Alcopop!

Welcome April! March was a weak month, tailing winter as it did quite so angrily – but with the first glimpses of sun breaking through the clouds comes the lure of pub gardens, the drenching of sun-parched lips with cool liquor – along with the feeling once again that festival season is a-coming… And with it the joys of boozing in fields, loads of quality bands, overpriced greasy food and the promise of ending up starry-eyed in a drum & bass tent, busting insane moves to music you don’t know, with people you hardly know at around 5AM – but nonetheless loving it!

But, with so many festivals doing the rounds these days – how does one know which is the best event to shell out cash for, and drag your tired body too for a truly unforgettable experience, even though you’ve just worked all week and have barely recovered from Latitude? Well, after deciding that Glastonbury and Reading are too pricey, and probably too full of c**ts (especially the latter) to really bother with, I’d suggest taking a look at the following:

Truck Festival, Oxford: A staple diet of any festival season, Truck is a one night bingefest of a mash up, where drinks are sub 2 quid, and the rotary do banana cake for pence. Expect: Your new favourite band, Oxford’s finest and sing-a-long headliners.

Boring by the Sea Festival, Weymouth: It may only be one day, but the organisers have packed such a compendium of up and coming/hip new artists together, that to NOT pay the paltry 25 odd quid to attend this festival would be a travesty! Expect: Literally everyone who’s been whispered about, but is still too cool to feature, in the NME for the last year (including the lovely Sam Isaac)

Sziget Festival, Sziget: Literally the best 120 Euros you’ll ever spend, REM, Maiden, and the Sex Pistols are a few of just the handful of names to be announced so far. A week… On an Island… In Hungary… With Eastern European chicks/gents… What more do you fuckin’ need! Expect: Handsomeness, cheapness, the perfect rock n’ roll holiday and a golden brown tan.

End of the Road Festival, Dorset: Winner of Best New UK Festival 2006 (I was there), EOTR is the most chilled out indie rock event of the summer. Complete with its own peacocks, football goals and genuinely nice food stalls – you will not find a nicer festival crowd – I could have married every one of them. Expect: Really nice people, never worrying about your stuff being nicked – and a genuinely awesome twee indie line-up.

And that’s my picks thus far… But I may have missed classics? If you’re popping to any of these though, give me a shout – and we’ll hook up for a beer!