Why does Coachella and other US festivals have such awful, moody vibes compared to UK festivals?

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MissionFig5582@reddit

You can drink anywhere at UK festivals. At Coachella, you're only able to get a beer at a penned-off bar area where you can't even see a stage. At least it was like this when J went about fifteen years ago. Was a joke of a place.

I’ve ever done as much drugs in my life as I did at Glastonbury. I was barely standing by the time Kendrick Lamar played his set on the Sunday.

Looking back I don’t know how I made it out alive lol

Thats not true anymore about the segregated areas for drinking. They changed it a few years back thankfully. It was weird but made the festival really clean, no walking over hundreds of crushed plastic glasses after a set. The view from the VIP area to the stage is great too but obviously costs more.

I've been to loads of festivals in the UK plus Lollapalooza in Paris twice, and next week will be my third time at Coachella. I last went in 2013. The festivals I've been to all have their own merits and vibes. Personally I think Coachella is visually stunning and the weather is a huge bonus. I didn't find it had dark or moody vibes, Reading was much worse for that, but again it will be different for everyone.

That was nae a bonk machine.

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Darth-__-Maul@reddit

That’s a fence

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Pad5181@reddit

I remeber the main sponser (tennants) pulled out because of the bad reputation it was getting, it's a shame as I think a multi stage camping festival in Scotland without the craziness would be great (even something smaller like Green Man or EOTR) but DF seem incapable of doing it while preventing anyone else from trying.

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RestaurantAntique497@reddit

Titp closed because there was a gas pipeline that ended up being under the original site.

It had more or less ran it's course though and the costs spiralled. The behaviour of people definitely fucked it though as it became a right of passage and people took the piss.

Is it possible... most of what you see of Coachella is influencers and their footage? Where as Glastonbury you probably see a lot more of it on the BBC where they're filming the audiences?

Jimmylegs666@reddit

Americans are the dumbest people in the world and the rich are the greediest of those.

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hermit_tortoise@reddit

Glastonbury is becoming more and more of a "poser/influencer" festival these days. I've been going since 2009 and the noticeable changes over the last few years are massive, even more so now Vodafone cover the site in masts allowing full 5g coverage, the place is full of people on their phones.

I remember the days when your phone would die 2 days in and you'd lose all your friends and not know what time of day it is or where you are until you went back to your tents and caught up with everyone. I absolutely adored the place for many years, the last 3 have really put me off, you've changed maaaan!

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No-Cherry-6678@reddit

I remember the days before we had phones. The thing is US festivals demand commitment. The weather is not guaranteed-you are as likely to be in a swamp as a sun-drenched field, they are not for the faint hearted so if the sun does shine we really let our hair down and if it doesn't we get the wellies out!

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hermit_tortoise@reddit

Would love to have experienced the really early days. A few guys in our group have been going since it began, great stories from them. It's still an incredible place and the best thing is taking someone for the first time and getting to see their face but it's losing its edge.

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Albert_Herring@reddit

I went to I think the second Glastonbury, 1979. One stage, tickets cost a fiver. It wasn't really a comparable experience. A bit shambolic, nice vibe. Power failed during the Only Ones say and their drummer played a 15 minute solo unamplified.

Went back in 1995 and it felt really suburban, people building tape fences around their encampments, don't want to have to talk to strangers. But Pulp were great.

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randomusername123xyz@reddit

Grim.

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teachbirds2fly@reddit

That's absolutely insane. It's like a skit.

blinky84@reddit

Oof. I thought some of this was just folk being pretentious but that looked... bizarre. Are they all too afraid to be a bit cringe, or what?

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Is there any studies on this?

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Da_Steeeeeeve@reddit

US has a higher prevailance when it comes to the mess your life up drugs like meth, fent, heroin whereas the UK you find ALOT more party drugs, mdma, acid, coke.

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turkeypants@reddit

I googled and got this

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/drug-use-by-country

Cocaine and alcohol together produce Cocaethylene in the Liver. It produces a similar high to cocaine but islonger-lasting. It increases your blood pressure and puts the heart under stress. ~25x greater risk of immediate death compared to using cocaine alone.

:p

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LowerPick7038@reddit

Back in my debauchery days I enjoyed mixing all sorts of fun.

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Legitimate_Side5776@reddit

Aw aye, hunners 😂

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LowerPick7038@reddit

What the hell does that even mean?

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Scotland.

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LowerPick7038@reddit

That was the accent I had in my head reading it. Limmy is goat

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hpsauce42@reddit

Glesgae

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kipperfish@reddit

"oh yes, hundreds"

I went in 2015 to a festival in LA (not Coachella) and behind some bushes I got one of the best heads I’ve received in my life, ngl.

Mood in the crowd was very rowdy, it was electronic music, not a big fan..

You just need to find the right non-mainstream festivals I guess..

