Three first times, and why we keep going back.

0:02Miguel Hello and welcome to GlastoCast, the unofficial Glastonbury Festival podcast, and it's our very first episode. Can we do a celebratory cheer in the studio?

0:18Jessi Woo!

0:19Miguel Yeah, I'm gonna call it studio. They cannot see it, so that's what it's gonna be.

0:23Jessi It's a studio.

0:23Miguel It's a studio. So yeah, well, let's meet our hosts. I'm Miguel, I run the Glasto360 account. I put post some photospheres taken at the festival. You can look around and really immerse yourself, feel some of that Glastonbury vibe. And I'm also joined by Jessi. How are you, Jessi?

0:41Jessi Yeah, I'm really good, thanks. Yeah.

0:42Miguel And you also on Twitter?

0:44Jessi Yeah, yeah, I'm on Twitter. Um, so I run a festival blog called Where's My Tent, uh, so my Twitter would be @wheresmytent. Um, and yeah, it's, it's something I love to do. I pretty much every summer go to 10, possibly more festivals, um, but Glastonbury will always have my heart. It's always my number one.

1:00Miguel You know, first time I found out about your blog, I thought the name was a reference to the fact that people actually get lost at festivals. But then I realized it can also mean that where is your tent right now because you attend so many festivals.

1:11Jessi Ah, so like, where's my tent this weekend? Where's my tent this weekend?

1:15Miguel Yeah, yeah.

1:15Jessi Which festival was I at?

1:16Miguel I'm not sure if the double meaning was intended.

1:18Jessi No, you know what, I never thought of it that way. I was just thinking of the classic walking home and going, oh wait, which one's mine again?

1:25Miguel Yeah, which is also fun.

1:25Jessi Yeah, that makes sense.

1:26Miguel All right, cool. Ray, we also have Rob here. How are you, Rob?

1:30Jessi I'm very well, thanks.

1:30Rob Really pleased to be here.

1:33Miguel And who are you on Twitter?

1:34Rob Oh, on Twitter. So I'm— I run under the Twitter @AllThingsGlasto. It's a page I set up a number of years ago when unfortunately I wasn't able to get a ticket one year. So I have been there. But yeah, I set it up to allow me to kind of enjoy the festival because I love it so much and it was really, really tough not being there. So yeah, it started a few years ago and it's really gathering some pace now.

1:57Miguel So All Things Glasto, can you live up to that name?

2:00Rob Well, I'll certainly try my very best. Hopefully I'm getting there.

2:06Miguel Well, we hope so too, because we started the podcast now. There's no going back.

2:10Jessi Excellent.

2:11Miguel Yeah. We're doing this, we're starting a podcast, and this is our first episode.

2:14Rob Yeah.

2:14Miguel And that's exactly what we're talking about today, that first time.

2:17Rob Absolutely. I mean, I'm quite excited for our first GlastoCast. I mean, I've never done anything like this before, so I'm nervous. I'm excited already.

2:25Miguel I'm nervous but exciting nervous. Exactly.

2:27Jessi Exactly.

2:27Rob The kind of feelings people can probably expect from their first Glastonbury.

2:30Miguel Yes, I see there's a meta-significance there.

2:34Jessi Yeah, that theme works well, you know, first podcast, first Glastonbury.

2:37Rob Absolutely.

2:38Miguel So stay with us to hear stories about a first Glastonbury experience, maybe learn what you can expect from yours, and this episode is really about the Glastonbury magic. So, so why GlastoCast? What are we trying to do here, Rob?

2:56Rob Well, I think, um, much like probably a lot of people out there, we love talking about Glastonbury, don't we? And we've got a lot of experience between the 3 of us, and we can spend hours talking, hours and hours about all the different things we love and what we know. And we figured, why don't we share that with people that, that don't know? Those, you know, people that are maybe going for their first, first time, maybe their second time, just looking for a few bits of extra information. And there's plenty of guys like us, uh, who have been there and learnt from it, and why not? Why not share it? Well, what do you find when you go with new people or you invite your friends? They look to you for, right, what do we do? You've been here before. You seem to know everything there is to know, which I'm not going to claim I do. I very much don't. But between the 3 of us, I think we can probably share quite a lot of good information and hopefully get people as excited as we are.

