Glastonbury Festival, the most prestigous UK festival an artist can play at and one of the most enjoyable festivals that you can attend. Both behemoth and legend, read on to learn more about this magical festival.
 
 What?
 
It started out with humble beginnings as a small festival with 1500 people in 1970. Tickets were £1 and included free milk from the farm. Glastonbury Festival is now the biggest performing arts festival in the world. 177,500 people, 700 acts, 80 stages, 900 acres of land and quite possibly the most beautiful festival site in the world. Some say it’s spiritual, others say it’s astounding, one thing’s for sure it’s not another money grabbing corporate event. This is Glastonbury. The profits go to the festivals supporting charities: Greenpeace, WaterAid (our charity partners also), Oxfam and iCount.
 
At Glastonbury you can hear every type of music you want to hear. The world is your oyster. It wouldn’t be abnormal to go from an intimate gig with Rolf Harris to a full blown rave with Pendulum in the dance village, moving on to a headline performance from Radiohead on the Pyramid Stage. Past headliners have included, Coldplay, The Killers, the Who, Pink Floyd, The Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Basement Jaxx, David Bowie… The list is endless and is filled with some of the greatest performers of our times.
 
Glastonbury is famed for its dance music and all the biggest names of the industry have blown away the crowds; from festival favourites Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers to dj’s such as Carl Cox and Sasha.
 
Stop right there though as Glastonbury is not just a music festival, it is a festival of the performing arts. Festival-goers can expect to see stand up comedy, circus acts and theatre. Enter the world of the weird and the wonderful and you can have access to more than 1200 shows in 3 fields over the festival weekend.
 
Every year Glastonbury is covered by the BBC, so if you’re unlucky enough not to get a ticket you can watch coverage of the festival on the TV and online and you can listen to all the best music on various BBC radio stations.

 When?

On the weekend of the 27th, 28th, 29th June 2008.

How?

Due to previous problems with ticket touts Glastonbury has invented an ingenious method of selling tickets. Everyone who wants to go to the festival has to register their details and photo online first. Hurry though, registration for Glastonbury 08 will end at midnight on Friday 14th March 2008. Remember, no registration, no ticket.

To register: http://www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk/

After you have registered here’s a date for your diary: tickets go on sale at 9am on Sunday April 6th 2008. Competition is tough so have your computer and phone at the ready as all 177,500 tickets sold out in a record 1 hour and 45 minutes last year. Glastonbury Festival will provide a link to buy tickets on their website closer to the date of sale. This year's ticket seller partner will be See Tickets again.

The cost of tickets for this years event has not yet been released but as a guide price, tickets for last years event were on sale for £145+booking fee (this price includes camping as well). Car park passes were £10 last year. Remember all the profits of the festival go to charity so you’re money is going to a good cause.

Getting to the festival is easy. There are 3 main options: train, coach, or car. Glastonbury festival is located in a village called Pilton near to Glastonbury in Somerset, UK. The nearest train station is at Castle Cary and the festival organisers provide a shuttle bus from the train station to the site.

If you would like to go on a coach, tickets can be purchased as a festival ticket and coach ticket package. Other coach options are available from most major cities throughout the UK.

The final option is coming by car. Being environmentally conscious people here at Open Your Mind we don’t recommend this option, not only is it bad for the environment but you will spend hours in traffic jams and queues. Trust us from experience. If you are set in your ways and still want to bring your car, no problem, car parking passes can be purchased from the festival organisers.

Why?

Ask anyone who has been to Glastonbury Festival and they will undoubtedly inform you it was one of the greatest and most memorable weekends of their lives. The festival speaks for itself and doesn't really need any justification. It is what it is, and that is its beauty.

Who?

The line-up for Glastonbury 2008 is shrouded in secrecy but festival organiser, Michael Eavis, has confirmed that US Rapper Jay-Z will be one of the headliners for this year’s event. Kings of Leon and The Verve will also headline on the Pyramid stage. The full line-up will not be released until June. Don’t worry though, every year the line-ups are huge, we’re yet to see a disappointing Glastonbury line-up.

For further information go to the festivals official website:

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photos © Oleg Tolstoy, official events photographer for Open Your Mind.
 
http://www.olegtolstoy.co.uk/
 

Increasing numbers of festival goers are looking abroad for their fix of summer hedonism. It's hard to know which foreign festival is best, so here's a tip, it's Exit Festival in Serbia. Read on and you'll see why it was voted the best European festival in 2007 by the UK Festival Awards.

What?

