Festival Q&A:
Richy Ahmed

Who else are you excited to see?
I’m really excited to see A Tribe Called Quest and Chaka Khan.

What’s your best festival memory?
My best Parklife memory was playing b2b with Patrick Topping last year. I have never played to a bigger crowd – it was absolutely mental! There were figures spreading about just how big it was – it was just next level!

What are your festival essentials?
A really good battery pack so you don’t lose your mates, wellies obviously, and a cool waterproof!

How does playing a festival differ from playing your own gig?
It’s completely different, innit? It’s a big melting pot of music and people and it’s so much more varied with different stages. This makes the crowd that comes to see you different as well. The stages are always a lot bigger and it’s a lot more raw, less organised and you don’t know what you’re going to get when you get to the stage sometimes.

What’s your favourite part of playing a festival?
It’s got to be playing outdoors, which I usually do at festivals. It’s so different to playing a club. It’s bigger, the sound is different and the energy is different. When you play at a club everyone is there to see you, but at a festival the energy is a lot higher. People are a bit more excited and up for it. I love playing at clubs but festivals make a real welcome change sometimes.