3:38Miguel So, so really this year was the first time I organized a large group of people for the sale back in October. Hello guys. And then you mentioned that people, maybe new people, look to you. So the podcast is really aimed to those who were lucky in October.

3:52Jessi So I just think podcasting is like a really great medium for this as well. So it's, you know, us getting in a room and having a chat and you can hear the excitement in our voice, you can hear our previous experiences, and it's just a nice way you can listen on your way to work, which is, I know, what I do with podcasts. Yeah, so you can sit and listen on your way to work with a big smile on your face and think about all the excitement that's going to come in June.

4:14Rob Jessi, I completely agree, and, and I think we've got a lot to offer. You know, we're new to this though, we're not podcasters, we're not broadcasters, but what we're going to do is we're going to enjoy talking about what we love, and that is Glastonbury.

4:24Miguel Yeah, so we really want to make a guide for people who were lucky in October and really share the knowledge on how to get ready for your first Glastonbury.

4:31Jessi Yeah, that's what our first few episodes, let's say, uh, season 1, will be. We're gonna put together a guide, um, you know, I've got my ticket, now what? What are the things you have to think about before you get there? What's arrivals like? Where would I maybe camp? What are the toilets like? All these questions that we all get asked by our friends all the time when they haven't been to Glastonbury. So we want to just make sure that you are prepared and just give you some information that you might not be able to find elsewhere.

4:57Miguel Yeah, Jessi just gave you a preview on what's, what's coming next.

5:00Jessi Season 1.

5:23Miguel Well, we certainly don't know everything about Glastonbury, but we do have some years of experience between us. Jessi, how did you get to Glastonbury?

5:31Jessi So my first Glastonbury was 2008, and I really wasn't even that bothered about going. I was more into my rock music, and the only thing that mattered to me was the lineup. And obviously Glastonbury, you don't normally find out about the lineup until a lot closer to the, to the time. So I had booked tickets to Reading and Download, and I was, you know, looking forward to those 2. And it was only that my mum suggested, oh, why don't you go to Glastonbury as well? Well, I know, of all things. And I wasn't really that bothered. I said, oh yeah, well, you know, it's another festival. I'm sure it'll be fine. Um, but I wasn't all that excited about it until I got there and saw just the sheer size of it. Just, it was on a complete nother level. It's not the same as anything else I'd ever been to before. And I knew within kind of 12 hours of being there that I would keep going until, well, until either I stopped or the festival stopped. I knew that this is, this was my home.

6:20Miguel And you've been to every edition since?

6:22Jessi Yes, I have been to every edition since.

6:24Miguel Lucky girl.

6:24Jessi I know, I know. I've been very lucky. Um, kind of obviously there's been a couple of festival— uh, sorry, fallow years in 2012 and 2018. Uh, yeah, but apart from that, so that means this year 2019 will be my 10th Glastonbury.

6:38Rob Wow.

6:38Jessi So I'm very excited about it.

6:40Miguel Well, I must ask, have you taken your mum yet?

6:42Jessi Have I taken my mum? Well, she should do it.

6:45Miguel She was the reason you got there in the first place.

6:46Jessi Oh yeah, there's absolutely no way my mum would go to Glastonbury.

6:50Miguel You don't want to change your blog name to Where's My Mum?

6:52Jessi Where's My Mum? Um, she, she likes to see all my pictures and she likes to watch it on the BBC and see if she can spot me, but no, I don't. Even if I got her the poshest glamping option, there is no way she would do it. Maybe for a day. Maybe I'll take her for a day.

7:07Miguel Nice. All right, good. Rob, what's your story?

7:10Rob Right. So my first Glastonbury was, this will show my age, way back in 2002. Yeah. And so if I can kind of set the scene, I remember quite specifically I was sat in the common room at school. I was in the sixth form and a group of, a group of guys were talking about going to Glastonbury. And, uh, I was listening in and they said, well, I sat with my friend and they're like, why don't you guys come? We've got this big group going. Why don't you join us? And we were like, oh, when is it? And then, oh, it's in June. So it's not, not even that far away. So, I mean, like, like you, Jessi, we left it really last minute and had no issue getting tickets. So.

7:42Jessi If only that was the case still.

7:44Rob Yeah, I know. Totally, totally different.

7:46Jessi Yeah.

7:47Rob Very, very different days. But so yeah, we got our tickets and, and off we went. And I say 2002 was the first year of the big wall.

7:53Miguel Yeah.

7:53Rob So it was the first year without the jumpers. And looking back, I think it must have been in the region of 30,000 jumpers had got in in the previous year, which meant that the license was granted quite late. But luckily it was granted and we went and it was, it was, it was huge. It was massive. We went on the coach, my friends and I, all of us. There was a big group of us, must have been maybe 12 of us. And we rocked up and just kind of thought, right, where do we go from here? And we said, right, we kind of looked at the map and thought, right, we want to, we want to camp Here. And other than that, we'd planned nothing. So off we went on our walk to the place where we decided to camp and kind of 40 minutes into the walk, we thought, have we made a mistake here? Surely we can't go any further than this. But, you know, eventually we kind of got over there and set up our camp in a little circle with all of us and just proceeded to have the best time.

8:46Jessi Whereabouts was that? I really want to know where you thought without having been to Glastonbury.

8:50Miguel Was it Cineramageddon?

8:51Rob Well, yeah, I mean, it was basically, I mean, we'd had a little chat and we kind of looked at where the stages were, and we, we thought, right, okay, we want to go, we want to be close but not too close, let's go here. Um, and then we got to the, got to the gates and asked, right, where are we? And they pointed and we're like, ah, okay, okay, that can't be too far. And then it's, it's huge, isn't it? So, um, yeah, we got set up and yeah, like I said, just went on to have the greatest week. Oh, it wasn't quite a week then, but the greatest time ever. Uh, and as I remember, as we were leaving, because we'd got the coach, we were all sat and we're like, right, we're coming next year, aren't we?

9:25Jessi Everyone was like, yep. Yeah.

9:25Rob Definitely, 100%. 100%, we will be here next year. That soon we'd already decided we were going again.

9:31Jessi That's the thing, your group just keeps growing and growing, I find. Like, when I first used to go to Glastonbury, I used to take 1 or 2 friends and I'd have to convince them, like, come on, like, it would be really good, come with me. And it's just every year it's got bigger and bigger, and now there's probably 35, 40 of us.

9:47Rob Wow, wow.

9:48Jessi I think— Like, it's a— it's difficult to try and all camp together, but we manage it. We've managed it so far anyway.

9:53Rob So I think I might have gone the other way.

9:54Jessi Really?

9:55Rob Yeah, my group's got much smaller and smaller. But the people that we see when we get there—

10:00Jessi It's just very selective.

10:00Rob Is getting bigger and bigger. Yeah.

10:02Miguel Oh, yeah, yeah.

10:02Rob Yeah.

10:03Miguel Well, for me, it's when I actually moved to UK in 2009 from Brazil. And then suddenly I just had access to this amazing music scene. So I spent the first year of my life in UK just going to every gig I could. Like, some music venues were my second home. But it was only 2010 I started looking into summer festivals. But because it was already late into summer, my first camping festival in UK was Sting in the Park.

10:25Jessi Oh, right.

10:26Miguel Up in Scotland. Up in Scotland, yeah. Yeah, so I went by myself with a 10-pound tent. Oh, this is not a joke. It was a 10-pound tent. I had to sleep diagonally to fit in.

10:37Rob Oh, wow.

10:38Miguel Uh, it was raining like crazy. It was windy, very windy, super muddy, and I freaking love it. I love it.

10:46Rob So anyway, quite the introduction.

10:47Jessi Exactly.

10:48Miguel Yeah, you thought I was gonna say the opposite. I, I— that was it. I loved it. And I— and then of course coming back, I start reading more into festivals, then you find out about Glastonbury and made my mission, well, I'm gonna go to Glastonbury in 2011. But then it comes to ticket sale, it was already nerve-wracking that time. I think it took 4 hours to sell out, but I was able to secure a ticket for myself and 2 friends. That was my first time then, and like yourselves, I realized I would always come back, and I've been back to every edition since.

11:15Jessi We've been very lucky, haven't we, really?

11:17Rob Yeah.

11:17Jessi Both me and you have been able to get tickets ever since the beginning.