Exit is a four day music festival held every summer in the 18th Century Petrovaradin fortress by the River Danube in Novi Sad, Serbia. This titan of a festival is attended by around 190,000 people, has 22 stages and over 600 performers. In fact it's the biggest festival in South Eastern Europe.

The music policy is eclectic and you'll hear everything from electro to hip hop and drum & bass to hard rock. Past lineups have been impressive and just keep getting better. Last years festival saw The Prodigy, Beastie Boys, Robert Plant, Groove Armada, Wu Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, Basement Jaxx and Pendulum take to the stages among many others.

Exit festival started in 2000 as a political protest by a group of students against the Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević. Now in it's ninth year, it is acheiving the international recognition it deserves. Exit has a number of advantages over many UK festivals. Accomodation, food and alcohol cost a fraction of the price that festival goers pay at home. It's also not likely to turn into a cold mudbath, last year the temperatures soared to the mid 30's as revellers chilled out on Exit's beach on the banks of the river Danube, but don't hold us to that (we can't control the weather!). 

When?

Thursday 10th - Sunday 13th July 2008.

How?

Tickets are now on sale at the refreshingly cheap price of £72 + booking fee. Camp passes can also be bought for £14 + booking fee but you don't have to camp, there's plenty of hotels, hostels and apartments available for rent in Nov Sad.

For tickets go to: http://etickets.to/exit/ 

Getting to the festival is relatively cheap. There's two options for airports, Belgrade is the closest but flights cost more. British Airways, Jat, Lufthansa, Air France, Swiss Air, Austrian Airlines and Alitalia all fly there. You can catch a bus or a taxi from Belgrade it's 45 miles / 70km to the festival site.

Budapest in Hungary is further away but budget airlines fly there. EasyJet, Air Berlin, and Wizzair all operate flights to Budapest. Trains from Budapest to Novi Sad take 5 hours and extra services will be provided. Coaches also operate regularly and take around 6 hours.

Why?

If you're not convinced already, here's a few quotes from some of the performers:

 “You don’t realize what you’ve got here. People don’t stay up dancing until 9.00 the next day anywhere anymore, as they do here.”  Roni Size

“Serbia was fantastic we all really enjoyed it – the audience was amazing and it was the best show on the tour so far.” Billy Idol

 “It was the best festival we played this year” Liam Howlett, The Prodigy

“One of the best festival gigs that I have ever done. Amazing venue, thumping sound system and great crowd” John Digweed

“Exit was the highlight of my career, I absolutely loved it!” DJ Zinc

“wow - exit - what a festival! great energy, great understanding of the music and a great place. very impressed.” Giles Peterson / Radio 1

Who?

The lineup will not be released until the build up to the festival but expect it to be bigger than ever. We'll be posting the lineup in full on this page when we recieve it from the organisers.

For further information go to the official Exit Festival website: http://eng.exitfest.org/

Just to get you more excited, here are some photos from last years festival...

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What?

TignesFest is a dynamic new alpine music event to be held in one of the top rated (and highest!) ski resorts in the world, Tignes in France. Running from 17-20th April, TignesFest is a musical cocktail showcasing the freshest talent out there today.  From djs to live bands and exclusive acoustic sets, it's also a long weekend of skiing, snowboarding, socialising and sounds for the discerning and curious who like to experience something outside of the norm.  Best and most important of all, the event is free!

Curating the show are radio broadcasters from the UK's 3 top radio stations; Eddy Temple Morris (XFM), Kissy Sell Out (R1) and The Loose Cannons (Kiss FM) respectively, who have pulled in some artists/acts that are sure to excite and intrigue. XFM's Eddy Temple Morris will be broadcasting his show live from TignesFest on Friday 18th April, and is delighted to be part of the inaugural event in the Alps.

Picture a town on top of a snow covered mountain...  It's a nice picture isn't it? You carve down a beautiful French mountain on a snowboard, then take your apres ski with the Autokratz and Boy 8 Bit, and while you go nuts at a brilliant gig, your mates can hear it go out on Xfm and curse the fact they're not there with you.

Tignes is regarded as one of the world's highest and most snow-sure ski areas for skiers and snowboarders alike. It has pistes to suit all, with the Naturides (ungroomed pistes) and the Spot (Skiing the Powder Of Tignes) zone, a cross between off-piste and a freestyle jumps park, and not forgetting the offpiste activities including snowmobiling, paragliding, ice diving, ice skating, horse riding, bowling and the Ice Museum.  There are also many spas that offer sauna, Jacuzzi and of course the essential indulgent massage!

When?

