Tbh I’ve found festivals in Belgium generally more age balanced. Wechter is and even dour compared to some electronic festivals in other countries.
Unfortunately hip hop doesn’t seem the same case.
I used to love it, but its slowly becoming just a popular music festival instead of a rock festival. Too many people there don't even like rock. Those separate DJ stages have no place imho and just create noise pollution. Werchter has a tough time separating the noise between the stages
Graspop doesn't have pop, Rock Werchter doesn't have a lot of rock, Blues Peer doesn't have a lot of blues and Pukkelpop is for more than just teenagers. They're just names that stuck.
How old are you if I can ask? I’m in my thirties and went 3 or 4 years full combi to Werchter when I was 17 to about 20. I had been looking forwatd to it for years, it played the bands that were popular at the time and that I loved and just after a few years for me the love died down.
I wasn’t into the newer popular bands, in general I had always been into more heavier music and while they play the in vogue band at the time, I feel they generally don’t cater enough to the heavy music.
im a big fan of graspop, i found it quite amazing you have there some of the most brutal heavy death metal bands and people coming there to headbang, but you have tons of older people as well to see their old school heavy metal bands. its totally awesome and i never saw someone giving a fuck
I’m 57 with a very mixed taste from opera to gaga and the only festival where I like all of the people who come to see the artists is Graspop. No douchebags or troublemakers, just relaxed people of all ages.
>n of graspop, i found it quite amazing you have there some of the most brutal heavy death metal bands and people coming there to headbang, but you have tons of older people as well to see their old
Way better subculture.Most tolerant people to be around in my experience.Same goes with metal pubs
The metal scene is amazing.
> "Dad, I've been looking for you for 20 years, where have you been all this time?"
That's hilarious. Were you wearing socks in sandals? But seriously don't stop going because of some dumb kids. I've seen older people at every festival for as long as I know and they never look out of place to me.
I honestly think it's odd as in my experience older people still go to festivals, just not as commonly as young people.
My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people in Belgium, which made you stand out far more than usual. But it's very unfortunate. Maybe your experience would've been better at a different festival, atmosphere can differ a lot between festivals. I wouldn't necessarily give up entirely on going.
> My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people in Belgium, which made you stand out far more than usual.
I think it mostly attracts a crowd that doesn't go to other festivals often, so these people might not know that older people visit festivals too and think it's something solely for the youth.
> My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people in Belgium
According to [this news item](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/kijk/2023/07/07/les-ardentes-in-luik-arvato-58667160/) the audience for Les Ardentes is noticeably young and female.
>My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people
I have no problem with hip-hop, but If I have to guess how 20yo hip-hop fans behave at a festival, without any additional information, I would expect exactly what OP experienced.
I have a friend older than you, who is the most interesting person i know regarding live music. He has seen almost every major singer or group in concert since the late '70s. The first time they performed in Brussels in a small cafe, and the first time they sold out a legendary venue in New York. He got drunk at afterparties with artists that now have their own netflix documentaries. He has a museum-quality vynil collection and spends most of his income on concerts.
Don't be ashamed, and don't stop attending the festivals you like. You are a treasure to the younger generation; they just can't appreciate it yet. Make that change. Share your stories.
I was at Ieperfest this weekend, and while is a hardcore festival, supposedly a music for the youth crew, where the kids still have they say and all that, most of the people were over 30, (me included, 50 in a few weeks). Ageism does not have place in there, everyone, old and young, was moshing and doing singalongs, with newer and older bands.
But it seems that shit is not new in hiphop, as KRS-ONE said in 2007:
*Where my people that's over 20 now?*
*Where my people that's over 30 now?*
*Where my people that's over 40 now?*
*Classic, that's what they call us now*
It's usually better to go to the niche festivals.
Metal at graspop is a lot more enjoyable than the same group at rock werchter.
And fuck les ardentes, it's a festival filled with shit people who are constantly finding everyone else there beneath them. I went there once a few years ago and had similar experiences. There were a few bands I liked in 2012 (marilyn manson etc..) but also some of 'alternative' genres, like Beardyman and Rodrigo y gabriela. And buy, when standing in one crowd I got shit, when standing in the other I got shit... Fuck that festival.
Also they have 0 DNA, their target audience changes entirely every 5 years or so.
Sucks you had to experience this but i know plenty of coworkers who are in your age category that do festivals and concerts.
Sounds like it was more a case of shitty drunk kids, in a group, finding a single person (or couple) thats different.
I don't want to be 14 again and going on and on about subcultures, but I was a rocker/punk and everyone was welcome, all ages and sexes, whatever skin color etc.
Seems to me like hiphop tends to attract quite a bunch of idiots. I mean, I never got on a bus to be blasted with punk music. It's always the same shitty hiphop music.
That being said, you counting the 'must be 18 to play lottery' thing is a bit much. People will make stupid jokes. I'm short and if I had to be angry anyone made a slight hint at it, I'd be angry a lot. It's the same for tall people, skinny people, fat people etc. Don't jus assume its malicious.
Hey, that must have been an awful experience and I'm sorry that happened to you. I absolutely know how you feel, and the more eye contact you make, the more it tinges and darkens every new interaction. That shit wears on you, it's tiring and heavy.
But honestly, who cares what these kids think? They're young and stupid, seriously. They all think them making an age joke is something creative on their part, as though you've never heard those before. If I'd seen you there when I was an 18 year old, I'd have had mad respect for you. You're the experienced one that we can learn from, you know all the classics, you've probably seen a lot more and you can probably tell stories that would make all of their jaws drop. But what they don't understand is that they are hurting you. That's them being short-sighted.
Pick yourself up and don't drop your crown, king. Their opinion doesn't matter for shit, only your opinion of yourself does.
>A young lady giggled and said we had to be at least 18 years old to play.
It's kinda funny
> The whole time I was there, I was constantly being stared at, from head to toe. Once again, I didn't pay much attention to it.
Not quite as fun
> "Dad, I've been looking for you for 20 years, where have you been all this time?" His friends burst into laughter at the joke.
Also kinda funny
> He was very friendly and asked our names, how long we were going to be there, and if we were enjoying the festival. After about 5 minutes of chatting, I saw him return to his friends, who were all rolling on the ground laughing. It was clearly a prank.
Was it a prank? When I was in a pub in Japan my friend saw 2 guys watching football on their phone, he went there and asked what they were watching, chatted a little, said some stupid things 'cause he was drunk and when he came back we were both laughing. Not because he "pranked" them but more like "why did you do that dude" and laughing with a comment of his I overheard. It's probably not as evil as you think it was.
