Festivals.

I have just read an article about the lack of atmosphere and kindness and general wonderful greatness at V Festival.

And I have to say that I agree.

I visited last year mainly to see the Killers and Frank Turner. It was okay; I saw the bands I wanted to see and had a good time, but I couldn't help but feel that there was something missing all the time I was there. I have thought about it for a while and I think the missing link in the festival chain could be passion. I didn't feel like anyone around me felt as passionately about Frank singing his bold lungs out, or as amazed at the longevity and hip shaking of Tom Jones. I felt like they just didn't care. They were far more interested in when Nicki Minaj would be space beaming her shiny, sparkling arse onto the stage and how short the bar queue was. This was especially clear when one girl next to me in a crowd uttered, 'I'm not sure who Frank Turner is; I think he might be crap.' It saddened me that she wouldn't even give this guy a chance, he was just crap because he didn't have a drum and bass backing track and he sang more about life and politics than banging some girl in a club. To me, a music festival is about discovering things you never would have seen or heard had you not have been present in that little piece of field in that exact nanosecond of a moment. Discovering that band that changes how you think about a genre of music, or finding that singer-songwriter that you fall in love with and follow faithfully and tirelessly to for the next fifty years of your life, or just rocking out to an awesome headline set, such as Foals at Latitude this year. That's what a music festival is about; not the Hunter wellies or the neon make-up or the tiny little hotpants (on a side note, why do you think I want to see the bottom flab of your bum cheek poking its sweaty head out of your shorts?).  And I feel ashamed that all festival companies are letting these unimportant niggles take the main stage, not the beauty and diversity of the UK music scene. And it is all of them - even at Latitude we had some twatty sixteen-year-old yobs trying to set fire to our tent. Although, I must add here that Latitude is still one of the most home grown feeling 'mainstream' festivals in my opinion. There is a real rustic sense of beauty and respect for the arts as a whole in all its wonderful shapes and forms.

I believe some of the issue is that the festival bosses have realised that they can make a lorry tonnes of money from these kind of soulless and moronic shows and that's exactly what they want. Human nature is greedy and it is something that impedes us in everything we do, whether that be politics, governments, our everyday lives or just a simple piece of music playing in a field.

So, come on Festival Republic, you are better than this. Stop trying to top the profits every year to pay your executives extortionate amounts of money and give us some honest music in an honest, muddy and overall kind atmosphere.