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TysonTK@reddit

As a Brit who’s been to both, albeit weekend 2 of coachella which is actually a repeat of weekend 1.

There are plenty of people who are at the festival and living the moment but you’re not seeing their experience plastered on social media. Same as anything really.

There is a lot less alcohol at coachella during the day because it’s so hot and you can only drink in designated areas inside the festival grounds. There is loads of after hours parties and drinking in the camping grounds.

On the camping, I love both British festival camping and coachella camping. The grunge of Brit festivals is unlike anything but coachella gives you designated space and what this does is let people book loads of space next to each other and they make party zones. When I was there, on one side were 2 chill stoners and on the side was a group who’d booked several spots next to each other and came with a inflatable hot tub, huge speakers and a little dj set up. Quite literally partied with them until the sun started to rise.

lucynobz@reddit

There's something really special about the camping experience at British festivals. At festivals elsewhere in the world - especially if it's in warmer climates, the only option people have is to rent a room in a hotel/airbnb.

Part of the magic is the wonderous slum of basecamp. Beans for breakfast. Taking a 4pm nap back at camp whilst everyone else is having a bev and a chat. Maybe this contributes to the classic brit festival look of being absolutely filthy/disheveled - unlike Coachella where everyone is camera ready.

It's only authentic once you've been covered in 3 days worth of festival grime

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Gauntlets28@reddit

My understanding is that the festival cultures come from different eras, and are built around the ethos of those times. British music festivals are all based in some way or another around the vibe of Glastonbury. They're designed to emulate the spirit of the hippie era, even as they've become more commercial, so it's a lot more rough and ready, but also a lot more laid back.

Whereas America, a few abortive attempts aside like Woodstock that didn't really lead to regular events, the music festival scene didn't really get started until the 80s and 90s. And when it did, it was much more heavily defined by the commercial attitudes of the time, and by reality tv (especially MTV).

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Sufficient-Low5771@reddit

"Whereas America, a few abortive attempts aside like Woodstock that didn't really lead to regular events"

There's this thing called the Grateful Dead, 20+ years of some of the most "hippie" shows to grace the planet... so I would think you are missing out a lot on those assumptions.

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Gauntlets28@reddit

One band isn't really the same as a music festival though.

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Sufficient-Low5771@reddit

They threw festivals constantly for 30 years...

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fastcarly@reddit

I went to Coachella years ago, Snoop 2pac year and as a Brit was shocked to find that no drinks were allowed across the festival site only in designated bar areas. This is totally why. Everyone was just smoking weed.

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Ok_Impact9745@reddit

I always think for a country that harps on about freedom they all seem to be very obedient

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VodkaMargarine@reddit

Glastonbury is it's own unique thing. It's so different to all other festivals of that size. The fact you can just rock up with your own alcohol (and yes, drugs) then you never see another security person again for the weekend gives it this atmosphere when the entire site is a fun place.

Word_Word4Numbers@reddit

This is it.

Getting drunk in a temperate, slightly muddy pasture in the english countryside is much more fun than getting drunk in a place so dry that the towns are all named after water.

Friend of mine is a copper who gets stationed at Glastonbury.

A UK festival field is slightly underplaying it.

Glastonbury is held on a working dairy farm with lots of hilly terrain and uneven land. Also, the Glastonbury site in orders of magnitude larger than the Coachella site.

From a physical endurance point of view, there is absolutely no comparison between the two.

Wet Glasto’s have been the toughest physical experiences of my life.

british festivals are heaven compared to this hell.

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Ok-Onion-780@reddit

I think partly because we are a much more reserved culture as a whole no big hugs or smiles in day to day life, if someone asks how you are its"alright" "not too bad" where as america is "awesome" "killing it"

So when we get the chance to let our hair down and have a few drinks we make the most of it. Same is true for japan and korea as random examples.

As an American who grew up in the US and later started going to UK festivals in my twenties onwards, it's a culture difference. After going to my first Glasto festivals in the early '00s I realized America will never have a festival atmosphere with the same vibe. People at UK festivals are dedicated to having a great time, people at American festivals are dedicated to looking like they're having a great time.

I've been to a few US and UK ones. It's really just coachella. It's the influencer festival.

Also, though there are plenty of drugs at US festivals, there's even more at UK ones. Everyone looks a little happier with help from their friend molly.

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dbxp@reddit

You get the same vibe at some UK festivals. Latitude has a reputation for being very middle class and Glasto has picked up a glamping crowd over the years.

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Odd-Leopard4388@reddit

Honestly UK internet has such a issue with American stuff it almost comes across as an insecurity like we’re still grasping onto the empire or something “yeah well we go so much harder”

Different expectations people who got a Glastonbury every year no they're gonna be sleeping in a shit tent that caked in mud

People who go to coachella are used to five star hotel experiences

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They always seem like they are build around one off shows of a singular performance. Rather than the band/act/solo artists doing a really standout set on a peak platform in the UK.

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