Music Films to Get You in the Glastonbury Mood

The 2017 Glastonbury Festival is underway in Somerset in the Southwest of England. Touted as the largest greenfield festival in the world, this five-day event is a celebration of contemporary performing arts including dance, comedy and theatre.

But above all, Glastonbury is known as a mecca for live musical performances. Leading pop and rock artists have headlined there intermittently throughout the 70’s and pretty much annually since 1981. Hundreds of acts are set to appear this year with a star-studded line-up that includes Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Lorde, The Pretenders and Radiohead.

Of course, most of us won’t be making the trip to this iconic festival. Whether it’s a lack of funds (I've read tickets are sold out anyhow), or an aversion to large crowds and mud, there are some films out there that bring the British live music experience directly to you. Hopefully one of these selections can fill that Glastonbury void.

Glastonbury The Movie (in Flashback)

In 1993 documentary film makers shot a full weekend’s worth of footage at the Glastonbury Festival. As much about the act of attending the event as it is about the musical performances, this 90’s film was reworked with updated cinema technology and re-released in 2012 as a "flashback". If you want to experience festival culture vicariously, check out this documentary on Amazon Prime.