UK Music Festivals on a Budget

Picking up a festival ticket will usually set you back somewhere in the region of £200, so festivals are more like mini-holidays from a financial point of view. Luckily enough, there are plenty of ways to reduce further costs throughout your trip.

Tent

Don’t cut corners with your tent – make sure you buy one that is doubles-skinned. You don’t want all your valuables and clothes ruined by rainwater. You should be able to pick up something reliable from Tesco for around just £30.

Travel

Going by car is fine, but the parking charges can add up. So can petrol, if you’re driving far. Trains are similarly expensive, especially without a 16-25 railcard. Going by coach is probably for the best.

Food

Onsite food is hideously expensive and the local supermarkets will be heaving. Getting three meals a day could really add up, so make sure you pack enough to last for your whole trip. It’s great to pick up a cheap camping stove so you can chow down on something warm.

Drink

Alcohol fuels plenty of memorable concert experiences, but it’s going to be extortionate if you buy from vendors. You can take your own alcohol into most campsites, as long as you don’t look like you’ll be trying to set up your own off-license, so take advantage and BYOB.

Charging Your Phone

Sure, there are ways to charge your phone at a festival, but people have found out how to charge you (a lot) for the privilege. Instead, pick up a portable power bank. They’ll cost around £20, but they will last for years.

Waterproofs

The UK is great at turning clear skies into thunderclouds, and vendors jack up the price of waterproofs at festivals. A waterproof is essential, and you can find a cheap mac at any supermarket chain.

Accessories

Camping chairs, sunglasses, coolers – the kind of things you don’t consider essential until you arrive. Simply put: if you’re likely to want something, buy it before you leave. Pound stores are great for cheap essentials.

Fest Schedules

Plenty of festivals like to get more money from your pockets by making you spend anywhere from £5 to £20 on the timetables sold at their site. It’s often hard to bypass this charge, but you can always split it with your mates.

Valuables

It’s not just about what you spend – it’s about what you lose. Make sure you find inexpensive alternatives for expensive watches, phones, sunglasses, and other such items. You don’t need them getting broken or nicked.

 

Which UK Music Festival Offers the Best Value for Money?

So many festivals, only so many days you can get off work … There will probably also only be so much cash in your fest-fund, so why not choose this year’s event based on how much bang you’ll get for your buck?

 

New research has let us compare the cost of popular festival tickets with the price of seeing all their acts one by one. Picking right could see you save up to a considerable £4214.40.

Creamfields

Creamfields is the cream of the crop when it comes to giving you your money’s worth. Getting to see headliners such as Calvin Harris, Avicci, and Jamie Jones will set you back £220, but the cost of seeing all the festival’s acts independently would add up to a whopping £4434.40.

Bestival

Bestival’s headliners include The Cure, Major Lazer, and Fatboy Slim. Tickets come in at just £190, which is even more impressive seeing as the cost of seeing each act alone would be an estimated £2114.76.

Glastonbury

Glastonbury is one of the most famous festivals in the world, bringing acts such as Adele, Coldplay, and Muse. It couldn’t get much better, and seeing all of those performers alone would cost a cool £2003.76 compared to just £228 for a Glasto pass.

Download

Black Sabbath headlined at this year’s Download Festival, with other acts including Iron Maiden, Korn and Deftones. The cost of the festival was set at £205, but the cost of seeing all acts apart would be £1963.42.

Reading and Leeds

Reading and Leeds are two of the best around, with a ticket to either setting you back £213. If that sounds like a lot, keep in mind that seeing all the acts separately would cost £1707.71.

T in the Park

Buying a T in the Park ticket will mean digging into your wallet for £194. You’ll get to see acts such as The Stone Roses, Disclosure, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and all acts together would have cost £1624.93.

Latitude

Headliners for Latitude 2016 include Disclosure, Biffy Clyro, and Fall Out Boy. You can either pay £205.50 to see them all at the fest or shell out £1184 to see them all separately.

V Festival

V Fest comes in at the bottom of our list, though acts do include notables such as Rihanna and Tinie Tempah. Tickets start at £189, and you’d pay £1031.63 to see them all.

Kendal Calling Announces Day and Stage Splits

Taking place from July 28th to 31st at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Cumbria, Kendal Calling will bring three days of top performers across 10 separate stages,

 

with acts from notable musical artists as well as top-tier comedians. Voted both the ‘Best Small Festival’ at the LIVE UK awards and the Best Small UK Festival Award at the UK Festival Awards, this previous up-and-comer has now arrived.

Tickets are selling for £130 for the weekend, with camping included, and the day splits for each area have now been announced.

Here’s a quick overview of just some of the acts that you will be able to check out at each stage.

