Glastonbury After Parties

Glastonbury is known to most people for its incredible line-up, full of bands and artists that play throughout the day. Most people do not give much attention to what happens after the music stops and the lights are switched off in the mains stages – after all, you had a really hard day going from one stage to another, up and down hills and all you can think of is your lovely tent and your inflatable airbed (must-have – believe me!).

The truth is you will be missing out on some very special parties happening all the way through the night, usually lasting until the crack of dawn. Last year, I ended up in two of them, The Palace/ The Rabbit Hole on Saturday night and Kubicle on Sunday night. The Rabbit Hole, located close to The Park stage, turned out to be exactly what the name suggested – an enigmatic looking man opened a tiny door, which led on to a tunnel. You had to crawl like a baby, through quite a claustrophobic but really bright tunnel. We first ended up inside a small “cinema”, where an old black and white film was showing and a few couples were even eating popcorn. That was not what we were looking for at that point, though it seemed tempting to put our feet up. Let’s try another door! So we came out again, through the tunnel, took a different turn and – voila! A full-on secret party, in this eccentrically decorated place with LED dancefloor, in true Saturday NightFever style and dozens of umbrellas on the ceiling. Cool music, stylish crowd, who had clearly made an extra effort, completed the scene. Needless to say, my friends and I had a wonderful time.

The Kubicle party last year happened in the Common – a new space created to give night pleasure seekers even more choice. The party was outdoors and had an intimate, nice and easy atmosphere, its own bar and the djs were playing from inside a spaceship. Jamie Winstone and Kelly Osborne, together with her now ex-fiancée Luke Worral were there too. That was Sunday evening, so the perfect way to say goodbye to my first Glastonbury and to an unbelievable long weekend. This year, the Kubicle party will take place in the Shangri-la area, more specifically in the Alleys, Love Bullets HQ, on Saturday from midnight onwards, and will have residents Jamie Jones, Clive Henry and Lee Foss spinning minimal techno and house records.
So yes, you do want to watch all the bands and other artists during the day but try and give nights a chance too. With so much to choose from, it is hard to find the balance between day and night time activities but you might find it was worth your while in the end.