Isle of Wight Festival 2019

Good morning lovely word press friends!

I can’t quite believe that this time last week, I was at the Isle of Wight Festival!

So much to talk about… so let’s break it down.

Ticket’s

My friends and I bought our tickets last October from the site ‘The price is Wight’.
For a limited time, you had the option of paying a £50 deposit, and then a monthly payment of £12.50 for 8 months, or buying the early bird tickets at £130.
If you decide to buy tickets after these offers have passed, you’ll pay £200.00 for a weekend ticket, which is for 4 nights and 3 days.

If you buy camping ticket’s (Which cost around £230.00) you are able to enter the site on the Thursday evening to set up camp, and are also aloud to bring in your own food and drinks.
One of the stages ‘The Big Top’, is open from Thursday evening, and the rest of the festival is open from Friday morning.

One of my friends, had bought 4 last minute tickets from a ‘reliable’, online ticket site, only to find out when she gave her ticket codes in exchange for wrost bands, she was told that 2 of the tickets she had bought were fake. Poor girl, she stood there for over an hour on the phone trying to get a refund and to find 2 more weekend tickets…luckily it all worked out, but what a load of grief that caused them!

As it happens, from Friday night/Saturday morning, weekend tickets were selling for as little as £50! I don’t know whether it was the line up, or the on and off showers, but clearly some people had had enough if the festival already.

Fashion

For the first year, the festival had a theme. ‘Summer of love’. I find that alot if festival fashion is inspired by the 60’s and has a boho chic, so there weren’t many people who stood out tremendously obvious that they were cruising with the 60s theme

Friday OOTD

Lilo and Stitch T shirt – Primark
Black skort – New Look
Patterned Tights – H&M
Cropped Hoodie – H&M
Khaki Rain Coat – Primark
Wellies – Shoe Zone

Saturday OOTD
Black top – H&M

Denim skirt – Pretty Little Thing

Multi coloured stone necklace – old gift

Sunday OOTD
Dress – H&M
Red sunglasses – Ebay
Black Chocker – River Island

Food and drinks

A small bottle of wine £7
A pint of cider/lager £7
Double vodka and coke £10
Mac and Cheese burger £8 ( well there was mac…. but next to no cheese, dry and disappointing)
Double Mr Whippy £4
Flat bread lamb wrap £9 (best thing I ate all weekend… could of had 5!)
Dirty Fries £8
3x doughnuts £8
Bottles of water will cost you between £2-£3

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If you plan on having lunch, dinner, and snacks at the festival every day it can get expensive. My advice is have a little look at the food before you buy, and peek at what other people are eating. I’d reccomend buying a pizza, a burrito, hotdog or a flat bread wrap, something a bit more substantial and filling for your dinner, as you don’t want to waste your time and money queining for a second dinner!

Last year some friends made the mistake of buying a chicken wrap for £9. It was the most pathetic wrap I’ve ever seen. A few pieces of diced chicken, pieces of lettuce and some sort of dressing!

Essentials

• Bottles of water (foldable and reusable, if security let you take them in)
• Sunglasses (okay, it rained… alot, but the sun appeared every now and then)
• Wellie Boots – not just a festival fashion look, but for most years, a necessity.
• Socks
• Anti bacterial gel
• Sun cream
• Plasters
• Tissues
• Waterproofs
• ID – because you will get questioned at the bar
• Cash – certain rides and a few food stalls only accept cash, have money on you before you enter the festival site… unless you’re happy to be charged £3.99 from the onsite cash point every time you wish to withdraw money.
• A bold lip for when you need to jazz up a look
• Wear something exciting but be comfortable
• Painkillers – being on your feet all day can be tiring, so can carrying a bag, and also being in the sun and listening to blaring music.

Stages

• The Main Stage
• The Big Top
• Electro Love
• Cirque de la quirk

Line up

In my opinion, if theres half a dozen or so artists in the line up that you’re a fan of, then attending the festival would be beneficial to you, as seeing that many of your favourite artists, in the same place, over one weekend will save you a fair of time, hassle and money! A few artists names are reviewed each month, between December and April, so it is a but if a risk buying tickets early on if you don’t end up liking any of the performers.

Thursday 13 June

Big Top

Wet Wet Wet 9.45pm-11.00pm
Heather Small 8.35pm-9.10pm
James Walsh 7.15pm-8.05pm
Simply Dylan 6.30pm-7.15pm

Friday 14 June

Main Stage

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 10.40pm-12.00am
Courteeners 9.10pm-10.10pm
Lily Allen 7.45pm-8.40pm
James 6.25pm-7.20pm
Gerry Cinnamon 5.30pm-6.05pm
DMA’s 4.40pm-5.15pm
Wild Front 4.00pm-4.25pm

Big Top

Haçienda Classical 11.30pm-1.00am
Jax Jones 9.45pm-10.45pm
Sigala 8.15pm-9.15pm
Freya Ridings 7.00pm-7.45pm
Dean Lewis 5.50pm-6.30pm
Sea Girls 5.00pm-5.30pm
Bang Bang Romeo 4.15pm-4.45pm

Saturday 15 June

Main Stage

Fatboy Slim 10.30pm-12.00am 👍
George Ezra 8.20pm-9.45pm👍
Bastille 6.50pm-7.40pm
Anne-Marie 5.30pm-6.20pm
Rick Astley 4.20pm-5.00pm👍
Sundara Karma 3.10pm-3.50pm
KT Tunstall 2.00pm-2.40pm
Andrew Roachford 12.50pm-1.30pm
Electric Enemy 12.00pm-12.30pm

