Thanks a lot, Woodstock. There may have been other outdoor festivals before it, but on that dairy farm in New York in 1969 is when everything changed. The collective decision that watching bands from a muddy field without enough bathrooms is the best way to experience live music is one that escapes me, but thanks to that decision, it is the only way to see concerts in the summer any more (WUStock reminded us that outdoor concerts should not be held in March).

In the past 40-odd years, the number of music festivals has increased exponentially. From Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo, and Coachella to SXSW, wherever you go in the summer, there will be a music festival close by. Enough is enough though, this has gone too far. It has gotten to the point where it is impossible to even see a band because they are only travelling from festival to festival.

Sure there may be something kind of fun about listening to music outside. It changes the atmosphere to be in that different setting. Of course, it’s also nice not to be subject to the atmosphere. People usually do something about that, and it involves walls and a roof. Rain is great, but not when you are standing in it for hours, even if a band is playing through it.

Another thing is the price. For the big festivals, tickets are hundreds of dollars. You can argue that it is a great value for everything you can see, but it’s still a lot of money. It’s pretty much impossible to spend that much on an individual concert because no one can sell out arenas anymore except a couple old rock stars and Beyoncé. As for that value argument, yeah it’s a great value if you could see every band, but for the big multi-stage festivals you can’t, and it’s guaranteed that at least once two bands you want to see will be playing at the same time. Then, at all the other times will be a bunch of bands you’ve never even heard of. If there are only a couple bands that you want to see at the festival, then that value is gone. But what are you to do? It’s hard not to play when it is the only game in town.