Glasto 2013

This year’s Glastonbury Festival has been and gone, with lucky ticket-holders currently nursing a hangover and come-down of mammoth proportions (including us!). Evidently, Glastonbury was at its best, and, bar one day of atypical Glasto-rain, the 5-day long festival was filled with sun, music, arts, and almost every kind of contemporary entertainment one could think of.

Mixed in with a ‘we-don’t-give-a-fuck-but-we’re-still-nice’ crowd, the 43 year-old festival showed the little-league players of the likes of V, Leeds and Reading that THIS was how to put on a soiree. Secret sets filled the musical weekend, with the likes of Alt-J and Beady Eye doing their thing for indie (with Liam even serenading the audience with some crowd-pleasing Oasis), whilst Fatboy Slim took secret sessions to another level; tweeting almost an hour prior with time and location of his presence. Not once, mind – but a mammoth 6 shows!

Even those who weren’t lucky enough to buy tickets could have escaped the press this year regarding the Saturday headliner. Legendary ageing rockers The Rolling Stones, whose first-ever appearance headlining the infamous Pyramid Stage, pulled in audiences of well over 100,000 revellers, whilst on the Other Stage, Chase and Status did their thing for the dance nuts out there.

Friday night similarly lead the way for music fans, with The Arctic Monkeys finally earning the coveted place on the Pyramid, whilst West Holts was treated to a funk-filled party thanks to Nile Rodgers and his Chic band. Pumping out classic upon classic upon classic, even bringing 100+ audience members onstage during the close, all that was missing to send us back to the actual 70s was some disco balls, roller girls and some Studio 54 signage.

For the more commercial folk out there, entertainment was provided by Rita Ora, taking to the Pyramid Stage like an artist more polished than her years, whilst Dizzee Rascal followed, dropping some classic Boy In Da Corner cuts along with his most recent crowd-thumping anthems.

We’re not going to review every single act that appeared there as a) you’re probably more inclined to want to read it from a more qualified source, or b) you’ve already read everything about it anyway, but regardless the full five days truly were a spectacle. As someone who 3-weeks prior announced he would throw the towel onto The Rolling Stones in favour of Chase & Status, I’m happy I stuck around to witness Jagger and co at their best… The Stones were a world-class act and whilst the spirit of Glastonbury never has been around one act solely, everyone’s ear-to-ear grins told a succinct story – polished, first class, and world class. This will go down as one of the greatest gigs in history.

Check out our own videos of the extravaganza below: