Glastonbury Festival

Pavement Stage Glastonbury

I first went to Glastonbury Festival in 1985 when I was just seventeen, it blew my mind then and has done every time I have attended since. The festival has a capacity of 210,000 and sells out the moment the tickets are released. In my time there I have seen some truly iconic bands and stars David Bowie, REM and Lou Reed are just three that immediately spring to mind, but there have been so many more, this year I watched Alanis Morissette, Noah Kahan and Neil Young on the Pyramid Stage, and they were all excellent!

But the main stages are just a small part of the attraction. Glastonbury has several very different areas all with very different vibes and there are literally hundreds of stages spread out throughout the festival. I perform in the Theatre and Circus fields.

The photograph above is actually from 2024 and was the inaugural show on the revamped and all new Pavement Stage, which I had the honour of doing the very first show on! As you may have spotted, the backdrop looks very similar to Covent Garden. I really like the Pavement Stage and my Wednesday show there is always fun and very well attended, it is situated on the very edge of the Theatre and Circus fields and is pretty much in the central marketplace which gives it a very streety feeling, hence the backdrop. This is the one stage all my street performing colleagues want to play on, and for that reason we only get one or two shows on it during the festival, even though it opens on Wednesday, which is when the General public are allowed to enter the festival. Thursday's are Theatre and Circus busiest day, and this year there were so many people in the area they had to temporarily stop people from entering. I had two shows on that day and they were great fun!

As well as the actual stage performances in the Theatre and Circus fields, there are also a whole bunch of walkabout acts many of which are truly surreal in their nature, there are flocks of seagulls (one of these actually stole one of my brother's chips), bee's, parking attendants, and even a couple of unlikely mountaineers. My friend Kwabana Lindsay walks across the little river every night on his slack rope next to Bella's bridge, Dick Pulsing (Matt Barnard) wakes you up every morning with a giant game of Twister, there are amazing performances in the Circus big top, top stand up comics play in the Cabaret tent, there is weirdness and fun on the Sensation Seekers Stage and opening up well after midnight Mavericks has vaudevillian style entertainment (Hosted on Friday by another friend Pete Anderson). I could go on and on and on!

For me, it is also now a family affair and this year I was joined by two of my daughters Poppy and Emily as well as my brother Tom. Below is a picture of the four of us about to watch Alanis Morissette.

Me, Emily, Poppy and Tom

Although we are all together in the picture, we do not stay connected at the hip, indeed far from it. With such a diverse range of music, crafts and art, everybody wants to do their own thing. I love the Circus fields and the Glade where I listen to old school techno and Drum and Bass, Tom loves the field of Avalon which tends to have a bit of Ska and Punk, Emily is a fan of the Other Stage which has a lot of Metal and Poppy who likes to dance enjoys Shangri La and Block 9. I pretty sure we all enjoy the Healing and Green Fields too. And this year Tom did particularly well playing pinball on the Pier at Glastonbury on Sea, he thrashed me!

My last show of the festival was on Sunday evening on the Outdoor Circus Stage, compèred by my friend Gareth Jones, it was a blast and great way to finish. I have compèred this stage myself in the past when Gareth had to have a year off, it's fun but actually quite hard work, the other compère is my friend Paddy Bramwells who has been filling that role for well over 30 years!

I must also make a special mention of Haggis Mcleod who was a big influence when I first started juggling with his partner Charley Dancey, I think the two of them are responsible for a generation of jugglers, so thank you. Haggis is now in charge of Theatre and Circus and does the booking. And also a massive thank you to Jetske Hooykaas who does all the organizing is just a super nice person.

My friend Billy Kidd (she is a magician, see magic and shenanigans) and me always drive in and out of the festival together in a van with a couple of our guests and I thought you readers would enjoy this picture of Billy and Poppy in the back of the van on our way out!

Billy and Poppy

In conclusion, Glastonbury Festival is the best fun you can ever possibly have, and I am proud to be a part of it. May the festival run forever!

Here is a link to the festival website https://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/ enjoy.