Day 1 – Wednesday 23rd June 2010.

So we set off at 7am hoping to miss the traffic and the majority of the queues to get into Glasto. We were extremely mistaken…hitting traffic as soon as we entered onto the M3.

Six hours later we arrived at the Glastonbury car park and parked up in East 7.

The weather was actually AMAZING the whole time we was there…but when you’re queuing for two hours to get through to gate C to get your wristbands, and the only drinks you have are cans of cider…it quickly becomes very difficult.

5pm and our tent is up! =)

We camped in the dance field opposite the Other Stage…we had a very good spot. Not much was happening on the Wednesday so we just took the evening to find some food, have a look around get lost and find some food  fun times.

Day 2 – Thursday 24th June 2010.

Today we woke up nice and early, due to the insane heat inside our tent.  I had quite a good sleep, considering. We finally found The Queen’s Head Stage after walking past it five times and got straight to the very front to watch My Luminaries, The Howls and Two Door Cinema Club; all of which were amazing!

After seeing these we found something to eat, grabbed some Strongbow and Sambuka from the tent and went over to the Pussy Parlour…I LOVED IT IN THERE! It was just like a night club everyone was raving it up and the DJ’s were awesome I think they was either DC Breaks or Elite Force…can’t remember what time we actually got in to The Pussy Parlour.

After our first amazing day, I accidentally deleted all my photos 

Day 3 – Friday 25th June 2010.

The festival kicked off today with Rolf Harris. He was just amazing he turned 80 this year and he’s still playing huge gigs – Today he played on the Pyramid Stage to a crowd of thousands.  It must have been quite overwhelming looking out onto a crowd that big. His set included Two little boys, Sun-a-Rise and Stairway to Heaven. He definitely knew how to get the crowd going.  He had the didgeridoo and the board thing he uses =)

I text my mum to say that we had just watched Rolf Harris and how good he was. She said she thought he was ‘too old for us’, lol. Everyone knows his songs! I think everyone watching him just had nothing but admiration for him.

Lunchtime we go back to the tent to cook a pot noodle…oh camp life how I won’t miss the food.

Actually the food at Glastonbury was very good.  Being a vegetarian I thought finding food for me may be a little difficult but there were tons of vegan and vegetarian stalls and most of the meat selling stalls had vegetarian options too.

At 1.45pm we saw Corrine Bailey Rae she was very good, I like her music; quite chilled out…good for a daytime slot.

By Friday we were starting to see the tan lines…or they could have been dirt lines! The ‘no showering’ was hard and you never really are that clean when using baby wipes…just gives the dirt a nice scent. HA.

We went over to the John Peel Tent to watch Bombay Bicycle Club. It was so busy we couldn’t get inside so we just listened to them from outside for a while.  But the sun was so strong we only stayed for about 15 minutes.  Big shame but we had to find some shade.

So after leaving the John Peel Tent we went to the East Dance tent ready for Example. OMG! they were by far the best band we had seen yet! “..and the love kick starts again!”

Friday was quite hard because most of the people we wanted to see were all playing at the same time. We went on to see La Roux and Florence and the machine on the Other Stage.

Florence and the machine were up there with Example, so so SO Amazing! Her outfit was pretty cool too, I have thought for ages of how I could describe it but I can’t so just Google it and look at a photo! It was a white leotard with one side that had white fabric in layers draping over to the end of her arm.  It’ll make sense when you look at a photo.

Next we went over to the Pyramid Stage to watch Dizzee Rascal and of course Florence came onto to sing ‘You’ve got the love’ at the end! =D

Gorillaz headlined on Friday, and we were like 4 rows from the front in the middle! We actually got right near the front for almost all of the people we saw, happy days.

Gorillaz were good, but they played a lot of songs off their new album.  That wasn’t the best move they’ve ever done. But when they played ‘It’s dare’, ‘Sunshine in a Bag’, and ‘Feel Good Inc’ the crowd went crazy because they’re the ones everyone knows. At the end of the set Damon Albarn introduced Snoop dog who sang ‘Clint Eastwood’ – that really saved them.

Later this evening I met up with another friend who was at Glasto too and we went over to Shangri-La. It was just crazy!  There was a massive like claw thing in the middle where the DJ’s played, and off of the top of the lanterns surrounding the claw they kept flame-throwing. The heat was immense! =) I liked here A LOT.

Day 4 – Saturday 26th June 2010.

