It’s tough trying to explain why you should go to a festival that’s not happened yet – all you can go on is past experiences. If those are anything to go by, however, you should definitely go to Bloodstock 2018.
Some info
- What: Bloodstock Festival
- Where: Catton Park, Walton-On-Trent, Derbyshire, DE12 8LN, England.
- When: August 9th to 12th
- Tickets: Weekend £152, Parking £16.25, Child Weekend £39, Day £69, VIP – SOLD OUT
It doesn’t feel like one big advert
BOA will never match “Barclaycard presents BST Hyde Park” for sheer marketing audacity. A lot of festivals nowadays are propped up with sponsorship from a dozen or more brands, which is fine, we get it, but sometimes they seem so out of place that it sours the whole experience.
With BOA, everything makes sense and adds to the whole experience. Kraken flavoured ice cream? Obviously. Jagermeister tent. Obviously.
It makes for a more pleasant experience where the music is at the forefront of what the festival is about.
The music is awesome
It’s hard not to get buzzed about Priest, Gojira and Nightwish playing but you have an amazing undercard (like you always do here) that features Empreror, Cannibal Corpse, At The Gates, Mr. Big, Suicidal Tendencies, Orphaned Land and so much more across the various stages.
The strength lies that when BOA finishes, you’re left wondering “how can the top this year, I mean, without repetition, how they going to produce quality” only for them to answer it, usually during the festival itself like when they announced Gojira last year for this year.
Obviously, with BOA, it’s not about the bands with millions of listens on Spotify, it’s about the underground bands, the new lot that come in via Metal to the Masses. Some gems have climbed their way to the main stage and some have done it within their actual set:
It takes some bands years to get to the main stage @BLOODSTOCKFEST.
It took @BangoverUK several minutes pic.twitter.com/syYPe0SyYp
— Festival Flyer (@festivalflyer) August 13, 2017
Oh yeah, it also starts Thursday… which is nice.
The arena is a breath of fresh air
Even the most die hard DLF fan doesn’t wake up and go “can’t wait for that walk to the arena and the subsequent hikes between stages for the bands that I may possibly miss”
With BOA, everything is the perfect distance from each other. Bars, food, camping, stages. It doesn’t feel cramped up and it’s not this massive expanse of land that you have to compensate for like at DLF, Reading or pretty much any other festival.
The only festival where a VIP upgrade is worth it
- Metres between car, camp and arena
- Look at the drinks below – they’re not even found their final form
- Right next to press area so could see your idols
- Awesome entertainment
- Take a look at that drink list again
The atmosphere is friendly to the point where you question your own morals
In all our years of going, we’ve never seen any trouble. You don’t hear about any of the stuff you see or read about at other festivals.
People look out after each other. There’s zero discrimination. Everyone is there for a good time without ruining someone else’s time.
Importantly, it’s all anbout the music – a lot of festivals forget that.
Here’s what you need to know
Just visit http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/ for all your latest information. BOA tickets can be got from http://bloodstock.seetickets.com/ and VIP packages can be got from http://www.bloodstock.uk.com/pages/vip-camping
