festival because nothing special was happening, one weekend didn't look set to be different to the next and therefore nothing looked as though it would even be memorable.
However, that dip in form may have come to an abrupt end as we start to consider the strengths of this year’s line-ups and with each announcement comes another edge of excitement as festivals fight it out to be the one that everybody is talking about.
Has the return Glastonbury forced other festivals to improve their line-ups?
Not only are we seeing the big names being picked to headline, but the exciting new names being given a chance with bigger and better slots. The 2013 festivals seem to be striking the right balance between new music and nostalgia which has created line-ups that are truly exciting.
Sure we all love bands like Two Door Cinema Club, Kasabian and Florence And The Machine, but we don't want to see them performing at every event possible in the summer because it just isn't special. What is special is hearing that Foals will take on their first ever festival headline slot at Latitude, Fall Out Boy will only be playing at Reading and Leeds and Beyonce’s only UK festival appearance will be at V Festival. These kind of announcements immediately make you start to imagine that these shows could be those ‘I was there’ moments and who wants to miss those?
Of course we expect some of the same bands to pop up on various stages across the summer, but what truly matters and what truly seems to have put the anticipation back in the festival circuit is the uniqueness that each weekend has claimed. Bestival has Elton John, V Festival has Beyonce, Reading and Leeds has Fall Out Boy and Latitude has Kraftwerk . For once, the pressure is on Glastonbury to deliver or they may find themselves falling behind the pack this year.
