Benicassim 2010 - Festival Abroad
As the first big music festival I’ve attended Benicàssim will always hold a special place in my memories but sentimental views aside I would definitely recommend it as one of the top music festivals to experience. Where Benicàssim wins over UK festivals is of course the weather, located on the east Spanish coast between Barcelona and Valencia, temperatures during the festival can reach 40 centigrade.
Designed around the weather the music doesn’t start until five in the evening, allowing you the whole day to hit the beach, sunbathe and swim. If the sun and heat doesn’t agree with you all the campsites are under trees where you can chill in the shade and the town has numerous cafes and bars to relax in. If you want posh camping you can pay an extra €65 (I did –advisable) for Villa Camp, which is smaller, has individual showers, and toilets that are cleaned regularly and extra security. Good weather means no rain, which equals no mud, so ditch the wellies its flip flops all the way. Another thing that you don’t get at UK festivals is the mix of people from all over the world that you get to meet. Everyone is so friendly. (Apart from the local who stole my mate Norm’s Blackberry. RIP Brian – Ed) The music itself goes on for four days compared to the usual three days in the UK and you’re not restricted to the festival arena/campsites so you can save money by getting your food from cheap supermarkets such as Lidl. The town sells everything you need from air beds to beach mats so if you forget any camping essentials you won’t go without.
As much as I loved Benicàssim, it like everything else has its downsides. Its great location doesn’t come without the extra money spent on a plane ticket. However included in the 4day festival ticket is 5 free days camping, so you get a sun soaked holiday with a music festival thrown in. Flight prices are reasonable and you can fly to at least four airports all with bus transfers directly to Bénicassim. Other negatives which come with any festival experience such as not getting any sleep as there is always something going on to keep you awake, are perhaps exaggerated by the length of time camping at Benicàssim. By the sixth day people start to go a little crazy from sleep deprivation and tempers can fray but all in all its more amusing than anything. If you’ve never been to a festival before I would advise not taking anything that you would mind getting wrecked, lost or stolen however this is not unique to Benicàssim as the very nature of camping involves dirt and there will always be a few bad eggs at festivals who have sticky fingers!
My personal musical highlights at Benicàssim were Mumford and Sons and Vampire Weekend two of my favourite bands. The atmosphere watching Mumford and Sons was euphoric, they have risen to fame very quickly so fast that the band themselves seemed to be shocked by the reaction they receive. The best thing about festivals is discovering new music and two other bands that stood out for me were The Paris Riots and I Blame Coco (both on Myspace). The Paris Riots played both the Main Stage and the Jack Daniels tent where I got to meet them, all sounds guys (and the drummer is Scottish!), ace stage presence with immediately catchy riffs and not lacking meaningful lyrics. I think they will go far and are definitely worth a look if you can catch one of their gigs. I Blame Coco is Coco Sumner’s (Sting’s daughter) new band she has a really fresh sound, perhaps not the best voice, but unique and her lyrics easily make up for it. Other top names included The Prodigy, Gorrilaz and Kasabian.
Benicàssim has been going for 15 years now, yet I am still surprised by how many people have never heard of it before, perhaps because it’s abroad. Next time you want to go to a festival, try a dry and warm festival experience by heading to Benicàssim, or try the other festivals that Europe has to offer. It’s a completely different festival experience overseas, and you won’t just come back with a smile on your face but with a tan on your arms as well!
Get your tickets booked now!
Angharad Lewis