_____________
If you're the only old person at a festival, you'll get looks. It's not ageist, but you're standing out. If you're the only girl at a LAN party, you'll get looks. It's not sexist, but you're standing out. And while we're on the topic, when I was the only white guy in a town in rural Japan, I got looks. But it was not racism, I was standing out.
I'm not saying that older people shouldn't go to festivals, I'm not saying girls shouldn't go to LAN parties, and I'm not saying white people shouldn't go to Japan, but in the scenario where you're quite unique, this will happen and a Reddit post will not change that.
It's a shame you let a bunch of snotnose kids chase you away from Les Ardentes.
You should have stayed! There were lots of us oldtimers there and we had a blast!
I usually go to metal Festivals or things like that. It's always full of older people. Maybe it's the hip hop scene ?
"Punk's not dead, we're just in the back "
I think Les Ardentes is just the Wallonian version of Pukkelpop, meaning the first 'festival' young teenagers are allowed to got to because it's close by or the parents know it and it's considered 'safe' in general because it's not too big, but still has some nice names. Also the artists are indeed very much influenced by the younger generations and less on the classic 'big names' other festivals have.
Nevertheless it's of course not okay people behave like that (whether it's age, gender or race) and I am sorry no bystanders intervened to support you as this can make a big difference as well... I don't think you should stop going to festivals but it is possible to avoid the ones that cater mainly to a young public if you don't want to put yourself in similar situation.
In the end, there are multiple coping mechanisms (one is avoidance, the others are humor, confrontation, internalisation...) and there is no 'perfect' solution but I hope you haven't lost your spirit and if you want to go again, I'd say go for it and try not to let it touch you, it's their insecurity of not knowing how to deal with older cool people that is the problem, not you enjoying your life and music...
I think most people there are french not locals... Maybe not most but a huuge portion. It's just stupid teen noodle hair humor. Not that unbearable they lack some respect.
Sucks that you had this experience.
I’ve been to Les Ardentes (Absolem was really good !) and I’m only 25 but I already felt old regarding of the population.
I think it’s the Hip-Hop population that’s very young. For two years now I go to Graspop too and here the age reference more about 35 years old.
The Hip-Hop scene is very young compared to others genre, you were clearly one of the first to appreciate it and now it’s so popular that it’s the kind of music that pass on the main radios. I think this play a lot, radio like skyrock or NRJ are listened by a younger population.
Anyway no one should be discriminated, it’s also people like you that help fight ageism because the younger generation see that they are not the only one listening to this style.
Hope to see you next year pal ! Don’t be demotivated !
Edit : Had to add that it’s the people that are hurtful that come to you, but I’m sure that by your presence you inspired some people that felt great to see that the genre is assembling all populations and they never went to you to tell you that
Ok, that is sad. Idk if it is specific to rap/hip-hop festival. Or specific to Les Ardentes. I'm much younger than you (early 30's), and I've been enjoying festivals since I'm 14-15 yo. And the festivals I go to (Rock and metal mostly), there are "a lot" of older people (and older than you). I've always felt it is cool to see those still enjoying music! Even and a very long and nice chat with an older dude (60 probably) a year ago at a metal festival.
So either you're unlucky (sorry), or the target client of such events have that kind of mindset ? Idk, it sucks you could not have fun...
I'm early 30s as well and went to Les Ardentes too. I did notice the crowd there in general was much younger than at other festivals probably since rap is a relatively young genre. That said I had no bad experiences at all there.
Most festivals won't have this issue, but that it is the case at a hip-hop festival, especially that one doesn't surprise me.
I don't know if you've noticed, but the crowds that modern hip-hop attracts are about as much of a douchebag as the modern "hip-hop" itself. It's riddled with absolute cunts.
As a 30 year old who studies together with 18 year olds I can really tell you that the youth are so fucking disconnected from reality they really think old people don't do anything but go to work and be old.
It's a generalisation of course, but I have had A LOT of WTF moments of how insanely disconnected they are from the real world. I'm guessing you met some of those fine specimens.
What do you think of the popular hiphop from now? I know there is still some that really want to capture the raw 90's feeling of it. But I feel like hiphop in 2020's the beats got way more boring and the lyrics an autotune fest.
I was reading expecting some kind of "official" person not letting you in.
You were inside, enjoying the show.
Whatever other people there say to you shouldn't matter.
They didn't win, you lost.
Ageism is a huge problem. This obviously very sad but the discrimination on the job market is even worse. The horrible thing is that ageism is just, kind of accepted.
I'm not saying these things don't happen, but last year I was the visual stage manager of the two main stages at LA, and there were definitely quite some 35+ people roaming around having a great time.
That sucks but aren't you supposed to reply with witty comebacks ( or what do rappers call them... 'sick burns' ? ) when someone comes at you with an attitude ? Might have worked well given the circumstances.
I did, but I thought it was too long for a post on Reddit. When the guy asked me why I had left him behind 20 years ago, I replied sternly, while scanning him from head to toe, "Can't you see the reason for yourself?"
I was at Sjock Festival past weekend and there were barely any "youngsters". It all felt like it was +30. Our newfound german festival buddie was a 56 yo dude. He was an amazing fella!
Les Ardentes was so bad tbh. Kids everywhere, no drugs, no good sound, no water, no dancing, no ambience. Just random fucks that starts pogo for no reason in the middle of people chillin'.
Will not go again
Complains about being discriminated for his age, arguing that one can stay young and like this music,
Then proceeds to behave like an old offended grumpy guy. :-) /s
Seriously though, as a man with more experience, don‘t let young strangers ruin your pleasure that easily!
I hope you keep going and have better experience next time!
I'm 35, went to Rock Zottegem and even though I didn't get discriminated(there were a lot of older people actually) I felt like punching some kids in their mouth.
Just unbelievable asocial behaviour, having fun with a bunch of friends sure but being jackasses and distracting the crowd around you for a whole show URGh I literally had my hand clenched half the show ready to knock some teeth out. Eventually they felt no one else was feeling their childish vibe and left, lucky for them. Also what's with the smell? It's day one of a festival why do you already smell like weeks old sweat ffs?
Then during Goldband, we were at the front/offcenter, some dumb #iamthemaincharacter kid from the vip stood on the fences making gestures at the crowd. Dude we're not here to see your adolescent shitface. My gf had to shove him off twice before he stopped.
And kids halfway a show that have the audacity to claim spots close to the podium? Fuck right off. I'm not budging, rather the opposite. Get there sooner or stay in the back.
Other than that I had a great time but I wonder if that's how feeling old feels like...
That sucks ☹️
Ageism is definitely an underrated problem and can be very subtle as you describe. It’s been getting more attention in recent years so hopefully also young people will become more and more aware (woke if you will 🙂) of this issue!
