Many festivals, explicitly or otherwise, look towards the metropolis for their model. Some are simply gargantuan, leaving no hope for finding your friends should you lose them; others, like Boomtown, are literally conceived of as cities, with districts, buildings, and performers playing inhabitants. On a more (or less) pragmatic note, Primavera this year was heaving, and will probably be remembered best for its shambolic bar service on the Thursday – you could easily expect to wait over an hour to be served. Perhaps as a reflection of either the post-lockdown compulsion to rush headlong back into city life or our collective estrangement from monolithic crowds, the larger festivals this season were just overwhelming.