Saturday – OK so we are beginning to feel quite tired now.  We woke up really quite late today.  By hanging out of the tent we managed to sleep until about 9. That’s a lay in if you’re camping!

We started the day off by watching Two Door Cinema Club again by our tent as were getting ready and then we walked round to see Lightning Seeds.  We wasn’t really sure who they were but after watching them on the Pyramid Stage we decided they were quite good =)

I suppose I should mention the toilets…to be honest, they really weren’t as bad as people make out. It was my first time at Glastonbury and the thing I was dreading most was using the toilets.  But they had people cleaning them all the time with these massive poo suckers being pulled along by tractors constantly clearing them.

My friend Beth’s back was now really burnt but we managed to find some factor 30 so began slapping that on!

We saw Imogen Heap, Kate Nash, Chiddy Bang, Tinie Tempah, Foals, The XX, Jamie T and the encore of Muse, then we went over to Shangri-La again so that Beth could see what I was on about.

Jamie T was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! I couldn’t actually speak about my excitement of seeing him he really does put on a good performance!

And while we were watching Foals, the lead singer jumped into the crowd and landed on our heads! I personally thought he had climbed up the scaffolding that held the tent up to throw his drumsticks…but no, he launched himself into the crowd!! Hahaha was so funny!
Muse were good. I’m not a massive fan of Muse but we saw their encore and they must have played all the songs I knew then.  I really don’t know that many, they would have been a good band to see the whole act, really got the crowd going crazy.

Day 5 – Sunday 27th June 2010.

The last day of an amazing weekend!

We woke up and packed all our bags and put the tent down, then took them along to the lock up where I had previously put my car keys so I didn’t loose them.

I have liked Paloma Faith’s songs for ages that have come out, but I didn’t realise it was her who sung them! Luckily for me we went for a walk and saw her playing on the Pyramid Stage while eating a massive pot of ice cream from the frozen yoghurt stall.  Next on was Norah Jones so we stayed to watch her too.

Being the last day we thought about what time we were going to leave and the best way to avoid traffic leaving Glasto.  I think the fact that we parked in the furthest car park away from where we camped helped because by the time we had walked to the lock up, got our belongings and trekked for about an hour to the car park the traffic really wasn’t that bad…happy days =)

Before leaving we also saw We Are Scientists, Temper Trap and MGMT – the singer was so cool! He had all the VIP people dancing on the stage and for some reason was throwing oranges out into the crowd =/

We then saw Faithless and Stevie Wonder. The singer in Faithless has got one the most amazing body’s ever and he looked pretty old!

Stevie Wonder aawwwwww… everyone liked Stevie Wonder! He was so funny making little jokes at different things. He also said what he was thinking too, wasn’t afraid to hold back.  If he wanted to comment about something happening around the world, then it didn’t matter how controversial it was! It was quite overwhelming just being part of that crowd watching him.

Lastly, we went back to The Queen’s Head Tent where it all started with our first band: My Luminaries, to watch Dan Le Sac.

About 1.30am we got back to the car to start our three hour journey home.

I would just like to say GLASTONBURY I LOVE YOU AND CANNOT WAIT TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR IN 2011!! THANKYOU FOR GIVING ME ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING WEEKENDS EVERRR!!!!!!!!! =D

Nichola Woolmer – No longer a Glastonbury virgin!

Kaiser Chiefs & other artists are supporting Water Aid @ Glastonbury

Musicians at this year’s 40th Glastonbury Festival are rallying behind charity WaterAid’s Don’t Let It Drop campaign to send a message to world leaders ahead of an important UN summit on global poverty this September.

The campaign calls on leaders not to let their promises on safe water and sanitation drop and is supported by Michael and Emily Eavis, Faithless, Corinne Bailey Rae, Kate Nash, The Cribs, Foals,  Joshua Radin, Ricky Wilson and Nick Hodgson from the Kaiser Chiefs, Salif Keita, Emmanuel Jal, The Duke Spirit, Goldie, Amadou and Mariam and Biffy Clyro.

WaterAid is one of the festival’s official charities and the artists appear in a campaign film which will be online and screened at Glastonbury on big screens above the Pyramid and the Other Stage over the festival weekend.

Each artist wears a temporary WaterAid tattoo and pledges not to let the issue drop. Festival goers and people at home are encouraged to add their voice to the campaign by signing the WaterAid petition and wearing the specially designed tattoo which will be available at Glastonbury.

