My ultimate festival guide – from the best place to watch headliners to my Triple-B rule & why I always carry duct tape

THERE might be no Glastonbury this year but UK festival season is still in full swing. Alternative events such as Reading and Leeds later this month all anticipate huge crowds. Glastonbury isn’t on this year but there are still a lot of other festivals to check out Credit: Getty Alex James, host of Big Feastival, has shared his festival tips and tricks Credit: Getty But whether you’re a first timer or veteran, taking the kids or camping with mates here Blur bassist ALEX JAMES, who’s played main stages worldwide, and for the last 15 years also run his own Big Feastival event at his Oxfordshire farm, shares his insider guide. Big Feastival takes place Friday, August 28 to Sunday, August 30. Bigfeastival.com Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! FIRST FRIDAYS: If you’re going to just one day of a three-day weekend festival, choose the opening Friday. Alex encourages festival goers to “explore and get lost” to find interesting things happening Credit: Getty Many festivals schedule their strongest line up for the Friday, explains Alex Credit: Getty It’s harder to get people to take this day off work so often events will intentionally start off by putting their strongest music line up on to try to get people there early. Plus, on the first day everyone’s up for it, the site’s all still new and fresh, and the atmosphere full of excitement and anticipation. A day ticket is cheaper, and you’ll still soak up all the great vibes. TAPE, TROLLEYS, TRASH BAGS: Never go anywhere without duct tape. You can mark a massive X on your canvas to help you find it, patch rips or welly leaks, fix anything. Even some bands choose camping at festivals and don’t stay in hotels or tour buses. There’re so many options, pop-up tent, pre-pitched, glamping. But just take the bare minimum. You’ll be so tired you’ll crash anyway. Although everyone is different, my wife won’t go anywhere with a feather pillow, I’m happy to put my head on a rucksack. Black bin liners aren’t glamorous but a great shout for chucking dirty, smelly stuff into. Alex lists duct tape, black bin liners and a trolley as his camping essentials Credit: Getty Alex says Big Feastival started because decent festival food was hard to find Credit: Getty And I don’t know what I’d do without a trolley, it’s handy for everything. Brilliant for carting your stuff, or kids, across a field. Ask organisers as you can sometimes hire them on site too. SEEK THE SOUND TOWER: My 100 percent top tip is finding the sound tower and positioning yourself there to enjoy artists on the main stage. That’s where I always watch from. Don’t even bother trying to get down to the front, I love a mosh pit, but you won’t see as well and might even miss stuff. Besides festivals have big screens now, so you don’t really need to bother. The sound tower is where the technical stuff is all happening, it’s where they are doing the lights and the audio so it’s absolutely the best place to be to experience the music. BEANS, BOOTS, BOURBON Everyone’s packing necessities vary but I never go on tour without my basic cowboy essentials: Beans, boots, bourbon! For UK festivals also wellies, wipes and waterproofs, it could rain or roast, perhaps together. Hood or hat, and SPF, and you’re prepared for anything. Maybe a woolly too for nights, it gets colder than you think. A head torch is handy and saves on phone battery. Then even more wet-wipes. You really can’t have too many. SLEEPING LIONS: Camping with kids is nothing to be scared of. They absolutely love sleeping in tents, mine are happier than in a hotel. Festivals in particular are a total breeze, kids are like dogs after a day at the beach at bedtime. The fresh air totally whacks them out. You never hear children up late on the campsites. It’s the grown-ups who stay up and play up, making the most of the fact the kids are sleeping like lions. If they wake up early just give them a towel and tell them to go and play in the showers. Best 2026 festivals you can still get tickets for Battersea Park in Concert Head to south west London this Bank Holiday weekend to see this riverside park turned into an open-air venue, where the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will play hits from iconic bands such as ABBA, cinema and musical theatre classics, before closing off with jazz and soul from Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra and The Amy Winehouse Band celebrating 20 years of Back to Black. Reading and Leeds August bank holiday weekend sees the return of these twin festivals. Headliners this year include Charlie xcx, Dave, Raye, and Fontaines D.C. All Points East If you missed it last weekend, then fear not, because part two returns to Victoria Park in London this Friday, including performances from Tyler, The Creator, and Twenty One Pilots. Victorious Down on the south coast this weekend, the likes of Richard Ashcroft, The Black Keys, Kasabian, The Streets, and James Arthur will be performing in Portsmouth at this beautiful waterside location in Portsmouth – plus many more. Things kick off Friday and tickets are still available. Shambala This Thursday sees this independent festival kick off once more in the grounds of Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire. Come to enjoy performances from Emma-Jane Thackray and Swedish legends Goat. Radio 2 in the Park The first ever edition of this festival in Scotland, there’ll be performances from Simple Minds, The Script, and James Blunt over the 11 to 13 September, as well as sets from Radio 2 DJs. They’ll love it. Also book in advance to save as many events, like ours, offer early bird incentives, payment plans and discounts such as under 5’s free. CLOWNS FOR CALM: Think of a festival as a marathon, not a sprint. It’s often three days with lots of tired people by the end. There’s lots of excitement, you’ve done a lot of steps. It can be overwhelming. There will be rows, tantrums, huffs and diva strops, and that’s just the bands! Hang in there. My advice here from experience; take a bit of calm time out, find a quiet corner, perhaps sit on a hay bale, or watch some clowns. Headliners are typically on around 9.30pm-ish in the UK, which whether you’re playing on stage or watching it, is a long day. Don’t be afraid to take a tactical afternoon nap. COLD PLUNGE AND CARRY ON: When we started Big Feastival no-one else was doing decent festival food, it was all burgers or hot dogs. You get everything now. Taking supplies yourself remains a balance between overpacking and running out. But remember now there’s often a supermarket on site for essentials. There’s still nothing like a cold beer and a live band. But if you wake up with a sore head you won’t be the only one suffering. Pack paracetamol, a shower – another top tip is get up early, or sleep very late, to avoid busiest times for bogs and washing – then find good coffee, or Bloody Marys. A pay-as-you-go cold plunge or sauna is another top festival hangover reviver. Ask where they are, they might be tucked away, but many will offer this. POKE ABOUT: I like being a man with a plan but as host, if I’ve done any job properly the thing you’ll enjoy the most isn’t the reason you came. Headline acts may make you buy the ticket, but they often aren’t the highlight you leave with. It’s actually pretty easy to book bands but I know that watching one artist you love won’t sustain a whole weekend. Good organisers ensure variety and loads of other quirky, interesting stuff happening too. Find smaller music sets, discover new bands, visit the silent disco, poke your head into random marquees, explore, get lost, keep an open mind. You never know what will end up being your magical moment. Enjoy everything. Hosting a festival truly is the most fun I’ve ever had. The memories last a lifetime.