11:20Rob Because Rob, you've been Well, yeah, I kind of flitted in and out. Um, like I said, my first festival was back in 2002. Tickets, no problem in 2003, apart from for one friend who, who seemed to just kind of wait and wait and wait. Uh, I vaguely remember because he ended up having to do his ticket through eBay, uh, which, which I think was the first time that had kind of started. And then he paid like enormously through the roof for his ticket.

11:45Jessi Because it was a sort of last minute, I'm gonna go.

11:47Rob Yeah, so it sold out. But then—

11:48Miguel But there was already photographs?

11:50Rob Well, no, not at this point, but because of, because of the year of the wall, had stopped people jumping in and they did try, but it was unsuccessful. So 2003, that was that first time where, right, no one's getting in over the wall. So if you want to get in, you need a ticket.

12:03Miguel Yeah.

12:03Rob So, I mean, it was no means ours or anything like that, but, you know, people who got in quickly got them. Uh, he, he just neglected to, to, to buy straight away and ended up buying on eBay. And then 2004 was the, was the first year that I didn't get a ticket. So, I mean, it was a sad story really. I, I, I I tried to get my ticket. I was unsuccessful. I actually at this point was trying over the phone, which I haven't done for many years, but back then that's how I used to do it. Um, so I was, I was really annoyed I hadn't got a ticket. So I went out and, uh, I bought something. I can't remember what, but you know, to make myself feel better. And then late afternoon I got a call back saying that, uh, there was a ticket available. Did I still want it?

12:44Miguel But I— Oh, call back?

12:44Rob I spent all the money.

12:45Miguel Call back?

12:47Rob Yeah. That's so funny. But I wasn't able to go, unfortunately. My friends My friends still did go without me, which I was most annoyed about, but they had a fantastic time. So I started going again in 2013 and—

12:59Jessi Good year, 2013.

12:59Rob It was fantastic. Honestly, it was a moment of, what have I been doing? Why haven't I been here? And I couldn't answer the question.

13:07Miguel And it was just after a fallow year.

13:08Rob Yeah, I just got out of the habit.

13:09Miguel It's always magical.

13:10Rob 2012 was a fallow year. Yeah, so no one was there in 2012, but 2013 was massive and it just made me realize I'd been a fool to not go, or at least to try and go. And from 2003 to 2013, the difference, I mean, I said 2003 was big, 2013 just blew that away. You know, I, it was almost like going to the festival again for the first time. It was so different. Uh, and I just, the first few days again, I just was wandering around in awe of everything I was seeing.

13:41Miguel Rob, you're making me shiver, man.

13:44Rob Well, you know, it's actually making me as well. Like I said, we, we're 3 people that love We love, love Glastonbury. We love talking about Glastonbury. It's all very real for us.

13:53Miguel I know since I've been the first time, I honestly plan my life around that week in June and I get— and I, I really get lost on fallow years.

14:01Rob What do I do now?

14:02Miguel What, what, what to wait for this year? There's nothing going on. There's no Glastonbury.

14:06Rob Yeah, last year was very strange. Very strange. I mean, the one thing that kind of got me through was, yes, 2018 was a fallow year, but October was still 2018. So I counted that as my little thing to look forward to for 2018. Yeah, absolutely.

14:19Miguel I mean, I feel, obviously, I feel filled my summer with other festivals.

14:23Jessi I had a very Glastonbury-shaped hole, um, but still, obviously I like to entertain myself with other ones. Here's a question for you both, actually. If you didn't get the time off work to go to Glastonbury— I know, I know I would quit my job. That is, that is the level of commitment.

14:38Miguel I'm quitting live right now.

14:40Jessi If I was in a job where I said to my boss, right, and you know, well in advance— I'm not saying I'm trying to book it off 2 weeks in advance— but if I said well in advance, I need this week off for Glastonbury, and they said absolutely not because we need you at this thing, then I would quit. I don't know about you.

14:56Rob Wow. Yeah, that's the answer. I'm, I'm not in a job where really I could just quit like that.

15:02Jessi Yeah, no, true.

15:03Rob Yeah, but having said that, I can bring my own spin to it. What we do, we have to pick our leave in September, right, for the fall next year. Okay, so I have to— if I choose to commit to the Glastonbury week, I have to do so before I've got a ticket. It can cause some risks. Um, I remember a couple of years ago, um, the, the year I had to get my ticket in the resale Actually, uh, a friend of mine had decided late on that, uh, actually, you talk about Glastonbury a lot, it sounds amazing. I think I'm gonna go. But the way it works is only one of us could be off, so it was kind of like, ah, oh no. So he booked the leave, I didn't. I got a ticket, he didn't. So we swapped. I took the gamble.

