at Turnpost Farm, Wymeswold, Leicestershire
Reviewed by Imogen Cresswell and Kevin Gaughan
Glastonbudget 2022 review Thursday
Glastonbudget 2022 review Friday
Glastonbudget 2022 review Saturday
This year’s Glastonbudget was blessed with good festival weather – not too hot and not too wet, it felt as though it was fairly well attended and presented us with a strong, killer lineup.
There was no Glastonbudget in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, so I was expecting some pent-up demand for this year’s festival, however, I don’t think that was the case.
The local music scene, at least in Leicester, is suffering from no-shows where people buy tickets then don’t turn up, often because a lot of gigs have been rescheduled due to lock-downs but also because some gig-goers are afraid of contracting COVID-19 at a gig. This might have been the case with Glastonbudget as some of the stages felt a little less populated this year.
This festival is great for young bands who would like more exposure to an audience who wouldn’t normally turn up to their gigs. It works by having large, crowd-pulling tribute bands playing on the bigger stages, like Oasish, Mercury and Guns 2 Roses, for which people pay to see, and while they’re there, they catch an original band whose sound they also like, hopefully, and leave having broadened their musical horizons.
Pretty much all tastes were catered for including rock and metal, hip hop, acoustic, ska, folk, rap, prog. rock and pretty much any other genre you’d care to mention.
Each year, between ten and fourteen thousand people attend, so it can be a huge opportunity for smaller bands, especially if they use the opportunity wisely.
Glastonbudget is always very well organised, with plenty of very cheery and helpful staff manning all the gates as well as patrolling the crowd for their own safety.
The sound and lighting of all five stages was excellent, each performance felt like they were performing their own hand-crafted gig with custom lighting and sound set up to match. Even the toilets were, actually, not bad. Over the years, all festivals have got much better at providing clean loos, so that is no longer a reason for staying away!
In this year’s Glastonbudget, as it was being held over The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, there was a record-breaking attempt at the most people wearing a paper crown in any one place at one time. This was held on the Friday and at the time of writing the Glastonbudget crowd beat the previous record and the figures are being considered by the Guinness Book of Records.
Pleased to say, the real ale marquee was loaded full of my favourites as well as pretty much anything else you’d like to quaff. Also, the food moved with the trend and had some veggie and vegan options, along with the meat eaters’ staples.
It did rain a bit on the Saturday, however, those watching bands in the marquees didn’t even notice, it was only a problem at the small icon stage and the main stage, as these were the only outdoor stages.
Glastonbudget is also very child friendly, with dodgems and fairground rides.
Even the auditions themselves are well organised and attended gigs. If you type ‘GLASTONBUDGET’ in our search box at the top right of this page, you will see lots of our reviews of the auditions.
BRING ON GLASTONBUDGET 2023!
Click here to see our reviewer’s vlog as he does Glastonbudget by caravan!
Click here for Glastonbudget’s Facebook page.
Glastonbudget 2022 review Thursday
Glastonbudget 2022 review Friday
Glastonbudget 2022 review Saturday
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