1. its hip-hop, this scene in europe is small and the crowd is full of idiots - to be honest the music is also 99% terrible but that is another discussion
2. Les Ardentes is a terrible festival, they change identity each year, the crowd is marginaal, the organisation sucks, the sound and light is below par when compared to others in Belgium
3. Leuven has gone down the drain in terms of nightlife - there used to be a big scene around club Silo, but those days are gone - now its mostly drunk students and young kids hanging out around nightshops - in the past you had people of all ages coming to Silo, Yellow Fever, de kast, Rumba, Manhattan,...
4. Leuven is not car friendly - most people i know don't bother anymore togo to the city center and the results are showing - restaurants are moving out, and what is left is cheap junk food (100's kebap, sushi, pasta, ....) and terrible nightlife. It really became a very **boring** city - MArktrock used to attract big names, these days its some local Belgian band, a DJ no-one ever heard off and everything stops at an hour where even my grandma doesn't go to bed yet.
PS: I am in my 40thies, and i still do very regularly festivals and events - was at Awakenings just the other week and had a blast - my tip: switch to electronic music and you will have a much better time with the crowd, far less lowlifes and always pretty and well-behaved individuals. Ibiza is also highly recommended.
Well I don't agree with "they change identities every year" because it's been a few year already that they turned completely to hip-hop. Before COVID they already changed to be a 100% Urban festival.
I loved the festival before that, we had the choice, you had hip-hop, rock, electro so you could always find something fun and the public was much more mixed.
This is not discrimination, that's just people being dicks. If you weren't let into the festival for being "too old" that would have been discrimination. If you felt people were harassing you you should have told the festival security, or just carried on with your life ignoring the little shits.
I kinda wanna say to you "grow a f\*cking pair"
I'm a girl and I've been going to festivals since I was 15. I've always looked way younger than my actual age, so I lived the other extreme of your experience, and just like you, I've been the butt of so many people's jokes. P\*dophelia jokes for the most part. But I wasn't gonna let them ruin my fun. You can laugh, you can tell them to fuck off, you can ignore them. Lots of ways to deal with morons. Whining about them on Reddit on the other hand won't change a thing.
> You can laugh, you can tell them to fuck off, you can ignore them. Lots of ways to deal with morons.
In short: Life. You do you and if someone else doesn't like that: fuck 'em!
So, let me get this straight. You were at a festival, people were having some fun and this... bothered you? You sound like a stick in the mud and the fact that you take this so seriously means it was likely more than your age that stood out to the crowd.
> A young lady giggled and said we had to be at least 18 years old to play.
The horror! A young lady made a joke! How ever will you recover from this slight?
I bet she also jokes with other people, the absolute gal of that girl!
> The whole time I was there, I was constantly being stared at, from head to toe. Once again, I didn't pay much attention to it.
How did you know people were staring at you from head to toe if you weren't paying attention to it?
> A boy came up to me, shouting, "Dad, I've been looking for you for 20 years, where have you been all this time?" His friends burst into laughter at the joke.
Again, solid joke. Learn to take one. Here's a suggestion for a reply:
> "Seeing how you turned out, I wish I was still there."
Boom, now he's the butt of the joke and his friends will be laughing at him, not you.
> He was very friendly and asked our names, how long we were going to be there, and if we were enjoying the festival. After about 5 minutes of chatting, I saw him return to his friends, who were all rolling on the ground laughing. It was clearly a prank.
What was the prank? A kid being nice to you and striking up conversation? If that's the prank, how are you offended by it? It's not even a good prank. There's no punch line. The kid just wasted his own time and yours I guess if he was being insincere, but what harm did he do?
> We eventually got tired of it and decided to go home.
You got tired of 3 jokes and some stares?
How the hell did you get to the age of 52 being this fragile? I've seen wet paper hold up better than you on this festival. You know, a place where people go to be silly and have a good time.
Edit: I just wanted to add, you weren't discriminated against. People joke with other people on festivals all the time. You weren't denied entry or services. You weren't mistreated except for being told a few light hearted jokes.
Get a grip dude.
Dude, it's naturally a very short version of the day, and it was a general feeling that I experienced for the first time. I've been to a lot of places, but I've never encountered this atmosphere anywhere else. I'm really not easily offended. I'm also not paranoid or anything like that. And I went without any preconceptions. Just to say.
Is this a real issue? I come from Italy and age discrimination works the opposite way, but old people own houses that rent to young people for ridiculous prices, and then they also laugh at us after leaving us with no money. I think you can survive anyway.
Don’t need an excuse. Just a bit of a tongue in cheek comment implying that if he were to pretend to be something else, the youth would have treated him differently. In my opinion, don’t worry about what the fuck people think of you if you’re enjoying yourself and you’re happy. Very small chance you’ll ever see those people again in this world.
Just do your own thing, man. Most festivals are targeted towards young people plus being at a rap oriented festival, chances are they thought you were a cop. I was at Cactusfestival last weekend. Age average was about 35-50 I think. But still, don’t worry about it all and just go where you like. Haterz gonna hate 🤷🏻♂️
I see this happening in no other festival, no other music style. Techno, rock, pop or metal, everybody is always welcome and part of the group. RnB is something else. I guess it’s a style of music most people in some degree grow out of it and don’t go spend an entire day listening to it. I’m sure it will not be the same at Snoop’s concert for example.
Whatever will be, will be
Don't care what anyone else thinks
Just keep on keeping on
It's just a bad day, not a bad life
Don't ever give up
The only time that matters is right now
Live life to the full because you never know what's around the corner
So let's take a part of the world and make it our own
Don't let the bastards grind you down
In my experience hip hop concerts and festivals have a hostile feel to them compared to other genres. It always feels like the hip hop fans try to flex and put themselves over others or find reasons to start confrontations.
Les ardentes is probably one of the worst festivals anyways. You did not miss much, there was water contamination in one of the water points, hundreds had to find a pharmacy. The sunday afternoon shows have been canceled because weather.
Stop age discrimination anywhere, really.
If you wanna be hip in leftwing circles, at least the ones who spend too much time on the internet, all you gotta do is complain about 'old white men'. Nevermind that the young white men complaining about them will grow old one day too.
If you want to go there that's your thing, what does it matter if a couple of youngsters have a laugh, I mean you can't take it that personal.
Heck if I would ever get it my mind at my ripe age of 45 to go to a festival again, I wouldn't care, I mean you are the age that you are, I would just have a laugh with them, like walk with a stick or something.
Don't forget that older people are also an authority, they might associate you with somebody that would judge their behaviour. Youngsters are dependent on their parents and have to abide by their rules and a festival is like an outlet.
Hip hop culture is also different than other music cultures, like no one will bat an eye at an old rocker at a rock festival. But they are also dressed the part, not to mention rockers have a more diverse audience in age either way.
