Yo ho ho and a bloody big bottle of cider - it's the annual Glastofest, which, over the last 30 years, has transformed itself from a hippy love-in into probably the biggest and best outdoor musical festival in Europe. Not that Glastonbury has ever really hidden its love'n'peace roots - if it's not the dreaded lentil burgers or the stalls selling crystals and kaftans, it's the brilliantly named "healing field", which is apparently situated on the same ley line as nearby Stonehenge (man). Once you step inside, you're just overcome by massive doses of positive vibes - either that, or the E you've taken has just started to kick in.
While every other festival seems to have about 100 different sponsors - ranging from the ubiquitous beer companies to the rather odd "financial services operators" - it's the quaintness of Glasto that still impresses. Admirably, and uniquely, it's a non-profit-making affair, with all surplus monies going to Greenpeace, Wateraid and Oxfam. A lot more laidback than the somewhat "herd them in and herd them out" aspect of other festivals, Glasto's three-day duration also enables you to pitch a tent and just "chill out to the sounds", as they used to say back in the 1970s. The local police force have what can only be described as a "progressive" attitude towards the festival - long since used to 100,000 townies descending on this sleepiest of sleepy parts of the world, they are relatively tuned in to all that a music festival entails. The locals join in the fun, too, and set up tables on the route into the site, selling rather scrumptious and probably organic home-made cider.
Taking place on Worthy Farm in Somerset - the nearest train station is Castle Carey, from where free (yes, free) buses transport you to the site - the festival is still run by local farmer, Michael Eavis. Although it's been blighted in the last two years by torrential rain, which led to first World War-style trench situations and many unhappy campers on the 600-acre site (there were even reports of trench foot disease), ticket sales are still up on last year for the eight different musical stages and the single theatre and circus space. And it all takes place under the official Glasto slogan: "Look after yourselves and look after each other".
This year's line-up is pretty darn impressive, with R.E.M. headlining the aptly-named Pyramid Stage in their first real British date in four years. "Glastonbury have approached us every year for the last 10, and each time we turned them down," says guitarist Peter Buck. "This is the first year that they haven't approached us. We had to ask them if we could play." Further proof of Glastonbury's appeal and credibility is the fact that the Manic Street Preachers were offered a reported £1 million to play the Reading Festival later in the summer, but turned it down to play Glasto at a fraction of the price.
Arguably, this year's line-up is the best ever: apart from the two bands above, there's also a rare European performance from Courtney Love's Hole, whose banging Celebrity Skin album took her away from the tabloid front pages and back on to the music pages. Recent reports that Ms Love has turned into a demure Versace clothes horse should not be taken seriously - the last time I saw her play live, she dived into the audience to bang some bloke over the head with her guitar, did something unprintable to Drew Barrymore on stage and harangued some journalist in the front row for a good 10 minutes with a choice turn of phrase. Fun and games all round.
Other expected highlights are The Beautiful South, Joe Strummer, Blondie, Mercury Rev, Billy Bragg and the legendary Al Green, while the dance world is more than adequately represented by Underworld, The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Carl Cox, Faithless and Paul Oakenfold. Lonnie Donegan and The Corrs are also playing - I kid you not. With an Acoustic Stage, a "Newcomers" Tent, a Jazz Stage and a World Music Stage there's something somewhere to float your boat. And the Irish presence is pretty comprehensive, including as it does Ash, Mary Coughlan, Sharon Shannon, Donal Lunny's Coolfin, Jack L, Paddy Clancy and Chicks. Thousands of Irish music fans make the trip over each year and it's not too late to join them - the festival starts today and runs until late Sunday night. A three-day ticket costs £85 and all the other information you'll need can be obtained by ringing 00441159-129129.
