Cows Cheer Glastonbury Fallow Year

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The idea of one of the world’s largest music festivals going fallow, especially one that saw 177,000 people and a gross of $18 million in 2017 (according to Pollstar Boxoffice) would perhaps seem absurd at best to most American festival promoters, agents, managers and even artists. But then again, most festivals don’t take place at a 150-year old, 500-acre dairy farm in Pilton, Somerset, U.K.  

Reportedly inspired by seeing Led Zeppelin in 1969 Bath Festival of Blues, dairy farmer Michael Eavis launched the Pilton Pop Folk & Blues festival, a precursor to Glastonbury, which every five years takes a break to let the land and bovines regenerate.

Try letting 200,000 people on your land and see what happens.  Festivalgoers abandon tents and other belongings and aren’t too buttoned-up about unzipping. “Peeing on the ground causes toxic pollution of the water table,” the festival’s website says. “Wildlife and fish are affected if 200,000 revellers pee everywhere.”

Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis told the BBC in 2008 that his 360 cows yield 10,200 litres a day. Milk remains Michael Eavis’ main income and Glastonbury is a non-profit event, though he does get paid rent for the event.

During a fallow year, the cows can be seen grazing among the steel skeleton of The Pyramid Stage, the festival’s main stage and the site’s only permanent structure.

The main fallow year project is social housing on the farm. By 2020 there will be 53 houses completed. The project, started in 1988, has been visited by Prince Charles, David Beckham and Jeremy Corbyn.

After 2012’s fallow year, Glasto returned with new stages, including The Park and Block9. Eavis said that “there’ll probably be a couple of radical switches” prior to the next edition in 2019.  The Eavises have also reportedly already booked two headliners for the fest’s 50th anniversary in 2020.