Big Top

Garbage 11.45pm-1.00am👍
Friendly Fires (replacing Cage The Elephant) 9.30pm-10.30pm
Miles Kane 7.45pm-8.35pm
Yungblud (replacing Sam Fender) 6.25pm-7.15pm
Picture This 5.00pm-5.40pm
Palaye Royale 3.45pm-4.25pm
Billy Lockett 2.35pm-3.15pm
The Snuts 1.30pm-2.00pm
Stitch 12.30pm-12.55pm

Sunday 16 June

Main Stage

Biffy Clyro 9.20pm-10.50pm
Richard Ashcroft 7.50pm-8.50pm
Jess Glynne 6.30pm-7.20pm
Madness 5.10pm-6.00pm👍
Sigrid 3.50pm-4.40pm👍
Tom Walker 2.40pm-3.25pm
Bjorn Again 1.35pm-2.15pm
Ferris & Sylvester 12.40pm-1.10pm
Sub Pacific 12.00pm-12.20pm

Big Top

Keane 11.00pm-12.00am
Dermot Kennedy 8.50pm-9.40pm
The Coral 7.30pm-8.20pm
Idles 6.00pm-6.50pm
Mystery Jets 4.40pm-5.25pm
Ward Thomas 3.30pm-4.10pm
Feet 2.15pm-2.50pm
Fatherson 1.10pm-1.45pm
Lauran Hibberd 12.15pm-12.45pm

Jess Glynn

Some of you may of heard that Jess Glynn did not perform at the Isle if Wight Festivsk this year. I wont go too deep into this, but it is disappointing to say the least. She was set to perform at 6.30. Her stage was set up, and we patiently waited for her to start. 6.40 rolled round and we were still waiting for Jess to come on stage, a few minutes later, it was confirmed that she wouldn’t be performing.
Although I don’t know the ins and outs…. photos had surfaced that morning of Jess Glynne partying with The Spice Girls the night before after opening for them on their UK tour. Hangover maybe??? Unfortunately Jess Glynne is now well known to pull out of big performances last minute. I full understand mental health issues, exhaustion and anxiety… and I have learnt not to put myself in high pressure situations, because if I cant handle it, then I will let myself, and others down. I understand that she has this to deal with on a huge scale… but still, she needs to learn her lessons, take responsibility, and perhaps not be photographed the night before looking a little worse for wear with one of the worlds biggest girl groups?

One of the best performers of the weekend was Soup aka fuly Love ,a former member of the hip hop group J5. He was accompanied by the incredible Sabrina. They really engaged with the audience, his voice was soulful and smooth, and her was powerful and beautiful

They were fantastic. Before they erupted on stage 3 guys were performing, one on key board another beet boxing and the third was selling. Another brilliant performance!

Location

I personally think Sea close park is a fantastic site for the festival, it is central and accessible. The walk from Newport town centre to the festival gates is about 10/minutes. If for any reason through out the day you wish to leave and grab a bite to eat or have a few drinks, then you’re only a short walk away. This includes anyone calling, yoire only 10/15 minutes away from your local shops to stock up on food and alcohol.

For anyone living on the Isle of Wight, the 3 or 4 days before, and the day after the Festical can be a but if a hassle. The main road leading up to the festival, and roads surrounding are effected as some are open for a one.way system, and other roads/neighbourhoods are closed unless you have a permit.

Entertainment

You could have a drink and a dance in the Strongbow area, the Smirnoff tent and The Deck 8 seating area, but otherwise, there was no outdoor entertainment, which in previous there had been, scattered about the site.

A dozen or so carnival rides and games were avaliable on site, which can be great fun and a good way to kill time between acts, if you’re into that sort of thing!
The girls and I went on the bumper cars… (yes yes were almost 30) and we paid £5 each for 3minutes driving… well, 3 minutes crashing into each other and laughing.

As well as food stalls, you were surrounded by festival clothing, accessories, make up, and glitter make up/hair braiding stalls. If you felt you weren’t looking the part, the festival stalls have got your back!

This year was a little bitter sweet. I had an incredible time with friend, singing, dancing, reminiscing, and making memories… but as for the festival itself, it would of been half as fun, if I didn’t have my friends with me.

To be honest, I don’t know if we will attend next year… but we shall see!

Conclusions.

I believe this is the 4th or 5th time I’ve attended the Isle of Wight Festival, abs I have to be honest, yes the weather was slightly off putting, but the line up this year was nothing compared to what it has been.
When we bought our tickets in October, no names had been released, so it was a bit if a risk, but as soon as artists names were mentioned, no one really thrilled me. I love George Ezra, but I don’t think I would pay to see him in concert alone. Between our group, we almost always had someone to watch, but at times, we were just following one friend and taking turns on who we’d watch next.
Last year, we kept checking the performance times and locations to make sure we didn’t miss a minute, and had to split up as we were determined not to miss certain acts. This year we just went with the flow.
There wasnt as good options for food this year either, also I swear there were less toilets.
35,000 and I’d say a few hundred toilets, is a bit grim.

We all felt that this year didn’t hold up to last years standards, which is disappointing, but at the same time, we all have some hilarious memories, stories to tell, and pictures that I’m sure will be plastered all over our homes. Take the good with the bad, and just live in the moment and enjoy the time you have.

Kaya •