Oxford Times music editor Tim Hughes on the surprises in summer festival line-ups and praises the pared-down ideal

The announcement that heavy metal monsters Metallica would grace the top of the bill at this year’s Glastonbury Festival took even the most ardent rock fans by surprise.

This one-time bastion of the hippy ideal, Somerset’s vestige of the Summer of Love... this freewheeling gathering of beautiful people overlooking Avalon, is to be rocked by the world’s most formidable thrash metal. But James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich et al on the hallowed Pyramid Stage is only the latest in a spring of surprises.

For years rival festivals have upped the ante to attract audiences — the equivalent of the Russians and Soviets trying to outdo each other in the arms race — with correspondingly spiralling ticket prices. This reached its apex last year with The Rolling Stones at Glastonbury and Eminem at Reading.

Like the Cold War, however, it is unsustainable. Once you’ve cleared the stage for Jagger and Richards, everything else looks tame — even a band as noisy as Metallica. Fellow headliners Kasabian and Arcade Fire, while great bands, don’t really make up the shortfall.

The lack of big name headliners is a theme of many of this year’s festivals. Reading’s opening night has two middle-rung co-headliners — Paramore and Queens of the Stone Age. The closing night — Blink-182, isn’t much better. Have we gone back to 1999? Only Saturday night’s Arctic Monkeys rank high.

But while the quality of bands has dropped, punters face paying £222 for Glasto and £213 for Reading, with fees. On top, expect to be stung a further £25 and £60 for parking (though in Glasto’s case, only those with super high-speed Broadband, blagging rights, or a job at the BBC have tickets anyway. Oxford- shire festivals aren’t a lot better. Apologies in advance to our local friends, but Gipsy Kings and Simple Minds for Cornbury and The Waterboys and Australian Pink Floyd for Cropredy smack of desperation, or an addiction to the 1980s. Never a good thing (Henley’s Rewind, take note!).

At least Cornbury never claimed to be cool — and has the mighty Jools Holland (see front) and Arrested Development for an engagingly eclectic bill.

Big bands do not a great festival make, and proof came two weeks ago at the first festie — Wood.

This gathering of 1,200 kindred spirits, deep in the woods at Braziers Park, near Wallingford, boasted no big names. This intimate al fresco party captured the spirit of summer festivals, with a bill of high quality (if not very famous) musicians, family-friendly workshops, good food, excellent local beer and cider, and great welcome. No queues, no heavy-handed security, no litter or mud, a zero-carbon footprint, and the god of festivals made the sun shine.

For a veteran of big commercial festivals, yomps between stages, long queues, toxic toilets, annoying Rahs and rip-off prices for weak beer and tiny plates of food, it’s refreshing. And all for £75 — free for children. Wood is the brainchild to two veterans of the festival industry — Robin and Joe Bennett, who founded Truck festival in Steventon.

Maybe it’s time for festival-goers to start downsizing. Judging by most of this year’s line-ups, the festival organisers have already started.