Festivals you may not know
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Never knew this thread existed ! Chances are none of ye know this festival exists either, and it's not really in the same vein as the others mentioned above … but it's a damn good festival all the same, and dirt cheap if you can get to it:
It takes place in the centre of France, in the grounds of a non-descript château close to the town of La Châtre. It'd fall under the heading "world music" but that's only part of it. The day event includes a huge instrument-makers' fair where you can try-before-you-buy (or not buy) all kinds of acoustic instruments ; then listen to them played properly under every tree in the park.
Unless you know the groups on the main stage, I recommend first-timers to stick with the day pass (8€) which gives access to everything except the main-stage concerts - so about twenty acts in total, per day (till 4am); entry to the campsite/field is an extra 5€ pp (flat rate, regardless of whether you stay 1 night or 6)
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This was a superb festival..
Just some of the bands above (full line-up here).
Met some lovely very genuine people, great food options, had VIP access which wasn't much more than general and had access to own VIP bar and viewing platform etc.
Heard so much great music - including Dublin's own Meryl Streek, Spanish Loves Songs, Grandson, Hot Milk, The Gaslight Anthem, Manchester Orchestra, Frank Turner (3 times over 1 day! 😀), Turnover, Don Broco etc.
Capacity of 15000 people, no hassle, security having to deal with some proper moshing at time were absolutely sound-out, blessed with weather, very clean throughout (loads of toilets etc).
Gonna wait for a few band announcements first but like to go next year. The only thing stopping me would be a Glasto ticket - as Glastonbury, this and ATN in a month would be a tough ask!
EDIT: Oh, Meryl Streek is fantastic if you've never heard him.. go for it..
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Got a late flight out of Dublin on Wednesday evening to Bristol, stayed in Ibis Bristol-Temple-Meads on Wednesday night, train from Bristol to Cheltenham Spa on Thursday at 11am. They've shuttle buses running from Cheltenham Spa on-site every 15 minutes.. always one there basically.
Ended up coming back via Birmingham airport (worst.. airport.. EVER!) to Knock yesterday afternoon. Was a long day of travelling.
Slowly recovering!
If I was going again, I think I'd stay in Bristol the night after the festival too - just to break up travelling with a shower, good sleep and meal.
In saying that, missus booked a Vintents for us on-site which was pre-erected tent, memory foam mattress, pillows, duvet etc. So I did sleep remarkably well.. for a festival anyways.
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A quick follow-up to that previous message. Le Son Continu all over and done for 2024, another very successful edition despite temperamental weather (by French standards!). To give an idea of the kind of public we cater to, here's a picture from Monday evening of the vacated 3000-person festival campsite before the clean-up team moved in. :-)
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Going to London next weekend for 2 days at All Points East (Friday and Sunday).. not been to it before, so looking forward to it!
Cracking lineups for both days - got Death Cab / Postal Service tickets last year as a gift, but Uber now offering cheap tickets for all days, so got 3 tickets for LCD Soundsystem day for £130.
Only issue I'm hearing is due to being the middle of London, the sound level can a bit limited as a result.
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Right, Green Man.
Location: Near Crickhowell,, Wales.
Capacity: 25,000.
Travel: I flew to Bristol, 120 return. National express coach from Bristol to site 17 quid each way. Left Dublin the Thursday, 7 o clock flight, on site at 11.20.
Accommodation: I stayed in Tangerine fields, 95 quid for the weekend a bit extra if you want a mattress/sleeping bag.
Image20240818_190454.jpgUploaded 1:28 pm2.91 MBDelete
No bells and whistles but lovely, clean campsite, decent showers, quiet, clean,2 mins from main arena.
General looked incredibly calm, plenty of room, zero litter.
Site: absolutely gorgeous. I mean stunning. In a valley, banked on either side by wooded hills. The scenery is with you wherever you are on the site. Lush greenery everywhere, babbling brooks, lots of trees, abundant places to loll around in the sun. Loads of space.
4 primary stages, Main, Far Away tent, their Electric Arena equivalent, Walled Garden for the slightly smaller acts and the beautiful Rising stage for the up and comers. 5 or 6 minute walk max from one stage to any other.
Chai Wallahs tent hosted the Trailer Park type acts, funk, soul, ska, reggae type acts plus djs. Round the Twist another tent for short pop up sets and late night shenanigans.
Booze: lots of bar serving your standard Green Man beers, a very nice pale ale, an IPA, a Lager, a couple of ciders. Then there was the Courtyard Bar, like a mini beer festival, maybe 45 taps, independent brewers, all sorts, ales, ciders, stouts etc.
Bars only close when their adjacent stage does, which means some are going till 4 in the morning.
Food: delish. Loads of tasty options and I loved that they were spread all over the site, so no mass accumulation of people or litter at any time. Queues at time of course but nothing major.
Crowd: Bang on. Not for the ravers, defo an older, middle class crowd but I had tonnes of lovely interactions, with staff, punters and loads of musicians wombling round the site. Delighted to bump into @FishFingers and his crew on Thursday and regularly after that. They dispensed witty banter, hugs and copious amounts of yellow spot to anyone in a 20 yard radius. Lovely bunch.
Music: Oh the music! Just a perfect mix for me, every type of gig and atmosphere imaginable Big Thief in front of packed Arena Saturday night, JAMC, Lambrini Girls, Metz lashing into it in the tent, Muireann Bradley charming the bejaysus out of the main arena in the sun yesterday lunchtime, kids like Slate, Humane the Moon or TTSSFU rocking the Rising stage and absolutely loving it. I finished off last night with a run of Blonde Redhead (my gig of the weekend), a mental Mary Wallopers and Big Special razing the Rising Stage to the ground.
48 full or partial sets for me and every one of them gave me something cool.
Tldr, best festival experience of my life, I think. I'll be back.
Post edited by Stillill42 on13 -
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