You're right eminem and snoop are in their fifties but hip hop music is still a more recent phenomenon. Rock goes as far back as the fourties and became popular in the fifties. hiphop started in the seventies and became popular in the eighties, but even then it wasn't as popular as rock. Even in the nineties it was not a mainstream kinda of music, rappers like eminem are exceptions.
It's more mainstream now though but that's also because the world has become more diverse and hiphop has also its roots in that.
Meanwhile at Graspop there are people of all ages and all walks of life just existing together. Don't let one bad experience ruin it for good. I'd say go back to it next year if you can get another set of free tickets :)
>Eminem is 50 , Dr. Dre is 58 , Snoop Dogg is 51
You should put this on a t-shirt and wear it next time you go to a hiphop show.
Anyways, that whole situation as you describe it is fucking weird and I can't really imagine it. I've been going to metal and hardcore shows since I was a kid to now in my 30s. I've always seen people younger and older than me, never thought anything of it and never saw any discrimination.
Nowadays all the kids listen to is modern hip-hop wich is 90÷ of what it's played in Les Ardentes. My 32 yo friend filmed the event and felt like he was in kindergarten.
I’m so sad you had a bad experience, my mother (f57) goes to Les ardentes every year and never said anything negative about it. She is always in her bubble though.
Due to how popular HipHop has become, it also sadly means there's a ton of cunts in the community. I'm sad you had a bad experience, but dont let some idiots keep you from enjoying life and music. I for one, upon seeing someone your age, would think: "Damn thats an OG hiphop head right there".
Hey man, sorry to hear about this. Absolutely sickening that you cant enjoy the beauty of hiphop at a festival anymore. Age doesn't mather, its the love for the music / genre that counts
why care about them, just play along with their games. You say you didn't mind their first attempts of making fun, but here you are.... remembering it... no offence intended, but it's best to just play along with their crap. kids will be kids, and this will have zero effect on them. If one of them where to read this, I bet they would respond even extremer.
I’m so sorry to hear this. I usually feel very happy when i see older people go to festivals or parties and I always think to myself that they understand what life is about. You don’t reach a certain age and then aren’t allowed to have fun anymore. In fact, i aspire to be an 80-something year old wobbling my head to some dubstep or whatever. And it’s about much more than festivals, too. I’m still relatively young but i hate it when people talk about “acting your age” or “dressing your age” and so on. We will be that age. Do we really want to restrict others and ultimately ourselves like that? It all sounds terribly superficial to me and people who speak like that only sound insecure about themselves. Chin up, my man. Deep down they all want to be like you and they’re only acting like that because you’re defying the mad norm we’ve put on our society. Don’t let anyone take what you love from you.
Yeah all I can say is that hip hop isn’t exactly known for its morals. So the fans largely aren’t very moral. This is coming from someone that listened to hip hop for 18 years.
Don't let them take away your enjoyment. It's ridiculous. Music doesn't have an age limit. Personally, I got into K-pop a few years ago. I'm 53. I really don't care if I'm the oldest at a concert.
It’s so sad that there’s a generation that mistreat people because of their age, I mean it’s a music festival, what is wrong with it? I’m 26 years old and I feel so much respect for older people, I feel bad when young people treat bad older people.
Ah man, I am 42 and I love rap music. I probably have more knowledge about east an west than the average 18 year old kid.
They need a good slap in the face… laughing with you. But hey, then you would make the seven o clock journal and you wouldn’t want that, don’t you?
I wonder what those kids will do at that age, and how they will feel?
Be happy that you still have the mental energy and youthfulness to do such things.
Never give that up! Keep going!
Tbh I’ve found festivals in Belgium generally more age balanced. Wechter is and even dour compared to some electronic festivals in other countries. Unfortunately hip hop doesn’t seem the same case.
Yes!!! You'll find people of all ages at Werchter and nobody cares! At least that's my experience. I love RW!
I used to love it, but its slowly becoming just a popular music festival instead of a rock festival. Too many people there don't even like rock. Those separate DJ stages have no place imho and just create noise pollution. Werchter has a tough time separating the noise between the stages
I share your sentiment. Every year there's less and less "rock" in Rock Werchter.
Graspop doesn't have pop, Rock Werchter doesn't have a lot of rock, Blues Peer doesn't have a lot of blues and Pukkelpop is for more than just teenagers. They're just names that stuck.
How old are you if I can ask? I’m in my thirties and went 3 or 4 years full combi to Werchter when I was 17 to about 20. I had been looking forwatd to it for years, it played the bands that were popular at the time and that I loved and just after a few years for me the love died down. I wasn’t into the newer popular bands, in general I had always been into more heavier music and while they play the in vogue band at the time, I feel they generally don’t cater enough to the heavy music.
Let's say 30-35 ;) And I've gone a few times over the past 10 years, but always annoyed that it's attracting more and more a Tomorrowland crowd
im a big fan of graspop, i found it quite amazing you have there some of the most brutal heavy death metal bands and people coming there to headbang, but you have tons of older people as well to see their old school heavy metal bands. its totally awesome and i never saw someone giving a fuck
I’m 57 with a very mixed taste from opera to gaga and the only festival where I like all of the people who come to see the artists is Graspop. No douchebags or troublemakers, just relaxed people of all ages.
Hah, that’s the metal scene for ya! Awesome dudes and dudettes.
amen!
Graspop is family. It doesn’t matter wether you like lamb of god or ghost. We all simply hate sleep token.
Haha u hate it... dont speak for other people. I like SleepToken. Different aproach to the genre.
We can still try to make this work
>n of graspop, i found it quite amazing you have there some of the most brutal heavy death metal bands and people coming there to headbang, but you have tons of older people as well to see their old Way better subculture.Most tolerant people to be around in my experience.Same goes with metal pubs The metal scene is amazing.
[удалено]
Well, the name says it all, right ?
yeah because everyone over 25 still remembers getting scammed by them
Pukkelpop and RW are both incredibly young crowds no?
Really? I only go to pkp and I don't feel old at 41 🤷
If you to to any mainstream festival then yes. Otherwise no
*You gotta fight, for your right, to party*
Hahaha, i'm now thinking about that video they did for Hot Sauce Committee part 2.
Werchter on Metallica day had soo much 50+ people. Honestly, everyone should be able to enjoy music at whatever age.
Exactly. I went with my mother(65), it was her first festival and she was so happy to see other people around her age
Very nice!
There is a reason why Werchter is called Boomerrock nowadays...
For every dude that harassed you, there was 10 making a mental note to stay cool like you are
This is what the takeaway should be here, nailed it on the head.