15:41Miguel He did a book of holiday in Malta instead and still took holidays. Absolutely.

15:45Rob And if you are listening, you, you know who you are. I'm sorry, but I had the best time.

15:50Miguel Uh, 2014, I couldn't get a ticket actually.

15:53Rob Why?

15:53Miguel Yeah, uh, and it was a year actually I was organizing 5 people to come with me. It was the— my group was really getting bigger. I convinced some really good friends to finally come after listening to me talking so much about Glastonbury. Okay, Miguel, we'll go with you. So come October, couldn't get a ticket. I was devastated.

16:08Rob Oh, did they get the ticket?

16:09Miguel No, no, because no one did. It was mainly me buying.

16:11Rob Okay, I was gonna say, any more than 6 in your group and your brain?

16:14Jessi Oh, I mean, as I said, I have a syndicate of maybe up to 80 people. So yeah, but you, you volunteered that year, right?

16:21Miguel That's the thing. Uh, so I was— I had really good friends of mine, uh, joining me that year. I couldn't get a ticket. I was devastated. They didn't bother much because they didn't been there yet at that time. Uh, however, I did tell all of them, I'm gonna, I'm gonna find a way. I'm— this is still happening, guys. I don't know about you. I don't care anymore, but actually, I'm gonna find a way of doing it.

16:40Rob You're my clan now.

16:40Miguel Yeah. And yeah, I managed to volunteer. I worked at the bars at The Glade. Glade Bars.

16:45Rob Excellent.

16:45Miguel And, and I end up going by myself, but of course I met— that year was fantastic. I met so many amazing people. I had a great time. And well, you have to do 3 8-hour shifts, but working at the bar is just so much fun. It's good fun. And you go out with people that were working with you. And when you do your night shift, you end like 2, 3 in the morning, and then you just go straight into the after hours.

17:07Rob Who was the, uh, who was the act that was on when you were working your night shift? Can you remember?

17:11Miguel I think it Was it Metallica? I think.

17:13Rob Oh, wow.

17:13Miguel Wasn't it? But I really want to see Arcade Fire that year. So I was off and I had a great Friday night. So yeah, 2014 still is one year I hold really close to my heart.

17:25Rob Do you know what? I gave my ticket up in 2014. Yeah, I was lucky I got a ticket, but I was talked into a holiday of a lifetime situation. And it was a case of looking back. I mean, it was a fantastic holiday, but the whole time I was away, I was thinking about it. I was thinking, ah, I bet they're having a great time at Glastonbury. I kind of wish I was there, which just kind of shows how great it is to be in another part of the world still thinking about what's going on in Glastonbury.

17:52Miguel Oh yeah.

17:53Jessi So I had, uh, 2 of my friends got married in 20— I think it was 2017, but they played a bit of a joke on me because they told me they were going to get married on Glastonbury weekend. They were like, I'm really sorry, but the venue— the only, the only time the venue had free was, you know, Saturday the 20-whatever of June. I can't remember what it was.

18:12Miguel And ex-friends now then.

18:13Jessi No, no, no, no, this is the thing. I was like, are you, are you You know how much this means to me. Are you joking? Uh, like I say, luckily they were planning to get married in Hampshire. So I, being the good friend that I am, was like, right, okay, so I can go to Glastonbury on the— on the Thursday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Saturday morning I'll get up, I'll drive, I'll go to the wedding, I'll have a shower somewhere. I started planning all these logistics of how I could do both.

18:36Rob Wow.

18:37Jessi Uh, and I almost got to the point where I was booking a train so I didn't have to drive. So I thought, I'll book a train there. And then they turned around and went, oh no, we were only joking. We knew it would wind you up. We're actually getting married in August. That's how much they knew it would wind me up, but they, they teased me anyway. I mean, that was, uh, yeah, one hell of a joke.

18:54Rob Yeah, for the record, everybody listening, don't make jokes about that.

18:58Miguel No, no, no, we take it very seriously.

