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Download Vs Slam Dunk – The Battle Of Big And Small Festivals

We weigh up the pros and cons of the bigger and smaller rock festivals. Are you on Team Reading and Leeds or Team Slam Dunk?

Shadz Brooke Mustafa

Published

February 14, 2017

Source: Rhian Westbury

Nowadays there are so many festivals popping up all over the place. And though this might be the case, we all still have our favourites—you’re a Download enthusiast or a Reading and Leeds fan, a Slam Dunk-goer or a Glastonbury devotee. Hell, you may even be a Coachella lover. But no matter how great the festival you choose to attend is, they all have their flaws. Slam Dunk is too small, Camden Rocks is too confusing, Reading and Leeds is too big (and muddy), Coachella is too hipster, and so on…

Personally, us Mosh lot dig them all, but we can see why some prefer one type of festival to the other. We can also see why most people question whether seeing a few of their favourite bands is really worth it because let’s face it, prepping for a festival is a lot of work.

So we decided to make a list of the pros and cons of big and small festivals to help you make an informed decision on whether or not you can really be asked to go.

Pros of big festivals:

Big festivals = big bands – When you go to a festival like Download, Glastonbury, or Reading and Leeds, you know there’s going to be a line-up you won’t forget. Playing host to some of the biggest and hottest bands in the world, these are the kind of festivals you want if you want massive.
The fun factor – Riding on a hippie bus, dancing with thousands of hyped up people, and sleeping under the stars is just a few of the fun-filled things you can do at a major festival. 3 days of pure, unadulterated entertainment and stupidity.
The production is insane – You haven’t seen huge until you’ve seen strobe lights burst out of a tiny stage across, what seems like, a million people. And you definitely haven’t heard anything quite like it—even if you’ve seen/heard the band a hundred times before.

Cons of big festivals:

Camping – Yeah, it’s fun at first, but it loses its appeal within in a few hours. There are bugs, it’s cold, and it’s wet, and it definitely has nothing on a comfy Travelodge bed. Camping actually kind of sucks.
The price – The bigger the festival, the bigger the price tag. If you want to attend a festival like Reading and Leeds, be prepared to pay a few hundred pounds on tickets, parking, tents, and extremely necessary survival supplies (we’re talking gallons of water, and at least 5 tubs of Nutella).
Other festivalgoers – 95% of concertgoers are annoying anyway, add a huge, wet, energy-draining festival, and you have nothing but grief. Thousands of inconsiderate festivalgoers are too much to handle for 3 days straight. Also, think of the queues for the toilets!

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