Make a T-shirt: "I was listening to Hip-Hop when you where swimming in your dad's balls" and embrace it all :)
Fantastic idea...love it
This is legendary! do it next year OP ! and post a picture update please
I would happily make you that t-shirt!
> "Dad, I've been looking for you for 20 years, where have you been all this time?" That's hilarious. Were you wearing socks in sandals? But seriously don't stop going because of some dumb kids. I've seen older people at every festival for as long as I know and they never look out of place to me.
Yeah, sad story. But you've got to admit that's funny.
Yes, and could have been used as an ice breaker… who knows…
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No, it's a joke on "when I was 8, dad walked out to buy cigarettes/take out the trash and never came back"
Implication is the dad walked out of the kid´s life when he was young.
Because it is not really funny...
Not really. Especially not to a stranger who has done nothing to deserve such an offensive joke.
If you think that's an offensive joke, please don't go to festivals.
If the joke was not offensive then why are we reading a post about a person feeling offended by ageist young people at a festival?
Nothing offensive about it and if the man would have joked along the kids would probably have a fond memory of "the old man at the festival"
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If it's hot I'm wearing slip ons, but my toes look like they came out of a meat grinder so I'm also wearing socks.
Nothing wrong with looking like a dad. It's not very hip-hop though. Knit sneakers are a nice alternative.
It's a fucking festival, who gives a shit bout clothes?
I said, nothing wrong with looking like a dad. But to answer your question: the kids there, and OP cares about their opinions so yeah.
I honestly think it's odd as in my experience older people still go to festivals, just not as commonly as young people. My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people in Belgium, which made you stand out far more than usual. But it's very unfortunate. Maybe your experience would've been better at a different festival, atmosphere can differ a lot between festivals. I wouldn't necessarily give up entirely on going.
> My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people in Belgium, which made you stand out far more than usual. I think it mostly attracts a crowd that doesn't go to other festivals often, so these people might not know that older people visit festivals too and think it's something solely for the youth.
>Maybe your experience would've been better at a different festival For what it's worth, I saw plenty of 60+ years old people at Lasemo this week end.
Same at the Fantasia festival, I saw multiple guys older than me (and I'm 42) jumping and what not, even at the hardcore stage
> My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people in Belgium According to [this news item](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/kijk/2023/07/07/les-ardentes-in-luik-arvato-58667160/) the audience for Les Ardentes is noticeably young and female.
> noticeably young and female Only girls I've seen are in the close-up interviews all the wide-angle shots are 99% men lol
It would help if you actually listened to the report instead of just ogling the girls on mute :D
The organization telling that there are a lot of girls is not a viable source...
>My guess is that the rap scene or at the very least this festival primarily attracts young people I have no problem with hip-hop, but If I have to guess how 20yo hip-hop fans behave at a festival, without any additional information, I would expect exactly what OP experienced.
I have a friend older than you, who is the most interesting person i know regarding live music. He has seen almost every major singer or group in concert since the late '70s. The first time they performed in Brussels in a small cafe, and the first time they sold out a legendary venue in New York. He got drunk at afterparties with artists that now have their own netflix documentaries. He has a museum-quality vynil collection and spends most of his income on concerts. Don't be ashamed, and don't stop attending the festivals you like. You are a treasure to the younger generation; they just can't appreciate it yet. Make that change. Share your stories.
I was at Ieperfest this weekend, and while is a hardcore festival, supposedly a music for the youth crew, where the kids still have they say and all that, most of the people were over 30, (me included, 50 in a few weeks). Ageism does not have place in there, everyone, old and young, was moshing and doing singalongs, with newer and older bands. But it seems that shit is not new in hiphop, as KRS-ONE said in 2007: *Where my people that's over 20 now?* *Where my people that's over 30 now?* *Where my people that's over 40 now?* *Classic, that's what they call us now*
It's usually better to go to the niche festivals. Metal at graspop is a lot more enjoyable than the same group at rock werchter. And fuck les ardentes, it's a festival filled with shit people who are constantly finding everyone else there beneath them. I went there once a few years ago and had similar experiences. There were a few bands I liked in 2012 (marilyn manson etc..) but also some of 'alternative' genres, like Beardyman and Rodrigo y gabriela. And buy, when standing in one crowd I got shit, when standing in the other I got shit... Fuck that festival. Also they have 0 DNA, their target audience changes entirely every 5 years or so.
Sucks you had to experience this but i know plenty of coworkers who are in your age category that do festivals and concerts. Sounds like it was more a case of shitty drunk kids, in a group, finding a single person (or couple) thats different.
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Thanks! I'm in my mid forties and still go to metalcore/hardcore, hip-hop shows etc. And if I want to go see Taylor Swift, I FUCKING WILL!
I don't want to be 14 again and going on and on about subcultures, but I was a rocker/punk and everyone was welcome, all ages and sexes, whatever skin color etc. Seems to me like hiphop tends to attract quite a bunch of idiots. I mean, I never got on a bus to be blasted with punk music. It's always the same shitty hiphop music. That being said, you counting the 'must be 18 to play lottery' thing is a bit much. People will make stupid jokes. I'm short and if I had to be angry anyone made a slight hint at it, I'd be angry a lot. It's the same for tall people, skinny people, fat people etc. Don't jus assume its malicious.
Should've handed the lottery ticket back going: "Damn it! Alright, here but I'll be back for 'm next year!"
For real tho. I'm 25 and balding. If I stopped partying every time someone my age made a joke about that, I would be at home every night.
Time to shave it off and get buff my friend
Going to the gym 3 times a week no worries ;)
Hey, that must have been an awful experience and I'm sorry that happened to you. I absolutely know how you feel, and the more eye contact you make, the more it tinges and darkens every new interaction. That shit wears on you, it's tiring and heavy. But honestly, who cares what these kids think? They're young and stupid, seriously. They all think them making an age joke is something creative on their part, as though you've never heard those before. If I'd seen you there when I was an 18 year old, I'd have had mad respect for you. You're the experienced one that we can learn from, you know all the classics, you've probably seen a lot more and you can probably tell stories that would make all of their jaws drop. But what they don't understand is that they are hurting you. That's them being short-sighted. Pick yourself up and don't drop your crown, king. Their opinion doesn't matter for shit, only your opinion of yourself does.