WaterAid is holding world leaders to the promises they made ten years ago when they first came together at the UN to agree the Millennium Development Goals, a set of targets to tackle world poverty by 2015. There are just five years to go and targets in Sub-Saharan Africa for water continue to fall behind, but most shockingly the aim of halving the proportion of the world’s population without adequate sanitation is almost 200 years behind target.

Michael and Emily Eavis said:

“We hope everyone at Glastonbury and everyone watching at home signs up to the Don’t let it Drop campaign. Water and sanitation are vital in getting people out of poverty and we all need to put our voice behind this message to world leaders.”

According to Sister Bliss of Faithless,

”These promises have to be followed through with actions. Sanitation and water are so precious, we’re so lucky to have them in this country. Imagine for one minute what it’s like not to have sanitation or access to clean water where you live, to do all the things you need to do. It’s beyond my ken how we can allow this situation to happen.”

WaterAid will be providing Glastonbury goers with new composting toilets in the King’s Meadow, the famous women’s urinal (the she-pees), as well as handing out water at the WaterAid stand by the Pyramid Stage. The ever popular giant poo and toilet costumes will also be making their annual appearances at the festival.

WaterAid has been an official charity of Glastonbury since 1994 and over this time the festival has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for clean water and sanitation projects for some of the world’s poorest communities. In 2006 Michael and Emily Eavis visited WaterAid’s work in Mozambique to see first hand the difference that donations from the festival make.

Anyone wanting to sign up to the Don’t Let It Drop campaign and view the film can do so at www.wateraid.org/glasto.

Fanfarlo - Photo Eva Vermandel

Fresh from sold out London shows at ULU, rapturously received performances at this years SxSW festival and a support slot on Mumford & Sons UK tour, Fanfarlo have announced the release of their top new single Fire Escape.

Taken from their debut album Reservoir and released through Atlantic Records on Monday July 12th 2010 – Fire Escape will feature some radical reworkings by Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio), Tom Furse (The Horrors), Toro Y Moi and The Time & Space Machine (Richard Norris), as well as a new single mix from Tom Elmhirst (Amy Winehouse, Jonsi).

The dramatic video for Fire Escape is directed by Jamie Thraves, who has previously worked with Radiohead and Coldplay.

Two different endings have been shot, one ‘happy’ the other ‘unhappy’, although, concerning suicide, cults and human vulnerability, both could be seen as thoughtful ruminations on staring into the abyss.

Here you can see the happy ending video version of Fire Escape by Fanfarlo.

The band are expected to confirm a very small London show to coincide with the single release, although no details are yet available. Fanfarlo will also announce the dates of an Autumn UK headline tour in the near future.

Meanwhile you can catch Fanfarlo live at the following venues:

JUNE25th                Pilton              Glastonbury Festival (Queen’s Head stage)

JULY1st                   London          Serpentine Sessions (w Laura Marling)

SEPT16                    London          Campfire Trails at Troxy (w. Wild Beasts)

Fanfarlo also have an exclusive brand new song, Atlas, featured on the Twilight:Eclipse OST which is out now.

Their track The Walls Are Coming Down is currently being used in a high-profile Canon Powershot camera ad. across the UK and Europe

Glastonbury will play host to possibly the biggest of the summer festivals from Wednesday 24th  – Sunday 28th June. The last of the tickets went on sale  yesterday, and like many of this years festivals, all tickets have now been sold.

The full line-up is still to be confirmed.  And even though many artists are officially stating they will be performing, the only “official” Glastonbury list of artists, so far is Lily Allen, Fleet Foxes, Neil Young, Blur, Bruce Springsteen, Emiliana Torrini, Doves, Franz Ferdinand, The Ting Tings, Echo And The Bunnymen, White Lies and Florence And The Machine.

T in the Park will be held over the weekend of Friday 10th – Sunday 12th July at the Balado Airfield in Kinross-Shire. The Main Stage will play host the headline acts: Kings Of Leon (Friday), The Killers (Saturday) and Snow Patrol & Blur (Sunday). While the Radio One/NME Stage will be headlined by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Friday), Nine Inch Nails (Saturday) and Keane (Sunday).

Other acts already confirmed to play the various stages and tents include Razorlight, Pet Shop Boys, Elbow, Franz Ferdinand, The Specials, James, Bloc Party, Jane’s Addiction, Paolo Nutini, Florence & The Machine, Ladyhawke, The Script, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lily Allen, Manic Street Preachers, Ting Tings, Katy Perry, Maximo Park, Pendulum, Seasick Steve, James Morrison, Peter Doherty, White Lies and Squeeze.

