Reading or Creamfields - Where The Hell Do I Go?!

Festival season is nearly upon us and I don't know about you guys but I am psyched and believe that it could be one of the best years for British festival going (let's pray for sun!). After the unbelieveable experience of Coachella last year, I didn't think I'd ever top it but Reading and We Are FSTVL were a fantastic experience.

Now, every year, I ask my friends and myself the same question - are we going to Reading or not? To an onlooker this may look like quite a trivial question, but for my friends and I, Reading Festival has been the highlight and best way to end our summer for a number of years. Having been to the last 7 years, I have literally grown up going and experiencing the variety of music that the festival has to offer, so it's not been a hard decision to make. Until now.

It's not uncommon for festivals to fall on the bank holiday weekend in August, but there's one festival that may rival my loyalty to Reading - Creamfields. Situated just outside Liverpool, it's far away from the comfort of my local Richmond park. However, if there was ever a line up to make me travel 4 hours to get to a festival it's this one - it's sublime.

Above is just a few stages over the 4 day weekend and for those of you who know me, you'll realise that this line up is spectacular in my eyes. As a dance music enthusiast, there is literally every big name under the sun when it comes to the world of EDM. The fact that they can boast having Avicii, Calvin Harris, Tiesto and Jack U on the same bill shows that the organisers of this festival aren't messing around. Although it's primarily a dance festival, I am astounded by the variety of sub genres that have been included to tender for all dance enthusiasts needs. There's everything from electro house to dubstep and garage to techno - it's all there.

Although the line up is ridiculously impressive, there's one main reason why I am questioning my love affair with Reading and that reason is Jauz. A relatively new DJ in the circuit, Jauz quickly became my favourite DJ after hearing his remix of Kiesza's 'No Enemiesz' which quite literally blew my head off. His stomach churning basslines are what I live for now - I follow his every move (not literally) on the web and he's rapidly increasing his fan base all over the world. I was lucky enough to go and see him in November at Ministy of Sound in London, which has been his only UK appearance as of yet. His second announced appearance is going to be at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Milton Keynes (which I'm also attending) and the third - Creamfields. It sounds silly to make a decision that big on one act which will last 30/40 minutes but I am not exaggerating when I say that the MoS gig was the best gig I've ever been to - and that's saying something when I think about how many live acts I've seen. Below is just a small snippet of his set I went to

So in terms of line up and Jauz being there, Creamfields looks very appetising indeed, but the Reading angel in my head is luring me to think twice about committing festival adultery.

Now, I'm well aware that this is an unfair comparison at this moment in time, due this only being a snippet of the full Reading line up BUT it is a very good snippet none the less. The variety is what draws me to Reading - I am a lover of all genres of music and I love to experience bands as well as DJ's. The fact that I could see the 1975 (one of my favourite bands) and Boy Better Know (arguably the most well known grime collective out there) in the space of 3 days excites me. Not to mention the fact that Crystal Castles have reformed and are at Reading for the first time since 2011 (where they were my favourite act of the weekend). Reading used to be a rock festival and while die hard rockers will tell you the festival is becoming too mainstream and that it's been ruined, but I completely disagree - I love the fact that it's gone for more variety as it means that it tenders for all musical loves. I mean, where else could you see Red Hot Chilli Peppers on the same bill as Fetty Wap? This is why it's such a hard decision for me to make.

Although I don't have to make my decision now, I know I will in the next few months or so and for now I am torn. I am intrigued to see what the rest of the line up is like for Reading as it's very good in my opinion so far but I think the turning point for me will be if Jauz is added to the bill - I think if he is it might sway me to stick to my guns and go to Reading. I hope it'll be an easy decision for me, but at this moment in time, it is far from it.

#Music #Festivals