19:00Jessi And if they were any further away than Hampshire, then, uh, you know, there's me saying I'm such a good friend. If they said they were getting married in Scotland, then I would have gone to Glastonbury and had to not go to their wedding. So just saying.

19:22Miguel Hey everyone, Miguel here. I thought I would take a break from editing our magnificent first episode— I hope you're enjoying it, by the way— to ask you, have you visited our website? Well, it's easy, glastocast.co.uk. Cast? Cost? Doesn't really matter, as long as you visit to find out links for subscribing to our podcast using your favorite app. And to find out more about the podcast. And for connecting with us on social media. When you do, say hello and answer our interactivities because we want you to be part of our upcoming episodes. And now back to myself in the studio. So isn't it great that we had such different starts but we love it all the same?

20:05Rob What—

20:05Miguel so my question is, what is it about Glastonbury? Why do we come back every year? Jessi, what do you think?

20:11Jessi Oh, uh, I say that's a tough one. It's not. It's more— it's a tough one to put into words. Um, for me, uh, I think, well, it comes down to a few things. Firstly, it's— you can make it whatever festival you want it to be. There is something for everyone, no matter your music taste. Say that they have 500+ stages, don't they? Because they have all these little tiny areas to explore. Um, Glastonbury is not about the headliners. Everybody talks about it so much. That's not why people go. And once you've been once, you'll realize that. But yeah, if you're, if you're, you know, really into your drum and bass, there's loads of different kind of electronic music areas. If you really love your indie, there's, you know, you've got John Peel. Um, there really is something for everybody. Or if you just love, like, if you're a foodie, then yeah, different foods to choose from. Or you can go and spend your weekend having a massage in the Green Fields and then, you know, making a— carving a wooden spoon. Whatever you want to do, there is something that you will find that you will love.

21:05Miguel Yeah, definitely, definitely. The size is what makes it. The size, exactly. You can, and, uh, yeah, you can experience— it's like so many festivals in one. Yeah, you can find your way of experiencing it, and you— and the more you go, you find different things.

21:17Rob Oh, absolutely. I couldn't agree more. It is a, it is a vast festival. It's very, very big. But it also, for me, is it's being part of something big in, in the, in the broader sense. You know, Glastonbury is world famous. People travel from all around the world to come to the festival. It's broadcast nationally on, on the BBC, internationally. You can listen to it online, on the radio. It's huge. So whilst you're It feels big while you're there, but to be part of something bigger as well, it feels really special.

21:44Miguel And not just that, I think the fact that it's pretty much everything is all mixed. You don't have the camping area separated from the stages for the arenas.

21:51Rob Yeah, that's really important.

21:52Miguel I think, Jessi, because you've been to so many different festivals, you can, you can say something what that makes it so— we changed the dynamic really of the festival, I think.

21:59Jessi Yeah, yeah, no, I mean, you feel like you're in amongst it. Uh, I, I've been to a few festivals where you have separate kind of campground and then a walk and then the arena, and you know, the camping is a separate part of it. You, you know, you It's almost like being in a hotel. Well, not quite, but you know, it feels separate to the— there's not stuff going on around you. You can't get out of your tent and look around and go, oh, uh, you know, what's going on in that tent over there? There's so much going on, and to feel in amongst and a part of it— and I mean, Glastonbury do a lot of work for that anyway, to make you feel, you know, that you love the farm, leave no trace, you know, that you're a part of something special for the weekend. But it's just not having that barrier between this is where you sleep and this is where you have fun.

22:36Miguel And I think that also means that it really never stops. So when first we had the camp and area separated, it means at moment, it sort of closed down when you go back to your camping. Glastonbury just keeps going.

22:48Jessi It's 24 hours a day.

22:49Rob It certainly does now. I mean, when I, like I said, going back to when we first started, I think back then a lot of the festival didn't exist. Certainly the southeast corner wasn't there from what I can remember. And actually in those first few years, there was actually time to sleep and not feel like you were missing out because now it is a 24-hour festival. There is always something going on. And for every amazing thing you see, there's hundreds of amazing things going on elsewhere.

23:17Jessi At the same time.

