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And Finally Artist News Business News Gigs & Festivals Live Business
Festivals don’t stand for anything anymore, complains Alex James
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 2 September 2013
Occasional Blur man Alex James has said that festivals are now too many, too safe and too without purpose.
James told The Daily Star: “When Blur started there were only two festivals – Glastonbury and Reading. They were part of a threatening counter-culture, and my mum looked really concerned when I first told her Blur were playing at Glastonbury. But now festivals are the acceptable face of gap year culture. There are too many of them, and a lot of them don’t stand for anything”.
He made the claims in the run up to Jamie Oliver’s Big Feastival, which the Blur bassist hosts on his farm. But before you say he’s just called himself out, stop there! Because you are wrong. You see, his festival doesn’t fall into the ‘safe and pointless’ category.
“Music, food and family are the things I care most about, and that’s what The Big Feastival stands for”, he said. “Despite having Basement Jaxx and massive chefs I guarantee the biggest thing will be the giant haystack we have for the kids to play in. You can’t really advertise a giant haystack on the festival posters but all the kids pile into it. I lost three of mine in it for the whole weekend last year”.
See? DANGEROUS and PURPOSEFUL. As this classic picture from the raucous 2011 edition of the event will attest.