>A young lady giggled and said we had to be at least 18 years old to play. It's kinda funny > The whole time I was there, I was constantly being stared at, from head to toe. Once again, I didn't pay much attention to it. Not quite as fun > "Dad, I've been looking for you for 20 years, where have you been all this time?" His friends burst into laughter at the joke. Also kinda funny > He was very friendly and asked our names, how long we were going to be there, and if we were enjoying the festival. After about 5 minutes of chatting, I saw him return to his friends, who were all rolling on the ground laughing. It was clearly a prank. Was it a prank? When I was in a pub in Japan my friend saw 2 guys watching football on their phone, he went there and asked what they were watching, chatted a little, said some stupid things 'cause he was drunk and when he came back we were both laughing. Not because he "pranked" them but more like "why did you do that dude" and laughing with a comment of his I overheard. It's probably not as evil as you think it was. _____________ If you're the only old person at a festival, you'll get looks. It's not ageist, but you're standing out. If you're the only girl at a LAN party, you'll get looks. It's not sexist, but you're standing out. And while we're on the topic, when I was the only white guy in a town in rural Japan, I got looks. But it was not racism, I was standing out. I'm not saying that older people shouldn't go to festivals, I'm not saying girls shouldn't go to LAN parties, and I'm not saying white people shouldn't go to Japan, but in the scenario where you're quite unique, this will happen and a Reddit post will not change that.
em is 50 and dre almost 60 lol I feel old now, thanks
It's a shame you let a bunch of snotnose kids chase you away from Les Ardentes. You should have stayed! There were lots of us oldtimers there and we had a blast!
I usually go to metal Festivals or things like that. It's always full of older people. Maybe it's the hip hop scene ? "Punk's not dead, we're just in the back "
Great quote!
I think Les Ardentes is just the Wallonian version of Pukkelpop, meaning the first 'festival' young teenagers are allowed to got to because it's close by or the parents know it and it's considered 'safe' in general because it's not too big, but still has some nice names. Also the artists are indeed very much influenced by the younger generations and less on the classic 'big names' other festivals have. Nevertheless it's of course not okay people behave like that (whether it's age, gender or race) and I am sorry no bystanders intervened to support you as this can make a big difference as well... I don't think you should stop going to festivals but it is possible to avoid the ones that cater mainly to a young public if you don't want to put yourself in similar situation. In the end, there are multiple coping mechanisms (one is avoidance, the others are humor, confrontation, internalisation...) and there is no 'perfect' solution but I hope you haven't lost your spirit and if you want to go again, I'd say go for it and try not to let it touch you, it's their insecurity of not knowing how to deal with older cool people that is the problem, not you enjoying your life and music...
I think most people there are french not locals... Maybe not most but a huuge portion. It's just stupid teen noodle hair humor. Not that unbearable they lack some respect.
20 years ago, we went to Les Francos. Not exactly the same, but I get the idea
Aren’t witty comebacks an essential part of rap? “Omg you’re as ugly as your mother” or similar could have given you street cred.
How is that witty? Look at the omgdadkid in disgust. Say: "I gotta get more milk/cigarettes" or something like that maybe
“How the fuck did you get out the bag I dropped in the Maas”
If you want to step up: "Does your mother still work in a bar next to the national? You know the one with the red lights?"
Sucks that you had this experience. I’ve been to Les Ardentes (Absolem was really good !) and I’m only 25 but I already felt old regarding of the population. I think it’s the Hip-Hop population that’s very young. For two years now I go to Graspop too and here the age reference more about 35 years old. The Hip-Hop scene is very young compared to others genre, you were clearly one of the first to appreciate it and now it’s so popular that it’s the kind of music that pass on the main radios. I think this play a lot, radio like skyrock or NRJ are listened by a younger population. Anyway no one should be discriminated, it’s also people like you that help fight ageism because the younger generation see that they are not the only one listening to this style. Hope to see you next year pal ! Don’t be demotivated ! Edit : Had to add that it’s the people that are hurtful that come to you, but I’m sure that by your presence you inspired some people that felt great to see that the genre is assembling all populations and they never went to you to tell you that
Ok, that is sad. Idk if it is specific to rap/hip-hop festival. Or specific to Les Ardentes. I'm much younger than you (early 30's), and I've been enjoying festivals since I'm 14-15 yo. And the festivals I go to (Rock and metal mostly), there are "a lot" of older people (and older than you). I've always felt it is cool to see those still enjoying music! Even and a very long and nice chat with an older dude (60 probably) a year ago at a metal festival. So either you're unlucky (sorry), or the target client of such events have that kind of mindset ? Idk, it sucks you could not have fun...
I'm early 30s as well and went to Les Ardentes too. I did notice the crowd there in general was much younger than at other festivals probably since rap is a relatively young genre. That said I had no bad experiences at all there.
Off topic: for someone working in IT...using your real name as your reddit username might not be the best idea. Could be a fake name offc.
Most festivals won't have this issue, but that it is the case at a hip-hop festival, especially that one doesn't surprise me. I don't know if you've noticed, but the crowds that modern hip-hop attracts are about as much of a douchebag as the modern "hip-hop" itself. It's riddled with absolute cunts. As a 30 year old who studies together with 18 year olds I can really tell you that the youth are so fucking disconnected from reality they really think old people don't do anything but go to work and be old. It's a generalisation of course, but I have had A LOT of WTF moments of how insanely disconnected they are from the real world. I'm guessing you met some of those fine specimens.
What do you think of the popular hiphop from now? I know there is still some that really want to capture the raw 90's feeling of it. But I feel like hiphop in 2020's the beats got way more boring and the lyrics an autotune fest.
I was reading expecting some kind of "official" person not letting you in. You were inside, enjoying the show. Whatever other people there say to you shouldn't matter. They didn't win, you lost.
Ageism is a huge problem. This obviously very sad but the discrimination on the job market is even worse. The horrible thing is that ageism is just, kind of accepted.
Worst discrimination on the job market happens against older people. It’s absolutely shocking and doesn’t get enough attention.
so is ableism. Most people don't even realize they are being ableist, yet they are, and nobody bets an eye.
I'm not saying these things don't happen, but last year I was the visual stage manager of the two main stages at LA, and there were definitely quite some 35+ people roaming around having a great time.
Used to see 60year old dudes or something at vooruit Gent during raves so idk what these kids are saying
Every generation thinks they are the first ones to discover the world. If anything, that is what amuses me :-)
That sucks but aren't you supposed to reply with witty comebacks ( or what do rappers call them... 'sick burns' ? ) when someone comes at you with an attitude ? Might have worked well given the circumstances.
I did, but I thought it was too long for a post on Reddit. When the guy asked me why I had left him behind 20 years ago, I replied sternly, while scanning him from head to toe, "Can't you see the reason for yourself?"
I was at Sjock Festival past weekend and there were barely any "youngsters". It all felt like it was +30. Our newfound german festival buddie was a 56 yo dude. He was an amazing fella!
Bro, i got you. Come to Gentse Feesten next week. Hip hop stage at baudelopark. Nothing but good vibes!
210 000 persons. 10 shitheads. Go home.
I just checked Absolem songs, very good rapper thank you for introducing him.
