by Will Butler | Photos by Press
Then and now - the world's biggest festivals
Let's travel through musical time - from Reading to Warped Tour
Festivals are an integral part of the culture of being a music fan, regardless of your age. However, while festival behaviour has stayed pretty much the same, what your parents experienced in their youth probably looked and sounded very different to festivals as we know them now. Here is a retrospective of 12 historic festivals.
Reading Festival - then: While the Reading Jazz and Blues festival had been going for a few years, the festival started to host pop musicians in 1971. Costing 2 quid for the full weekend, 1971 saw an early Genesis on the line-up and a load of other names your Dad will probably recognise.
Reading Festival - now: The most notable change is that Reading is now Reading + Leeds. A change that came about in 1999 and continues to this day. The line-up is no longer as singular as it used to be, Reading has slowly taken a step away from being a 'rock' festivals and caters for fans of metal, dance, hip-hop and pop.
Glastonbury - then: Held the day after Jimi Hendrix died, (Sept 19, 1970) Michael Eavis hosted the likes of Marc Bolan and The Kinks on his farm. A modest 1 was all that was needed to gain entrance and the 1,500 attendees got free milk courtesy of Eavis.
Glastonbury - now: Regarded as one of the most legendary festivals in the world, Glastonbury has retained it's 'at the farm' aesthetic while still catering to fans of all types of music and art globally. Glasto is held very close to the hearts of those that frequent it, just look at the outrage that surfaced around Kanye West's headline slot.
Isle of Wight Festival - then: Started in 1968 as the UK's Woodstock, in gained legendary status a year after it's debut with a 1969 line-up consisting of Bob Dylan, The Who, Joe Cocker and The Band. The '69 festival marked the end of Dylan's three year retirement and managed to draw in ten times more attendees (150,000) than the year prior.
Isle of Wight Festival - now: While the festival did take a haitus between 1970 - 2002, it is now a huge part of the UK festival scene. With 50,000 people attending every year, Isle of Wight has since been headlined by the likes of Rolling Stones, David Bowie, R.E.M, Foo Fighters, Tom Petty and many more.
V Festival - then: A festival that supposedly stemmed from an idea from Pulp frontman, Jarvis Cocker. He wanted to perform at two huge outdoor shows one year, one in the North and one in the South of England. The 1996 line-up was Britpop heaven with Pulp, The Charlatans, Supergrass, Elastica and Shed Seven on the bill.
V Festival - now: Renowned for it's commerical environment, the Virgin owned festival now hosts the most popular mainstream music for the UK public. Despite it's plethora of pop-stars both new and old, V always nods to the festival it once was giving bill slots to a few names like Echo and the Bunnymen, Reverend and the Makers and, seemingly every year, Kasabian.
Coachella - then: Back in 1999, Coachella actually managed to undersell their tickets by 33,000. With sets from Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Morrissey and Tool as well as free parking and water, Coachella had the makings of a great festival right out of the gate. Many blamed the lack of success on the over-saturation of music festivals in Southern California at the time.
Coachella - now: 13 years later, Coachella is now considered a mecca of experimentation and dehydration. With an array of varying genres and art installations, Coachella offers as much in diversity as it does in grandeur. The line-up is consistently strong with massive headliners while still giving space for emerging talents by the bucketload.
Rock in Rio - then: A festival that is spread of six different locations and is considered one of the world's largest would no doubt have an impeccable debut. In 1985, Rio De Janeiro saw sets from Queen, AC/DC, Yes and George Benson over 10 days and to the ears of 1.4 million people. In non-music related facts: McDonald's sold 58,000 burgers in a single day, which was a Guinness World Record until 2011.
Rock in Rio - now: Celebrating it's 30th anniversary this year, Rock in Rio has expanded worldwide drawing in the best music from around the world. This year Rock in Rio will be hosted by Las Vegas and see two weekends be split into rock and pop line-ups. Who thought we'd ever see No Doubt and Ed Sheeran on the same festival bill?
