Festivals round up: Big Chill, Live at Loch Lomond, Lollapalooza - that was the weekend that was

sunset%20big%20green Festivals round up: Big Chill, Live at Loch Lomond, Lollapalooza that was the weekend that was
For once during an English festival summer, the weather was flipping gorgeous. So that means everything ran completely smoothly at the weekend’s festivals, right? Well almost…
- Beautiful weather meant that The Big Chill went pretty much without a hitch… but also without Mika. He pulled out at the last minute, blaming a potentially career threatening throat infection. As dramatic as that sounds, it did not wash with unsympathetic fans, according contactmusic. It seems like a valid excuse, but then again Mika had (rather unwisely) previously announced he wasn’t exactly looking forward to the summer’s festivals, so who knows!

- At Innocent’s first Village Fete the sun shone on the ducks, dogs, ferrets and fans in Regents Park. The hard working Innocent team are still blogging (or blooging as my web-shy boss hilariously called it yesterday) and there are some beautiful pictures of the day in the Flickr gallery. You can still upload yours to win a year’s supply of smoothies. The only thing fans seem to be mentioning on the comment boards is a lack of shade, which you can’t really blame organisers for.
- Live At Loch Lomond managed to keep its beauty spot status rather than becoming a muddy blot. Police were happy with the well behaving festival-goers and Calvin Harris managed a storming set before he angered the nation’s parents the following day with his zany house party plans.
- Rhythm Festival organisers were so chuffed with this year’s event they’ve transformed their website to show it. They’re already looking to next year’s event and are asking for feedback from people who attended, so they can make 2008 even better.
- The Big Green Gathering saw the climate behave as they campaigned for climate change awareness. The brilliant handmade Last Chance Saloon returned, pictures here; 100% vegan, run by volunteers and on renewable energy - and gorgeous with it! If you missed out on the festival and want to have a peek, New Consumer have a great Flikr gallery of their trip.
- This year’s Lollapalooza was a festival of epic proportions, according to glowing reports. Pearl Jam and LCD Soundsystem brought the house down, while Daft Punk’s futuristic spaceship set wowed the Chicago crowds.
- Electric Gardens’ second year apparently benefited from improvements learned from last year’s teething problems. The Happy Mondays and Mr Hudson & The Library were highlights in another sunshine-filled event.
And that’s your lot… until next weekend at least.