Thinking about next season’s festivals is giving me chills

I had such an amazing summer this year and before the dust has really settled from all those festivals, I am already going full speed ahead with plans for next season. The main festival my friends, boyfriend and I are hoping to get tickets for is Tomorrowland in Belgium – an electronic rave of epic proportions! The stages alone are immense and I am so excited at the prospect of being part of the crowds of thousands I witnessed on videos of the last few years at the festival. Watching this video gives me chills!

I’m also hoping that my status as Editor of This Festival Feeling will give me the freedom to claim free tickets to some of the following – WeAreFstvl, Secret Garden Party (if we don’t get tickets for Tomorrowland), Bestival, Shambala, Boomtown Fair and any others that come my way. I hope to make it to at least two on this list if nothing else!

Last year I went to Hideout Festival in Croatia which was billed as one of the biggest of the year with some of the most sought-after tickets – I’m curious to know which festival will be the same this year…

What festivals is everyone else looking to go to next year?

Reliving my HUGE festival summer as the official videos are released

Hideout Festival 2013 on the Island of Pag, Croatia, was the biggest week of my year. I partied around-the-clock for seven days straight with my boyfriend and amazing friends from home and university. I even made some new friends while out there that have since become my raving buddies. It was a huge week and so much fun. I watched the sun rise and set every single day, I danced on stages, sand, in pools and the sea, on buses and boats and anywhere else I could find. I made incredible memories and can be sure I’ll never forget them. It’s amazing to see the final video, but to be honest this is a very tame version of the Hideout I experienced. However, I can’t deny that when I hear that beat and bass kick in, it’s like being back on Zcre Beach! If only I was, instead of in chilly old England!

Boomtown Fair 2013, in Winchester, was officially the craziest weekend of my life. I saw so much while I was there than my brain felt like it was melting and my eyes couldn’t take in any more. The festival was vast, the stages huge and the music was incredible. I loved every second, again went with fantastic old friends and made some new ones there. It was such a peaceful place and yet so intense and mind-boggling. The theatre acts and side-shows were my favourite because they were always what you least expected and transported you into crazy new worlds. I still don’t believe, and can’t explain half the things I saw there. It was like falling down the rabbit hole.

The best is yet to come – forgetting my post-festival blues

After a busy summer of travelling around the country, and further afield, to some really amazing festivals – much of which was spent either looking forward to the next event or enjoying the moment at one. I was left feeling pretty bereft when it hit me that there were no more as the season drew to a close. My excitement over my promotion to editor of This Festival Feeling helped to ease my post-festival blues for a short time as the thought of next summer’s festivals sent a thrill down my spine.

But now that too has eased and one must think ahead to the wintery months ahead in which I plan to continue dancing and raving with the same good friends I spent my summer with. It’s funny, during the day I’m the sort of girl that loves vintage clothes, acoustic music and a good book. But at night, I’m the girl who lives in her denim shorts and bum bag, and dances until the sun rises in trainers.

Right now, it is just two weeks until I do just that in Norwich, when I will be seeing one of my favourite DJs, Sub Focus, playing at the University of East Anglia. I downloaded his new album just yesterday and have yet to listen to it, but I think it will definitely spice up my workout and drive to work this week. Here is the video for one of my favourite songs by him, it’s just one that always gets me dancing and singing along.

He headlined the dance stage at Glastonbury this year, and I was gutted he wasn’t at Hideout Festival. I have seen him before at UEA and it was an amazing night, I’m sure it will be even more so this time because we are taking along some amazing friends, and joining in a Zombie Fun Run during the day! There are still tickets available here if anyone else is interested! I’ll be sure to post a review of the night afterwards.

Promotion: It’s official!

Finally, after a few weeks of waiting for final confirmation, it’s happened!

I have been asked to be the new Editor and lead the new editorial team for This Festival Feeling, a website for which I have already been submitting work for over the past year. (see Festivals Page)

I was first inspired to start contributing to the website at the suggestion of my boyfriend who thought it might be a good way of expanding my writing, getting more experience, and of course, getting some free festival tickets!

It worked in our favour in every possible way – I really enjoyed contributing articles each month to the website and it was great to write in a more informal way in comparison to my entertainment section for the newspaper. We also managed to get press tickets to Hideout Festival in Croatia and I had the opportunity to write both a preview and review of the festival.

It was an amazing experience, and one I would thoroughly recommend to any aspiring writers or journalists out there who love music and festivals and want to gain extra experience and a reference for future jobs. You are welcome to contribute as many articles as you want – I gave far more than was required of me because I enjoyed writing them – but with a minimum of one per month (this increases depending on the number of festivals you are covering).

Now, within the space of a year, I have been asked to become the editor of the website and lead a new team in the running of the website for the next year. It is a great privilege and although unpaid, it will more than make up for that in festival tickets, experience and on my CV.

I couldn’t believe it when I was asked, I never expected to be considered for the editor or deputy editor’s role, but I am absolutely thrilled to pieces. I can’t believe what luck this is and how incredibly good it will look on my CV to future employers.

Plus it will offer me a new range of experience in entertainment writing and a chance to work as an editor, so I will see both the editing and reporting side of journalism.

I’m so pleased to finally be able to share this news and I hope that my followers will also become avid readers of the site and my work. If any of you writers are interested in contributing to the website, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will see what work we have available for you.