Main Stage

  • Friday: Rudimental, Catfish and the Bottlemen, We Are Scientists, Molotov Jukebox
  • Saturday: Madness, The Darkness, The Hives, Maximo Park
  • Sunday: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Band of Skulls, Sugarhill Gang

The Glow Tent

  • Friday: Redlight, Eton Messy, and SYV
  • Saturday: Flava D, Andy H, Amy Becker
  • Sunday: Quality Control, Keeno, Shinobi

Calling Out

  • Friday: Blossoms, Skinny Living, Alias Kid
  • Saturday: Peter Doherty, Slow Readers Club, The Rainband
  • Sunday: Spring Kings, The Bulletproof Bomb, The Amazons

Carvetti Stage

  • Friday: Fading Face, Tom Peel, Millie,
  • Saturday: Two Good, Bang Said the Gun, Permaculture
  • Sunday: Soul Swing, SRDJ, Robinson Boone

Chai Wallah

  • Friday: Diplomats of Sound DJs, Dojo, Cheshire & the Cat
  • Saturday: Dr Meake, General Skank, Will Varley
  • Sunday: Daytoner, Cul De Sac, Potts Music

House Party

  • Friday: Will Tramp, Dave Haslam, Sex Pissed Dolls
  • Saturday: Gold Teeth Beyonce, Darren Green, MC Tunes
  • Sunday: Clint Boon, Twisted Wheel, Piccadilly Rats

Riot Jazz

  • Friday: DJ Felix, Neon Saints, Sarah Mac
  • Saturday: The Chicken Brothers, Sling, Age of Glass
  • Sunday: Shakin Chains, Henge, Alice Gasson

Soapbox Comedy

  • Friday: Bobby Mair, Jason Manford, Last Man Standing
  • Saturday: Justin Moorhouse, George Rigden, Phil Jerrod
  • Sunday: Russell Hicks, Rob House, Jollyboat

The Woodlands

  • Friday: Silent Disco, The Lottery Winners, Casanova
  • Saturday: Silent Disco, Foreign Fox, Bridges
  • Sunday: Plastic Mermaids, Camp Stag, The Floodgates

Tim Peaks Diner

  • Friday: Britpoporama, Butterfly Jam, Dance Class
  • Saturday: Stay Beautiful, Bowie Disco, Blueprint Blue
  • Sunday: Barney Artist, Man of Moon, Gulp

Kendal Calling also hosts kid’s entertainment, a real ale festival, and some stunning art installations, so it’s unlikely to be the kind of festival you’ll regret booking a place and clearing your weekend for.

Festival 101: The Essentials

 

Our UK Summer sure has crept up quickly and that of course means only one thing…festivals!

 
Yes plenty of indoor UK festivals and all-day gigs are cropping up left right and centre but the ones you really have to prepare for are those outdoor-weekenders – after all you could be spending up to 5 days away from home and in a (potentially) muddy field.

If you’re a festival first-timer, you’re going to need a bit of a briefing! Of course, UK festivals are all about fun, but packing up some essential gear can make all the difference between having fun and having a really miserable weekend – it’s your holiday after all!

Most things are available for you to purchase on your travels or when you get to the festival grounds, but there are a few of the essentials that money can’t necessarily buy  – we’ve compiled a list of those all-important valuables or essentials that you can’t leave the house without – so take note festival first-timers!

 

Directions:

 

First things first, you need to get there! It’s best to always have a printed copy of your directions, train times, bus transfers etc just in case there is any trouble with mobile devices and connectivity. The same goes for addresses or postcodes if you have a GPS device complete with a designated driver!
Festival grounds can sometimes be tricky to find too – the festival organisers will usually sign-post the roads nearby to steer you in the right direction. Local landmarks should be included in the website directions, so make sure to hold on to these.

 

Line-up:

 

Avoid the nightmare of missing your favourite bands by printing the line-up times or saving a copy to your phone before you go. You can always buy programmes when you get there but just be aware that they’re not a bargain.

 

Ticket:

 

Obviously! But it’s so easily done! Don’t forget you tickets!

 

Money:

 

To avoid hefty charges at the festival cash-points, take some money with you. Limit the number of cards you take, but do take them in case of emergencies – make sure they are kept in a secure place like a festival locker. Keep a bit of your money about your person but avoid taking it all into arenas with you so that if it goes missing or gets stolen, you still have a back-up.

 

Keys:

 

Your house and car keys will need to be put away in festival lockers too. Avoid taking them out with you – you shouldn’t need them much unless you need to make a couple of trips back to the carpark. If you are going to a festival with your house-mates, make sure you take more than one set of keys with you in case of an emergency.

 

ID:

 

If you plan to buy alcohol on your travels or at the festival, make sure you have the correct ID – a driver’s license or passport. Otherwise you’ll be in for a pretty dry weekend!


These are just the basic essentials for a typical UK festival – it’s always well worth doing a bit of research for your particular festival whether indoor or outdoor, one day or 5! Get prepared to ensure you have the best festival experience possible.