23:17Rob And you just can't possibly see everything at the same time. And I think that's what brings people back. You can go there year on year and have a completely different experience. The festival is massive, you know, and each and every time you have a different time, you know, that you can leave your everyday life at home and you can just embrace everything that the festival has to offer. It brings out all the different sides of your personality. And you do find, I mean, There's obviously big, big name headliners every year. They're not always to people's taste, but that gives you the opportunity to explore different types of music, maybe music you didn't really realize that you liked. You know, all of a sudden you're in somewhere like, I don't know, Croissant Neuf, a little tent that you have no idea who any of the people are maybe. And all of a sudden you get absorbed in that atmosphere and see one of the, one of your favorite performances of the weekend. You just never know what's going to happen.

24:06Jessi I think that's it. Like, you know, this will be my 10th year, but every single time I come home on the Monday and I might have had the best time— every, every time I'm on Monday going, God, I've just had the most amazing couple of days, uh, you know, you relive the memories— but I always get the Glasto Blues, which we talk about. And even then, the Glasto Blues is me thinking, God, you know, you hear other people say, oh, I went and saw this, or, you know, so-and-so did a secret set here, and you, you start to think about the things that you didn't do. Even after 10 years, there are things I haven't done. There are places I haven't been. I haven't found the Stone Dragon. I haven't— all these kind of things. I haven't found the underground piano bar.

24:42Rob I know where it is, but I haven't gone searching, let's say.

24:47Jessi Um, and all of these little things that you just think, God, next time I need to do that. You start planning your next Glastonbury on— yeah, in the car ride home from the one you've just been to.

24:55Miguel I've never been to the Rabbit Hole.

24:57Rob Oh, I've done that.

24:58Miguel Because I think things that require queuing Yeah. To meet some— for example, I just— I only went up the Ribbon Tower like on my 3rd or 4th Glastonbury event.

25:07Rob I've never been up the Ribbon Tower. Yeah, see?

25:09Jessi There you go.

25:10Miguel And I, and I just went up because I, I mean, for me, the after hours is really a big part of it. I really love the after hours. I think it's when I have my best stories. And I, I pretty much see the sunrise every day when I'm at Glastonbury. So that's when I went to the— went up the Ribbon Tower. I was just going back to my tent to have that— try to have 1 or 2 hours of sleep before it starts again.

25:29Rob Yeah.

25:29Miguel And then suddenly I, I went past the Ribbon Tower. There was only one 10 people will say, oh, this is it.

25:34Jessi Now it's the time.

25:35Rob Finally gonna go up.

25:36Miguel Yeah, excellent.

25:37Jessi Seeing it on the sunrise.

25:38Rob One of the funny things I'll always say when I talk to people and they ask me, what's, what's this, what's that, how do you plan? I, I kind of make a general plan, but I don't know about you guys, but I find that my plan often changes as soon as I start. You get drawn off into things that you weren't prepared for.

25:53Jessi Oh yeah.

25:53Rob You see something and all of a sudden—

25:55Jessi Follow your ears.

25:55Rob Yeah, you know, walk past the cabaret tent. Oh, I love that comedian, but, but What do I do?

26:00Miguel Yeah.

26:01Rob And you just kind of— plans out the window.

26:02Jessi Yeah.

26:03Miguel I think this is a good point because there's a mistake I think a lot of people do in their first Glastonbury is that you have a copy of the lineup and you do, and you go around chasing stages.

26:11Rob It's a common mistake. We call it a common mistake because we've, we've done it so many times. But I think people do tend to think of Glastonbury and the size and all the acts and think, right, this is my opportunity to see all these acts. And it's not until they get there and realize actually Wow.

26:26Jessi I say this to my friends when, when it's their first time. They get the lineup out, as, as Miguel said, as you said, Rob, as well. They get the lineup out and they go, oh, at 1 o'clock I'm gonna see so-and-so on John Peel.

26:35Rob Yeah.

26:35Jessi And then at 2 o'clock I'm gonna see so-and-so on Arcadia. And then it's— and I'm there looking at them like, you're not. Yeah, it's gonna take you an hour to walk between those places. It's that big. Um, so I normally say to my friends, I'm like, right, pick 2 things of a day that you absolutely really want to be at, and then the rest of the time just enjoy it. Just kind of think, oh well, I know that this is on, and if I'm in that general area I'll go and take a look, or just follow your eyes, follow your ears, see what you come across. But I, I might— that's my plan for a day, is to not plan, as you say. But I'll, I'll pick 2 things that I'm like, right, I, I absolutely want to see this person, and I absolutely want to see this person. And then that's, that's my day planned.

