Wide Awake, the festival up against it all
What is the opposite of fragile?
You might be thinking strong, durable, or resilient.
Well, according to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the opposite of fragile is not merely robust or resilient, as these terms imply something that withstands stress without changing.
Instead, he introduces the concept of antifragile, which describes something that actively benefits from disorder, stress, or volatility, improving or growing stronger as a result.
If you’re reading this, you’re likely already aware that the festival faced numerous challenges just days before it was due to kick off. Legal battles against the ‘local community’ despite a large majority of that local community seeming to disagree with the group with a mission to ‘protect the park’ whilst destroying many more things on the journey.
That wasn’t the only legal battle. Headliners, Kneecap, were also making headline news regarding a court case that’s coming up after a recent terror charge for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag onstage.
However, the festival triumphed.
Perhaps ticket sales were harmed by the uncertainty, but the message behind it was amplified. It became antifragile.
Jeremy Corbyn said it best on the main stage during his guest appearance.
“Our strength, our joy, our hope – is our diversity. Is our difference.”
And from entering the festival and being blasted by Mermaid Chunky holding plastic chattering teeth to the microphone at main stage volumes, to Psychedelic Porn Crumpets doing crab dances, you could see that it was true.
He celebrated the success of English Teacher who helped support the #MusicForTheMany campaign in a mission to save grassroots venues and later went on to win a Mercury Prize award. The band then delivered a stellar set later that day, proving themselves an inspiration for the younger generation who will go on to use those same venues and platforms.
With varying scales of wild performances from the perpetual topless headbanging from Getdown Services to the howling crowds at Fat Dog, this inspiration floated throughout the grounds of Wide Awake.
BDRMM crafted a spectacle with that stand-out energy that instantly has you looking at your mate saying, “these are class”.
And then there’s CMAT. The natural, no fucks given, performer that provokes only feelings of pure joy despite her lyrics of personal, yet incredibly relatable, struggles. The Irish singer put into words what many were desperately trying, and had you line dancing to them.
Then, of course, there were headliners, Kneecap.
Certainly not shy of a headline. How can they be when they’re on the right side of history?
After Jeremy Corbyn said earlier, “…when we have the demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people, please be there, raise your voice. It matters by giving inspiration to those people going through the most ghastly times of their lives.” Kneecap provided a concrete example.
It’s the first time I’ve seen them live. Hopefully not the last, but they’re not scared of it potentially being so long as they can be a voice for Palestine.
Earlier in the day, I overheard someone quietly asking over a burger, “Are there any mosh pits at a Kneecap gig?”
Thankfully, they weren’t eating said burger during their show.
Within seconds, you’re swept up into a pit and, despite being surrounded by balaclavas, one of the nicest pits you’ve ever been in. It’s chaos with a purpose.
The type of chaos that invites fans to Westminster with a big bag of Ket because, “They’re trying to silence us from speaking on stage at Glastonbury the way we did at Coachella”, Mo Chara exclaimed on his recent charge.
And in the loosest way possible, it’s this type of behaviour that the world needs.
No, honestly.
Building a momentum this strong over some keyboard preset beats, stirring up a commotion this wild, and being able to turn up and laugh it off is incredible. Fair fucks.
And fair fucks to Wide Awake for curating a festival that concluded stronger in the face of uncertainty.