Festivals in London are few and far between, as there is a ‘peak time’ for them between June & August. It’s challenging too, given that London’s parks are too massive so any festival running in London will have some issues with overcrowding, etc
I came to Finsbury Park on Sunday after hearing a lot of complaints around Friday & Saturday’s event headlined by Liam Gallagher to lots of complaints that entry, bar service, security were all really bad. Not to mention I’d heard similar at other festivals in London in May/June (Field Day in particular being one I heard a lot of noise about) so was a bit skeptical but, given that the tickets for this particular festival were only £40 (rather cheap in my view) I thought I’d keep my options open – also as well I’m not the biggest fan of Indie Rock bands etc so I thought I’d keep my mind open to exploring new music too!
Getting there around 3pm or so, there was literally no queues at all. One of my friends had to buy her ticket at the Box Office on the day so just assumed we might have to wait a while until she got them, got to the entrance, check-in, etc but for her it was seamless – as was the entry itself – literally was in in around 5 minutes.
I don’t know exactly how many people were there, but it was almost to sell-out, as there were lots of people there but still enough space to chill out on the park.
The layout was pretty simple – a big main stage (not as big/grand as Lovebox’s one in the past, but still very big) in front of the main park. There was a weird pillar-type thing (where the cameras were pointed to the main stage performers) that I felt were a bit too near the front, as we had to adjust where we were to get around it. There were food stalls all along the outside, with everything from burgers, burittos, noodles, etc but did find it to be a bit pricey (£12 for a burger and chips, my friend got a small plate of pasta for about £7) wasn’t ideal, but to be expected at most festivals nowadays. No issues at all around the Bar areas/stalls or the staff, all served us really quick and reasonably priced – no issues compared to some people’s experiences from the previous day/Friday.
There was a smaller – almost secluded stage – at the back, which was a lot smaller in terms of space but was surrounded by trees which gave it an intimate vibe.
In terms of the acts playing – I saw Circa Waves, Tom Grennan, Two Door Cinema Club and a few others I can’t exactly remember – but this was a very bespoke line-up
At the end of the night, everyone was funneled out of a single exit and onto Seven Sisters Road to traffic-free streets. With everyone heading in the same direction towards Finsbury Park Station, it became a bit too busy & I personally decided to walk down to Camden – not ideal, but to be expected at a Festival in London, but compared to most festivals outside of London, with literally nothing in walking distance (anyone that’s been to Parklife Festival in Manchester will say that the walk out the Exit can seemingly take forever) so it’s something that sometimes be taken for granted
Overall, a great experience and would be an event I would sure recommend going to next year – thumbs up from me!
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