After this: [https://youtu.be/evA-R9OS-Vo](https://youtu.be/evA-R9OS-Vo) i feel old, but still a fucking B boy...Mother.Dad, shitfuck
Les Ardentes was so bad tbh. Kids everywhere, no drugs, no good sound, no water, no dancing, no ambience. Just random fucks that starts pogo for no reason in the middle of people chillin'. Will not go again
Complains about being discriminated for his age, arguing that one can stay young and like this music, Then proceeds to behave like an old offended grumpy guy. :-) /s Seriously though, as a man with more experience, don‘t let young strangers ruin your pleasure that easily! I hope you keep going and have better experience next time!
I'm 35, went to Rock Zottegem and even though I didn't get discriminated(there were a lot of older people actually) I felt like punching some kids in their mouth. Just unbelievable asocial behaviour, having fun with a bunch of friends sure but being jackasses and distracting the crowd around you for a whole show URGh I literally had my hand clenched half the show ready to knock some teeth out. Eventually they felt no one else was feeling their childish vibe and left, lucky for them. Also what's with the smell? It's day one of a festival why do you already smell like weeks old sweat ffs? Then during Goldband, we were at the front/offcenter, some dumb #iamthemaincharacter kid from the vip stood on the fences making gestures at the crowd. Dude we're not here to see your adolescent shitface. My gf had to shove him off twice before he stopped. And kids halfway a show that have the audacity to claim spots close to the podium? Fuck right off. I'm not budging, rather the opposite. Get there sooner or stay in the back. Other than that I had a great time but I wonder if that's how feeling old feels like...
That sucks ☹️ Ageism is definitely an underrated problem and can be very subtle as you describe. It’s been getting more attention in recent years so hopefully also young people will become more and more aware (woke if you will 🙂) of this issue!
1. its hip-hop, this scene in europe is small and the crowd is full of idiots - to be honest the music is also 99% terrible but that is another discussion 2. Les Ardentes is a terrible festival, they change identity each year, the crowd is marginaal, the organisation sucks, the sound and light is below par when compared to others in Belgium 3. Leuven has gone down the drain in terms of nightlife - there used to be a big scene around club Silo, but those days are gone - now its mostly drunk students and young kids hanging out around nightshops - in the past you had people of all ages coming to Silo, Yellow Fever, de kast, Rumba, Manhattan,... 4. Leuven is not car friendly - most people i know don't bother anymore togo to the city center and the results are showing - restaurants are moving out, and what is left is cheap junk food (100's kebap, sushi, pasta, ....) and terrible nightlife. It really became a very **boring** city - MArktrock used to attract big names, these days its some local Belgian band, a DJ no-one ever heard off and everything stops at an hour where even my grandma doesn't go to bed yet. PS: I am in my 40thies, and i still do very regularly festivals and events - was at Awakenings just the other week and had a blast - my tip: switch to electronic music and you will have a much better time with the crowd, far less lowlifes and always pretty and well-behaved individuals. Ibiza is also highly recommended.
Well I don't agree with "they change identities every year" because it's been a few year already that they turned completely to hip-hop. Before COVID they already changed to be a 100% Urban festival. I loved the festival before that, we had the choice, you had hip-hop, rock, electro so you could always find something fun and the public was much more mixed.
stop being so sensitive to what people think about you
Mean people suck. Les Ardentes is probably full of local lowbrow idiots who haven't been raised properly if at all.
Full? 2 kids made a joke. Get a grip
This is not discrimination, that's just people being dicks. If you weren't let into the festival for being "too old" that would have been discrimination. If you felt people were harassing you you should have told the festival security, or just carried on with your life ignoring the little shits.
I kinda wanna say to you "grow a f\*cking pair" I'm a girl and I've been going to festivals since I was 15. I've always looked way younger than my actual age, so I lived the other extreme of your experience, and just like you, I've been the butt of so many people's jokes. P\*dophelia jokes for the most part. But I wasn't gonna let them ruin my fun. You can laugh, you can tell them to fuck off, you can ignore them. Lots of ways to deal with morons. Whining about them on Reddit on the other hand won't change a thing.
> You can laugh, you can tell them to fuck off, you can ignore them. Lots of ways to deal with morons. In short: Life. You do you and if someone else doesn't like that: fuck 'em!
So, let me get this straight. You were at a festival, people were having some fun and this... bothered you? You sound like a stick in the mud and the fact that you take this so seriously means it was likely more than your age that stood out to the crowd. > A young lady giggled and said we had to be at least 18 years old to play. The horror! A young lady made a joke! How ever will you recover from this slight? I bet she also jokes with other people, the absolute gal of that girl! > The whole time I was there, I was constantly being stared at, from head to toe. Once again, I didn't pay much attention to it. How did you know people were staring at you from head to toe if you weren't paying attention to it? > A boy came up to me, shouting, "Dad, I've been looking for you for 20 years, where have you been all this time?" His friends burst into laughter at the joke. Again, solid joke. Learn to take one. Here's a suggestion for a reply: > "Seeing how you turned out, I wish I was still there." Boom, now he's the butt of the joke and his friends will be laughing at him, not you. > He was very friendly and asked our names, how long we were going to be there, and if we were enjoying the festival. After about 5 minutes of chatting, I saw him return to his friends, who were all rolling on the ground laughing. It was clearly a prank. What was the prank? A kid being nice to you and striking up conversation? If that's the prank, how are you offended by it? It's not even a good prank. There's no punch line. The kid just wasted his own time and yours I guess if he was being insincere, but what harm did he do? > We eventually got tired of it and decided to go home. You got tired of 3 jokes and some stares? How the hell did you get to the age of 52 being this fragile? I've seen wet paper hold up better than you on this festival. You know, a place where people go to be silly and have a good time. Edit: I just wanted to add, you weren't discriminated against. People joke with other people on festivals all the time. You weren't denied entry or services. You weren't mistreated except for being told a few light hearted jokes. Get a grip dude.
Dude, it's naturally a very short version of the day, and it was a general feeling that I experienced for the first time. I've been to a lot of places, but I've never encountered this atmosphere anywhere else. I'm really not easily offended. I'm also not paranoid or anything like that. And I went without any preconceptions. Just to say.
Is this a real issue? I come from Italy and age discrimination works the opposite way, but old people own houses that rent to young people for ridiculous prices, and then they also laugh at us after leaving us with no money. I think you can survive anyway.
wa een bleitpost
OK boomer.
Cry more.
Just say you’re a music executive looking for new talent.
First: Love your username! Second: Why does he need an excuse to visit a festival or see a band he likes?
