With the end of the summer festival season in sight folks are still whining on about bloody chairs. A recent article in the iPaper went even further and bemoaned how music festivals have become too family friendly. Although his article picked on a festival that was actually set up as a family festival back to 2008 it echoed much of the negative commenting on social media following this year’s Download Festival. 

As a late comer to the festival scene; my first Download was in 2010; even I have seen the whole vibe change. Back in 2010 I shared a tent in the main camping area with my daughter and son-in-law. As we trekked to the arena we passed a field where about a dozen motor homes and camper vans were pitched up. For the following year we purchased a camper van pass, partly because we we taking an 18 month old toddler with us, and in 2011 that field was full and in subsequent years it became a competition to book early enough to get the camper van pass so popular had it become. Indeed, this year I have been very lucky to have got one for next year. I have seen the rise if the glamping option, starting with a few airstream caravans to the current metal meadow container villages, glamping pods, ready erected tents and new areas for the camper vans, motorhome sans caravans. Alongside these changes, the vibe has changed. It is still Download and I will never get over that buzz of being in the right place at the right time feeling as I trudge my way to the arena (with my chair slung over my shoulder) along with the huge like minded Download family. Over those years that family has changed as well. Back in 2010 the majority of the crowds appeared to be a mix the dyed in the wool rockers who enjoyed roughing it and raucous 18-25 year old students looking for a good time. Even before Covid I was noticing a shift in the types of people attending and had remarked about it on several occasions. In 2012 the powers that be put an age restrictions on children preventing under 5s from being taken along. That restriction was lifted a few years back enabling people to enjoy the festival as a family. This year when I returned for the first time since Covid I found that yes, it had changed, but for the better. The die hard still had their muddy, sludgy pigsties but it was clear to see that even the younger festival goers are now expecting nicer, better and more accessible facilities. Despite all the improvements there are still those who feel the need to criticise the organisers or belittle their fellow festival goers for not being like them.

The main complainants often appeared to be from either middle aged die-hards resistant to change because they are desperately trying to relive their wild youth or, for the most part, entitled 20-30 somethings who just want to get pissed, screw anyone where ever they please ( the Ferris wheel incident springs to mind) and decide who should or shouldn’t be in the mosh pits with them. 

There are the ones who have a pop at the organisation for poor planning; too many tickets sold, size of the crowds, not enough toilets and poor sanitation; to poor security, too much ‘Health and Safety’ and too many rules and restrictions; to the layout; stages in the wrong place, campsites and car parks too far away; and finally, the choice of bands; too old, too new or wrong genre. They suggest impossible line-ups and come up with fantastical ideas for improvement without any knowledge of the whys and wherefores of event and layout planning. Having seen and experienced what goes into organising a large event and the regulatory hoops the organisers have to jump through I don’t envy that team their task.  

This year the main gripe seemed to be that it’s turning into Glastonbury, with too many undesirables; snowflakes, vegans and hippies demanding eco-friendly, free-from and healthy living options; families taking up space with their covered trolleys, pushchairs and picnic blankets, allowing their kids to run about; and older and less able people who need camp chairs and mobility aids and scooters to enable them attend. What these critics, young and old, need to realise is that the majority of festival goers actually welcome most of the changes. Nicer options for camping/glamping, cleaner toilet facilities and better accessibility and inclusivity being a few in the right direction, especially at the prices we pay for the privilege. I do, however, agree that there should be some kind of control over where camp chairs, trolleys and picnic blankets should be allowed to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all festival goers. I mean, why on this green Earth would you want to sit in a camp chair or on a picnic blanket in the middle of a mosh pit? Who should be allowed in a mosh pit; minus a chair; should be a decision for the individual or responsible person such as the parents. Being a person of small stature I personally prefer to be further back where I can watch the bands in comfort rather than being surrounded and squashed by taller folk anyway. There are other festivals which do have a point beyond which chairs are not allowed so why don’t Download take this approach in future? I also agree that it shouldn’t only be the responsibility of the organisers and people should also use a little common sense themselves. Don’t cause an obstruction by setting up chairs in the middle of the main walkways or use them to stake a claim on a good spot for your favourite band, abandon them for hours on end and then be surprised when people get angry with you when you return. If everyone does their bit we can all enjoy our experience at our own pace. Especially us mature folks and hippies; who are now the older generation; who have been listening to this music and following the bands the moaning Minnies are just discovering since our youth and the bands largely unknown whilst also embracing new bands bringing fresh and unique sounds to our attention. Just because we need to sit down now and then doesn’t mean we should give up enjoying being a part of something some folks have enjoyed since the advent of the music festival. And I’m going be honest here, I’d rather weave my way through the more mature rockers and their chairs (does that make them rocking chairs?) and families on picnic blankets than fall over your drunken body lying unconscious on the ground where I can’t see it! At least we will remember the bands we forked out hundreds of pounds to see. I never could get my head around that one, particularly after seeing one guy so out of it by mid-afternoon he had been completely covered in old pizza boxes or the time one family member got so drunk he woke up next morning and actually thought he’d missed watching Slipknot! And, from my experience this year, it wasn’t the older audience who were the problem with chairs but, more often than not, it was the age group who are doing all the moaning who were the most inconsiderate. 

As for families and young kids, we should be welcoming them. Over the years we have taken various grandchildren who have actually enhanced the experience as we bonded in that moment over our mutual enjoyment of music and atmosphere. As with older folk why should pareants be precluded from continuing to do the things they enjoyed before embracing parenthood? Their music tastes don’t change overnight with the birth of their first child, who will more than likely be brought up listening to the same music as its parents. The parents of today were the moshers of yesterday, just as their kids will be the moshers; and potential band members; of tomorrow. It is those youngsters who will pass on the festival torch and keep the flame alive long after the complainers of today have left the festival field. They are what will keep the music going and moving forward. Without them the future of Download could be bleak. So to all the critics having the cheek to moan about what a shit experience they had; if you want to be a whining, ungrateful and discriminatory prick or prickette just don’t buy a ticket for next year, go somewhere else instead; America perhaps; and leave the rest of us to enjoy the weekend. But think on, all too soon you will be one of us, a parent dragging a trolley full of kids behind you or older, less able and needing a chair and good accessibility. You will be thanking us then for having paved the way to your future festival enjoyment.