Warped Tour - then: Warped Tour started and still is the largest travelling music festival in the US. The first tour was in 1995 and played across 25 cities in North America with a line up including Sublime, Quicksand and Deftones as well as an array of extreme sports and other rad activities for the whole family.
Warped Tour - now: Known to us now as Vans Warped Tour, a title change that occurred in 96, the philosophy of the festival remains the same. The festival is hugely significant for emerging artists having given spotlights to the likes of Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and Bring Me The Horizon for US audiences.
Benicassim Festival - then: A mixture of Spanish bands with popular electronic, rock and pop bands from the English speaking lands, the first Beni in 1995 saw sets from the likes of Ride, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Charlatans and Supergrass.ssim Festival - then: A mixture of Spanish bands with popular electronic, rock and pop bands from the English speaking lands, the first Beni in 1995 saw sets from the likes of Ride, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Charlatans and Supergrass for 8000 attendees.
Benicassim Festival - now: A favoured alternative for those Brits that prefer to drown in sand than mud, Beni is the ultimate beach festival for young-party goers. This year's four day festival featured headline slots from The Prodigy, Blur, Florence and Portishead.
Big Day Out Festival - then: The festival began as a Sydney only show in 1992 and generated so much hype that 100,000 people turned up despite only 10,000 ticket sales. With Violent Femmes and Nirvana headlining, the Australian festival fulfilled the philosophy assigned to it by founder Ken West - 'looking to create urban mayhem'.
Big Day Out Festival - now: BDO has since expanded to five Australian locations and Auckland. What you see here is a leaked line-up that never came to fruition due to the cancellation of the 2015 festival. The option to reopen the festival has been left open - here's hoping this gem makes a comeback soon.
Iceland Airwaves - then: What you see above is an airplane hanger in Reykjavik, Iceland. This was the venue for the first Iceland Airwaves party that was meant to be a one-off party in 1999. Three bands played and the festival continued to grow as a frosty platform for international music for Icelandic audiences.
Iceland Airwaves - now: Labelled as the SXSW of Iceland, Airwaves hosts the best in Icelandic and global alternative music. The glacial landscape plays host to the likes of JME, Battles, Bo Ningen, East India Youth, Perfume Genius and The Pop Group across 10 enchanting venues.
Newport Folk Festival - then: A truly historic festival, Newport Folk opened in 1959 to rival the Newport Jazz festival and became a hotbed of legendary performances in the years that followed. Bob Dylan made history twice on the Newport grounds, with his national premiere in 1963 and the infamous switch to electric sound in 1965.
Newport Folk Festival - now: Since the festival's revival in 1985, NFF has run without interruption growing every year. No longer just for folk and country, the festival celebrates any band that is tied by a mutual love of American music.
Austin City Limits - then: Inspired by the PBS music show of the same name, ACL Festival came about in 2002 headlined by American treasure Ryan Adams. The addition of ACL to the city that hosts SXSW cemented Austin as the musical centre of the south.
Austin City Limits - now: Having expanded enough to warrant two weekends, ACL has been able to match any US line-up since 2012 and stepped away from the more 'legendary' status of the TV show it shares it's name with. This year's line-up was particularly exceptional with sets from Foo Fighters, Drake, The Strokes, DeadMau5, Of Monsters and Men and Billy Idol. There is literally something for everyone.
Festivals are an integral part of the culture of being a music fan, regardless of your age. Your parents probably went to them and got up to the same trouble you think they're too naive to understand. However, while festival behaviour has stayed pretty much the same, the weekends old mum and pop experienced in their youth probably looked and sounded very different to the live music havens as we know them now.
Let's look at a few examples: Isle of Wight festival has been put on since 1968 and still continues to go strong, Reading has been providing the best in live rock music since the 70s and Iceland Airwaves started as a one-off party in an airport hanger. It's amazing to look back to the humble beginnings of festivals we consider staple now.
So, here is a retrospective of 12 historic festivals, in the UK and worldwide.