All too often, articles about Glastonbury are either sneerily dismissive or blindly defensive - which is why this Observer piece by Luke Turner of the Quietus stands out from the crowd.
Turner recognises that Glastonbury remains a unique event that retains connections to its leftfield, political roots. He also points out that armchair pundits who've never set foot on Worthy Farm get a very warped perspective on the festival. Realistically, the BBC can only cover a fraction of what goes on away from the main stages, where much of the most interesting artists are to be found. In reality, non-musical forms of entertainment are everywhere, and "tend not to feel awkwardly bolted on": "Glastonbury is a far cry from the sort of contemporary high-end boutique festivals at which a few bands of faded glory appear to have been booked as musical wallpaper for yoga classes and lessons in how to use Le Creuset."
But equally Turner isn't so naive as to suggest that Glastonbury hasn't changed with the times. As I said myself earlier this week, you can't ignore the fact that it's not what it once was, for better or for worse, and Turner is right to suggest that the creeping corporatisation of the festival is becoming increasingly problematic with respect to its founding principles.
In some ways, it feels as though the festival is approaching - or indeed is already at - a crossroads. The direction of travel has been unilinear for years, but hopefully it doesn't continue down that same route for too much longer.
If Turner is wrong about one thing, you can't really blame him. In describing Glastonbury as "a microcosm of Britain in 2025" "apart from the absence of Nigel Farage", how was he to know that the Reform leader would wind up having a vocal supporter on the Pyramid Stage? I'm glad there's no problem platforming Rod Stewart's views, when Kneecap and Bob Vylan are both effectively being censored...
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