27:12Miguel That is really good advice, and that's exactly what I do. And when, and when I say pick 2 things, it doesn't mean it's the ones I want to see the most. I actually think how far away they are, and so I need to make sacrifices. Maybe the second act I really want to see is so close to the other, I just say, well, I'm not gonna go then, and I pick something from early. I do plan like that.

27:29Rob Yeah, excellent. And these are the kind of tips that we want to share.

27:33Miguel Yes.

27:33Rob We've got plenty more of these.

27:34Miguel So what I was trying to say is the lineup don't matter.

27:38Jessi Yeah, the lineup means nothing.

27:41Miguel Well, we're starting to see how magical Glastonbury really is. Do you have anything else to add, Rob?

27:45Rob Well, you know, I think we've talked about the actual festival itself a lot, and in many ways that speaks for itself. But what really adds to the magic for me is the people people. The people that go, the people that make the festival, you know, they're as much a part of what it is as the festival itself. Through the years, there seems to be more and more people going, which is great. As the festival's getting bigger, it's bringing more and more people. And the people that you meet are just the biggest range of people that you could ever expect to meet. But the one thing that they have in common is they're all happy to be at Glastonbury, which really gives the best vibe. You know, everyone is in such a good mood, whether it be, you know, the get-up-early people that, you know, get themselves sorted, have a good breakfast, and go and stand at at the main stages all day, um, whether it be the people that are just kind of coming home back to their tent from, from being out all night, you know, because you've got the, the kind of the southeast corner and the dance arena.

28:39Miguel Oh yeah.

28:39Rob Just that whole area, um, you know, that brings out them people. Then you've got the performing artists, the comedians, the people that, you know, generally aren't necessarily there for the music, they're there just to be creative. And then, yeah, so, and through all of that, you know, that's, that's how we met, you know, people from you know, quite far away, all over the country, we'll all meet up in the same place every year. We've all got that same kind of journey we make to get to Glastonbury. And it's fantastic to see over the years, you start, you do start seeing familiar faces and we've formed a friendship that has gone beyond Glastonbury, like how we're sat here now. You know, you form friendships with fantastic people. So for me, I look forward to seeing the people that I get to, that I see each year.

29:20Miguel Yeah. So we need to give a shout to Twisto, which is—

29:23Rob Oh, absolutely.

29:24Miguel Yeah. Organised on Twisto. and meet at Glastonbury every, every year. So hey guys!

29:29Rob Yeah, absolutely. Twisto started before we actually met, um, I think back in 2010. Is it something like that?

29:35Jessi No, so Twisto was actually 2008. Uh, I know that because I sort of saw them, kind of. I walked past a group of people on the Thursday, and then it was after, uh, the festival and I got the bug and I was like, this is the greatest thing. Um, I am very much a social media mogul, so I jumped onto Twitter to, you know, just to talk about it and, um, just happened across the hashtag Twisto. And then, yeah, it became a thing that yearly we all meet up on the Thursday and say hi. And then that's how us 3 kind of got together. We all were part of this group excitedly talking about the run-up to the festival, and then we all met at one of these meetups, didn't we?

30:10Miguel So if anyone listening is going by themselves, or maybe it's just 2 of you, start interacting. There's somewhat— there's many groups online on Facebook and Twitter, and you start making friends, and you're gonna have— you're gonna know the location and the time where to go at the beginning of the festival to meet everyone face to face and have the time of your life. Well guys, I think it's— I think we're heading down to, to the end really. I think we had a great chat.

30:43Rob I think we're about done.

30:43Miguel For our first time, I mean, I think we did okay-ish.

30:46Rob Yeah, well, it certainly felt good from here, you know.

30:50Miguel So thank you guys for being here today, and certainly thank you to the listeners.

30:54Jessi So we have our website live and ready to go, which is glastocast.co.uk. Um, on there you'll find sort of blog posts, you'll find our socials, you'll find ways to get in contact with us. So yeah, check it out, get in contact, we really want to hear from you.

31:08Miguel And next episode we're going to start tackling a really big question, which is what to take to Glastonbury.

31:14Jessi What to pack.

31:15Miguel What to pack. So see you then.