Victorious Festival 2022: Review
May 10, 2023
Mad Cool is Europe’s answer to Coachella, with the gorgeous palm trees, Ferris wheel and desert-like walk up to the entrance, it’s the perfect mix of influencer picture opportunities and music lover gold, with a sense of culture and togetherness that Coachella seems to lack.
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Mad Cool Festival 2022 was a jam-packed 5-day weekend, with one of the best lineups across Europe this summer. With the likes of Metallica and Florence and The Machine to The Killers and even Muse, taking over the Spanish capital, they sure knew how to pull a crowd. Not even high temperatures of 38 degrees could keep those crowds from dancing the night away until the early hours of the morning.
Here are five of my top takeaways you must know about this amazing Spanish music festival.
Festival design
Something that makes a festival great is the design of the grounds, and Mad Cool was no exception to that.
The strategic layout of the stages means you don’t have to run miles just to catch your favorite bands or artists as everything is built relatively close to one another and ensures that there’s a quick turnaround between performances.
The only downside to this, is if you’re desperate to get a spot close to the front, but want to see the act playing on the other stage first, you’d have to leave their set a little early, otherwise you’ll get sucked into the sea of people, walking from one stage to another.
Feeling hot, hot, hot
Of course, being in Madrid, you’ll find it's extremely hot but the festival is optimally organised to ensure that you aren’t affected by this. With minimal walking between stages and easily accessible water points, that don't, might I add, have ridiculous queues.
They have plenty of shaded areas for eating, sitting and the crowds don’t feel too crowded. For each headliner, even center stage, everyone respects your personal space in the heat and it creates a great atmosphere because you’re not being packed in by punters.
Cash-free zone
Mad Cool went cashless for 2022 and whilst it was a good idea in theory, not having to worry about losing notes or your bank cards and all in all, the wristbands worked really well, there were some issues with this system.
The festival didn’t think about the option to refund people, so when you came to pay for my food and on occasion the food stall announced that they had run out, you had no option to be refunded for the food you had just paid for.
Another downside to this was that you could top the bracelets up but only before 1pm each day. Anybody that attends Mad Cool knows that you weren’t starting your day till after 1pm, because of those wild late nights and so it's likely you’ll miss the cut-off time.
Watch the clock!
Staying at the festival right until the last band played, with the 2am dancing, confetti leftovers and humid air, brought a sense of magic to those final moments.
But the magic is soon relinquished when you realise there’s no easy way to get home.
The city of Madrid didn’t make it easy for festival goer-s like they did in Barcelona for Primavera Sound, opening the Metro for 24 hours. There was only 1 Metro line available that takes you to 1 destination in the middle of Madrid, so if you’re not staying in that district you would have to find any way possible to get home.
It's chaotic trying to find a taxi that's not been taken or overcharging you or a bus that has a queue that is hours long so many worse case scenarios ended in hiring a scooter to get back to central Madrid, where most tourists were staying.
Set piece
The festival was generous with their acts sets, it truly made each act feel like they were headliners.
With lots of bands currently on tour, they were able to bring that same set up to the stage in Madrid so the audiences could fully immerse themselves in the artist's experience.
From Phoebe Bridgers calming clouds to Haim’s hilarious sausages hanging on the stage and Metallica's catwalk so they were within touching distance of their fans, It was clear that Mad Cool cared about each band's performance.
Every act was able to have their ‘moment’ without being overclouded by the headline performances. It was great for fans who weren’t able to see these bands on tour because, with the set designs and stage differentiations, they really didn’t have to.
Summary
All in all, Mad Cool Festival 2022 lived up to its name, as a weekend like no other, with an unforgettable lineup, stunning sunsets and memories that will last a lifetime. The festival itself is well-organised and well thought out, it’s clear they know what they’re doing, after years of putting on the event and its certain they will pull an even bigger crowd next year. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the next mad lineup!
Agree with me? What is your experience of Mad Cool? Leave a comment below.
Emily Malia
Emily is a freelance writer with a passion for music, reading and interest in popular culture. She has written for her self titled personal blog and has published a range of articles from local interest stories for Derby Telegraph to think pieces for Sludgemag.
Emily also has a passion for fictional writing and would hope to one day publish a novel.
W: https://emilymalia02.wixsite.com/emilymalia
E: [email protected]
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