The Big Beach Ball Festival in Aberdeen

UK is known for a million of things but if you are less than 25 years old and you crave for alternative rock music you certainly know Britain for its rock festivals too, the Glastonbury Festival and Reading and Leeds Festival among others. It is there where tens of thousands of youth from all around Europe gather annually to drink… as much as they can (beer is the predominant type of alcoholic drink) while losing themselves to the ecstatic rhythms of rock music. If you want to take a taste of the festival’s history then I would recommend Julian Temple’s documentary Glastonbury.

Since 2005, when the documentary was shot, many more artists have brought waves of enthusiasm to young music enthusiasts. Given the fact that last year the festival was not held due to the London Summer Olympics something tells me that many are already impatiently waiting for this year’s big rock party!

Apart from these gigantic festivals though, there are many more festivals of smaller size in many parts of the island. For example, on the 5^th of May The Big Beach Ball takes place in Aberdeen, Scotland. Who would say no to some fine rock tunes by the beach in Scotland? Surely not anyone that wishes to stay updated with the latest trends of alternative music and hipster attitudes!

The festival takes place at the legendary Beach Ballroom, a beautiful art deco building ran by the Aberdeen City Council. Bands like The Beatles, The Small Faces, Pink Floyd and Cream have performed in the Beach Ballroom in the – not so remote – past. In case you want to grab a taste of a temple of rock ‘n’ roll that continues to rock till today, then book your Travelodge hotel in Aberdeen as soon as possible, not to somehow miss your chance to party!

Miaoux Miaoux

This year, a number of international DJ’s and Scottish groups will perform at the Big Beach Ball including Inner City, Octave One, The Xcerts, Miaoux Miaoux (nice name, eh!?), Lockah, the Little Kicks, Nevada Base and Marionettes, among other fancy choices. What is more, DJ Jackmaster in particular, is expected to set fire to around 3.000 people with the latest dance hits.

The festival is organized for the second year in a row. One might argue that The Big Beach Ball is a relatively new festival, but surely is an ambitious and up to date one! Not to mention that it is much less 'sweaty' than Glastonbury! Plus, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to decide to stay some more in Aberdeen and discover the city, which is, after all, one of Scotland’s biggest cities. Maybe a good idea would have also been for a festival to be held inside a Scottish castle; just imagine… the aura of a remote medieval past combined with rock ‘n’ roll tunes and endless amount of beers! Hic! However, now, that I am thinking of it, I could also do with that legendary Beach Ballroom. After all, it is not bad at all to step on the footsteps of The Beatles!