The most exciting of all the live summer festival line-ups, as far as I’m concerned, will at Reading and Leeds.

Reading Festival
Friday 28th August
Kings Of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, Funeral For A Friend, Jamie T, Friendly Fires, Florence & The Machine and more.

Saturday 29th August
Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Ian Brown, Gossip, Glasvegas, White Lies & more.

Sunday 30th August
Radiohead, Bloc Party, Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs, Vampire Weekend and more.

Leeds Festival
Friday 28th August
Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Ian Brown, Gossip, Glasvegas, White Lies & more.

Saturday 29th August
Radiohead, Bloc Party, Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs, Vampire Weekend and more.

Sunday 30th August
Kings Of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones, Funeral For A Friend, Jamie T, Friendly Fires, Florence & The Machine and more.

V Festival takes place at two separate locations and takes place on 22 & 23 August. Tickets to V Festival Hylands Park, Chelmsford have already sold out and there are only a few remaining tickets for Weston Park, Staffordshire, too.

The following acts will play Hylands Park, Chelmsford on Saturday 22nd August & Weston Park, Staffordshire on Sunday 23rd August:

The Killers, Razorlight, The Specials, Lily Allen, The Script, Fatboy Slim, Pendulum, The Ting Tings, The Wombats, Happy Mondays, Pete Doherty and much more.

The following acts will play Weston Park, Staffordshire on Saturday 22nd August & Hylands Park, Chelmsford on Sunday 23rd August:

Oasis, Snow Patrol, Elbow, James, Biffy Clyro, James Morrison, Ocean Colour Scene, Keane, The Enemy, Paulo Nutini, Katy Perry, Dizzee Rascal, MGMT, Lady Gaga, The Streets and many more.

Isle of Wight festival will include The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Pendulum, and The Ting Tings on Friday 12th June.

On Saturday 13th June, Stereophonics, Razorlight, Maximo Park, White Lies, The View, Paulo Nutini, The Zombies and more.

On Sunday 14th June, it’s retro night with headline perfomances from Neil Young, The Pixies and Simple Minds.

I wonder, then, how many lucky ticket holders are going to be excited by the three main headliners: Blur, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young.

Michal Eavis, the Glastonbury milk farmer and festival founder has commented that every year people ask him when Neil Young is going to play Glastonbury, so he thinks this will be a special moment for many festival-goers.

Fellow farmer and bass player, Alex James and the rest of Blur are reforming for a big bash at Glastonbury, which is sure to be an exciting occasion for everyone watching.  And Bruce Springsteen is sure to pull out all the stops in attempting to live up to last year’s amazing Saturday night headline performance from the American rapper Jay-Z.

Poor ticket sales were partly blamed on last year’s headline acts Kings Of Leon, The Verve and Jay-Z.  Noel Gallagher joined in the debate, slagging off the Glastonbury promoters for making a rap artist a headline act at what he described as a ‘rock festival’. The outburst was unwarranted, uncalled for, and totally backfired when

Jay-Z delivered one of the most exciting, exuberant and colourful Glastonbury performances of all –time.

Starting his show with a pre-recorded introduction including samples of Noel Gallagher’s rant, Jay-Z walked on stage strumming a ‘rock festival’ guitar as he began singing the Oasis song, Wonderwall; absolutely sublime.

And if that wasn’t enough, after addressing the crowd, started his set proper with the awesome 99 Problems (but my bitch ain’t one!)

I wonder if Noel Gallagher was watching at home; and whether he phoned Jay-z the next morning to congratulate him on a top show and say sorry.

Apart from the three main headline acts, no other artists have been “officially” announced for Glastonbury 2009, but rumours and self-confirmations are a-plenty.

Echo & The Bunnymen have announce that they will be headlining the ‘John Peel Stage’ performing their fourth album Ocean Rain in its entirety. I find it surprising that they are not going to play a set of greatest hits.

And following the release of their forthcoming album, Kingdom Of Rust (due for release on 6h April) the very wonderful Doves have confirmed they will be playing this year’s festival, too.

Other artists happy to confirm they will be appearing include the lovely Lily Allen, the infectious Florence and The Machine,  and bizarrely enough according to their official website Crosby, Stills & Nash are set to perform at Glastonbury on Saturday 27th.

So, will there be a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reunion at Glastonbury Festival 2009 following Neil Young’s headline performance on the Friday?

I for one am looking forward to another English summer weekend of mud, rain and great live music.