A few years ago, my nephew informed me that he and his friend were planning to come up to London for the weekend for the Wireless Festival. Did they need somewhere to stay? He looked at me like I was a mad old man. No, of course not. They were going to camp. In Finsbury Park. Because when you go to festivals, you camp. Thankfully, he didn’t turn up on the Victoria Line with his tent and then wonder why no one else was similarly equipped.
Phoenix have the air of being as much a lifestyle choice as a pop group
Inner-city festivals such as Wireless and All Points East are almost always a series of single-day events. APE is a ruthlessly programmed festival. Rather than try to be all things to all people, each day is targeted at some section of the festival-going population. This year, there were two days for people who wanted to dance (headlined by Kaytranada and Loyle Carner) on the first weekend, then over the bank holiday weekend, one for teenage girls and young women (Mitski), one for maturing hipsters (LCD Soundsystem) and one almost exclusively for people who listen to BBC Radio 6 Music (Death Cab For Cutie and the Postal Service).

Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in