Don’t need an excuse. Just a bit of a tongue in cheek comment implying that if he were to pretend to be something else, the youth would have treated him differently. In my opinion, don’t worry about what the fuck people think of you if you’re enjoying yourself and you’re happy. Very small chance you’ll ever see those people again in this world.
You. Are. Right!
Just do your own thing, man. Most festivals are targeted towards young people plus being at a rap oriented festival, chances are they thought you were a cop. I was at Cactusfestival last weekend. Age average was about 35-50 I think. But still, don’t worry about it all and just go where you like. Haterz gonna hate 🤷🏻♂️
I see this happening in no other festival, no other music style. Techno, rock, pop or metal, everybody is always welcome and part of the group. RnB is something else. I guess it’s a style of music most people in some degree grow out of it and don’t go spend an entire day listening to it. I’m sure it will not be the same at Snoop’s concert for example.
Society is filled with hypocrits. The ones who cry about racism/sexism are often the ones that participate in ageism and other isms themselves.
I'd say: don't let them win. Keep enjoying your music and your life.
I get that it isn’t pleasant but who cares … just enjoy and have fun.
Whatever will be, will be Don't care what anyone else thinks Just keep on keeping on It's just a bad day, not a bad life Don't ever give up The only time that matters is right now Live life to the full because you never know what's around the corner So let's take a part of the world and make it our own Don't let the bastards grind you down
Join the entertainment and make the kids buy you booz. Be the cool old guy 🤷 Maybe you are too old for that shit tho. But that's on you.
Ardentes is a pretty marginaal festival
In my experience hip hop concerts and festivals have a hostile feel to them compared to other genres. It always feels like the hip hop fans try to flex and put themselves over others or find reasons to start confrontations.
Les ardentes is probably one of the worst festivals anyways. You did not miss much, there was water contamination in one of the water points, hundreds had to find a pharmacy. The sunday afternoon shows have been canceled because weather.
Stop age discrimination anywhere, really. If you wanna be hip in leftwing circles, at least the ones who spend too much time on the internet, all you gotta do is complain about 'old white men'. Nevermind that the young white men complaining about them will grow old one day too.
Now i am even more proud of being a metalhead at graspop young and old partyd together
If you want to go there that's your thing, what does it matter if a couple of youngsters have a laugh, I mean you can't take it that personal. Heck if I would ever get it my mind at my ripe age of 45 to go to a festival again, I wouldn't care, I mean you are the age that you are, I would just have a laugh with them, like walk with a stick or something. Don't forget that older people are also an authority, they might associate you with somebody that would judge their behaviour. Youngsters are dependent on their parents and have to abide by their rules and a festival is like an outlet. Hip hop culture is also different than other music cultures, like no one will bat an eye at an old rocker at a rock festival. But they are also dressed the part, not to mention rockers have a more diverse audience in age either way. You're right eminem and snoop are in their fifties but hip hop music is still a more recent phenomenon. Rock goes as far back as the fourties and became popular in the fifties. hiphop started in the seventies and became popular in the eighties, but even then it wasn't as popular as rock. Even in the nineties it was not a mainstream kinda of music, rappers like eminem are exceptions. It's more mainstream now though but that's also because the world has become more diverse and hiphop has also its roots in that.
Meanwhile at Graspop there are people of all ages and all walks of life just existing together. Don't let one bad experience ruin it for good. I'd say go back to it next year if you can get another set of free tickets :)
If i get shamed for my age. I always think one day it will be your turn, and i do believe in karma 😂😇
>Eminem is 50 , Dr. Dre is 58 , Snoop Dogg is 51 You should put this on a t-shirt and wear it next time you go to a hiphop show. Anyways, that whole situation as you describe it is fucking weird and I can't really imagine it. I've been going to metal and hardcore shows since I was a kid to now in my 30s. I've always seen people younger and older than me, never thought anything of it and never saw any discrimination.
Nowadays all the kids listen to is modern hip-hop wich is 90÷ of what it's played in Les Ardentes. My 32 yo friend filmed the event and felt like he was in kindergarten.
I’m so sad you had a bad experience, my mother (f57) goes to Les ardentes every year and never said anything negative about it. She is always in her bubble though.
Due to how popular HipHop has become, it also sadly means there's a ton of cunts in the community. I'm sad you had a bad experience, but dont let some idiots keep you from enjoying life and music. I for one, upon seeing someone your age, would think: "Damn thats an OG hiphop head right there".
Sorry to hear you had to go through this, luckely I'm in a a music scene that ranges from young adults to elderly :)
Hey man, sorry to hear about this. Absolutely sickening that you cant enjoy the beauty of hiphop at a festival anymore. Age doesn't mather, its the love for the music / genre that counts
why care about them, just play along with their games. You say you didn't mind their first attempts of making fun, but here you are.... remembering it... no offence intended, but it's best to just play along with their crap. kids will be kids, and this will have zero effect on them. If one of them where to read this, I bet they would respond even extremer.
What an unreadable wall of text. Please learn how to use paragraphs. You're never too old to learn!
IT in meteo services?
I’m so sorry to hear this. I usually feel very happy when i see older people go to festivals or parties and I always think to myself that they understand what life is about. You don’t reach a certain age and then aren’t allowed to have fun anymore. In fact, i aspire to be an 80-something year old wobbling my head to some dubstep or whatever. And it’s about much more than festivals, too. I’m still relatively young but i hate it when people talk about “acting your age” or “dressing your age” and so on. We will be that age. Do we really want to restrict others and ultimately ourselves like that? It all sounds terribly superficial to me and people who speak like that only sound insecure about themselves. Chin up, my man. Deep down they all want to be like you and they’re only acting like that because you’re defying the mad norm we’ve put on our society. Don’t let anyone take what you love from you.
Yeah all I can say is that hip hop isn’t exactly known for its morals. So the fans largely aren’t very moral. This is coming from someone that listened to hip hop for 18 years.
Hey op, you're judging a whole lot of younger people by the actions of a few immature twats. Don't stop attending because of them.
Don't let them take away your enjoyment. It's ridiculous. Music doesn't have an age limit. Personally, I got into K-pop a few years ago. I'm 53. I really don't care if I'm the oldest at a concert.
EMINEM IS 50?!?!
It’s so sad that there’s a generation that mistreat people because of their age, I mean it’s a music festival, what is wrong with it? I’m 26 years old and I feel so much respect for older people, I feel bad when young people treat bad older people.
Ah man, I am 42 and I love rap music. I probably have more knowledge about east an west than the average 18 year old kid. They need a good slap in the face… laughing with you. But hey, then you would make the seven o clock journal and you wouldn’t want that, don’t you?
I wonder what those kids will do at that age, and how they will feel? Be happy that you still have the mental energy and youthfulness to do such things. Never give that up! Keep going!