By Floris Loeff, guest writer Story Terrace 

Two hundred and fifty festivals

Anecdotes of an avid festivalgoer

Marcel Keizer (46), a.k.a. Burning Marcel or Mr. Fixxx, visits as many festivals a year as possible, all around the world. Story Terrace asked him about his most precious festival moments.

Beginning of a love affair

It all started about 25 years ago. Marcel thinks hard. ‘It was a gigantic three-day festival at an airport in Germany. The festival had a good line-up and I decided to go. With a mattress crammed in the back of my Renault 205, I drove there. Many big stars like Prince and Tina Turner performed. There were around sixty, seventy thousand visitors. That was my first festival. God, what was the name again…’ Marcel has trouble remembering the name of the festival. ‘Rock am Ring,’ his wife Angela puts in to help him out.

Connoisseur

‘I used to go to concerts quite often,’ Marcel says, ‘but since that first festival, I have been visiting at least ten festivals each year. So you do the maths: 25 years, that’s at least 250 festivals. It’s reached the point that I now take my children to Lowlands. That’s a very special event for me.’

‘This year there’s been a particularly large number of festivals in a short period of time – Pinkpop, Lowlands, Mysteryland, Burning Man and Into The Great Wide Open, to name just a few. And one after the other. That’s so exciting. The quality of the music is insanely good. I’ve participated in so many festivals.’

‘One of the most special moments was when David Bowie was performing at Rock Werchter in Belgium,’ Marcel says. ‘After a steaming performance by The Prodigy, David Bowie and his band appeared from the smoke, completely dressed in white and Bowie opened with “Ground control to Major Tom”. Goosebumps!’

Another special moment was when Marcel saw Rage Against the Machine for the first time. ‘It was at Pink Pop and they caused the biggest earthquake the surrounding province has ever known. Literally everyone was jumping as if it was their last living moment. Or that moment when the Rammstein lead singer set the fringes of his motorcycle suit on fire while performing.’

According to Marcel, it’s also in the little moments that you really do live life to the full. He tells about one of his favourites among the smaller festivals: ‘Into The Great Wide Open is a small festival and originated from the regular gatherings bands would hold on the Dutch island of Vlieland. In the village cafe De Bolder, bands gather to jam. At the first ITGWO four years ago, a shy boy started strumming on his guitar in De Bolder and it was truly wonderful. “Hello, Vlieland,” he said a moment later, “I am honoured to be here and my name is Ben Howard.”

Burning Man

To Marcel, the festival among all festivals is ‘Burning Man’ in the deserts of Nevada, where each year nearly 70.000 people gather to find an ultimate state of freedom. ‘In a magazine I once read about Burning Man. Right then I knew I would go there one day. In the end a Canadian colleague of mine, who had gone 15 times already, took me there. That was in 2011 and it was relatively undiscovered.‘ Three years later the festival is a media favourite and has grown into the big attraction it is today.

‘One explosion of creativity, which is so incredibly beautiful.’ Marcel pauses for a minute. ‘Because you are the festival, you create the festival. Some things that happen there are actually impossible, and still they do happen. For example, in my first year I was cycling around the enormous site on my own. At one point I was standing next to a middle-aged man who told me he was a CEO and owner of a big company, responsible for a bunch of families. He came to Burning Man every year to escape the buzz. All the family members were stark naked and painted completely blue. “Today is blue day,” he explained. The next day they were painted in a different colour. That made a big impression on me.’

A way of life

‘At the beginning of each year I draw up a list of all the big festivals. I’ve got a busy job, for which I travel a lot, and that requires good time management. There is so much more to see and do. I’ve never been to Glastonbury, for instance. Dolly Parton performed there this year, and they offer such a spectacular line-up. It might seem crazy, but I’ve also never been to the Dutch festival Oerol. That one is definitely on my bucket list. And I want to visit the Boom Festival in Portugal, the European version of Burning Man, in 2016.‘

‘Festivals are a way of life for me,’ Marcel says quite categorically. ‘Meeting people, the creativity, the freedom – it’s pure enjoyment for me. One day I’d like to make festivals my profession.’

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About the author: About the author: Floris Loeff is a freelance writer and producer. Curious and open-minded he  explores life. He is currently working on a surf documentary about Sierra Leone.

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This month we celebrate festival memories. Also see our our article on the Life cycle of Festivals and other stories. What’s your most treasured festival memory?