17th - 20th April 2008

How?

Entry to the festival is free.

To get there: Easyjet, Snowjet, BMI and British Airways fly into Lyon, Geneva, Grenoble, and Chambery. From any of the airports you'll need to organise transfers to Tignes. We recommend Tignes.co.uk & Cool Bus who have offered 10% discount to TignesFest go-ers.

For all accommodation for TignesFest, Tignes.co.uk is the festivals official partner. The website also contains information on travel, lessons, lift passes, piste maps, unusual activities & more.  There are also 'All Inclusive' packages offered to TignesFest guests.  Log on to www.tignes.net
Cool Bus www.thecoolbus.co.uk covers airport transfers to Tignes from Geneva, Lyon, Chambery and Grenoble airports and 10% discount if you quote TignesFest.

Who?

Loose Cannons, Eddy Temple Morris, Autokratz live, Trash Fashion, Primary 1, Brigade, Speakerjunk's Trevor Loveys, South Central, David E Sugar, Dorp, Alex Metric, Boy8-Bit, Naomi Roper, James Yuill, The Shoes, A Human, Alex Metric, Alex Skt, The Bloody Beetroots, Boy 8-Bit, Chris Lung, Cristal Palace Band, Dark Jedis, David E. Sugar, James Yuill, Kissy Sell Out featuring Dan M, Naomi Roper, Poney Poney, South Central, The Shoes, Tokyoyoyo, Trash Fashion. More acts are to be announced...

For more information go to www.myspace.com/tignesfest

 

What?

Set against a breathtaking backdrop of five huge hulking coal mining diggers that tower into the sky, Melt! is a unique music festival on the Ferropolis peninsula surrounded by Lake Gremmin in Germany.  Melt! is a fusion of techno beats, guitar chords, and hip hop breaks.

2008 will be the 11th edition of the festival and due to great demand a third day has been added to the program.  More than 80 live acts and DJs will perform on 6 stages, firing the crowd up from late afternoon until well into the small hours…. and the last beats don’t fade until long after the sun has risen over the lake again.  

The festival was voted most popular open air event by readers of top German music & style magazines Intro, Groove and De:Bug and is also attended every summer by those in the know in the German music industry.

When?

Melt! 2008 takes place from the 18th-20th July.

How?

3 types of ticket can be bought. The first is a one day pass for €45 plus booking fee. A 2-day pass for 18th and 19th July is €65 plus booking fee. A 3-day ticket for Fri 18th & Sat 19th & Sun 20th July 2008 is €85 euros (plus booking fee)

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from: http://www.mirkomarken.de/ (via paypal) Please note that there will be a per-ticket charge for orders via paypal. http://www.tixforgigs.co.uk/melt (via paypal) Please note that there will be a per-ticket charge for orders via paypal.

Melt! Festival is in Ferropolis near Grafenhainchen in the heart of a triangle between Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin.  The nearest airports are Berlin Tegel or Schonefeld (80 mins shuttle bus ride), Helle/Leipzig Airport (60 mins shuttle bus ride).  For guests from abroad arriving at Berlin airport there is a shuttle bus service from Berlin Alexanderplatz. Budget airlines such as Ryanair fly into Schonefeld Airport.

Why?

“Quite possibly my favourite festival.” Mike Skinner (The Streets)

“Thanks for the best German show ever.” Booka Shade

“Our best German festival gig. Yeah!” Digitalism

“It is a really beautiful place. All these strange old metal dinosaurs are like pieces of art.” Shout Out Louds

“Melt! has evolved into a missionary musical event. A genuine favourite festival.” Musikexpress / Germany.

Who?

Confirmed acts so far are: Björk, Franz Ferdinand, Editors, Ben Folds, The Gossip, Turbostaat, Booka Shade, Alter Ego, Miss Kittin & The Hacker (live), Boys Noize, Moonbootica, Efdemin, Len Faki, The Teenagers, Die Türen, Kompakt label special: Supermayer (live), Burger/Voigt (live), Gui Boratto, Tobias Thomas, Bpitch label special: Modeselektor (live), Ellen Allien, Sascha Funke, Tomas Andersson Man Recordings: Crookers, Daniel Haaksman,  Roisin Murphy, Kate Nash, Battles, Cobblestone Jazz, dEUS, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Fujiya & Miyagi, Friendly Fires, GusGus, Hercules and Love Affair, Mathew Jonson, Klee, Renato Ratier, Stereo MC’s, The Whitest Boy Alive and The Wombats.

For more information go to: www.meltfestival.de