I Went to Life Is Music Fest… Nothing Went to Plan

Anyone else made the snap decision to grab tickets for an event before checking the distance, date, travel restrictions and your bank balance? Well, that’s exactly what happened a few months before the 7th of February 2026. 

It was a bleak Tuesday in the office when my boyfriend turned to me exclaiming that VIANOVA were playing in the UK, obviously I said yes. Only ten minutes later I came to the realisation that by UK he meant Brighton (which is 2-3 hours away from us on a good day) and not London, our local scene. Fine, whatever I can make the journey I’ve gone to Prague for Architects tickets for crying out loud. 

Fast forward to barely two weeks out from the event and we realise the following; a) the trains have been replaced with rail-replacement buses, b) the trains/buses are not running after the event so we would potentially be stranded, and c) I don’t know I couldn’t catastrophize another thing going wrong haha. 

Moments like these are when I regret not driving. Trains are boring on a good day but at least you don’t have to worry about traffic. Rail replacement buses seem to summon traffic, the mind numbing irritation of watching stupid drivers try to cut in front of a bus about to take off, only to nearly crash and spend twenty minutes yelling obscenities, trying to justify that their cock is the biggest in this pointless argument… 

So to save the stress caused by the above, the gang booked an AirBnB. A friend offered to drive on the promise that they could wait until the following morning to ferry everyone home. Seems great in principle right? It is WHEN THE BOOKING DOESN'T GET CANCELLED A WEEK BEFORE! So we settled for a slightly less than luxurious room that happened to be the only one available that didn’t have reviews concerning a wet dog smell. 

Despite all this, we still make it! Daltons, known as the grassroots sea front venue of Brighton did not fail to live up to its fervid yet welcoming reputation. I only wish I had caught the rest of the day instead of just the final act, VIANOVA. Whatever, at this point we’ve all made it and decide to get WASTED. 

Did you know when you’re drunk in Brighton you feel an immediate need to go clubbing? Apparently we did and I haven’t been in a club for years at this point. I don’t know how the Uni students do it because I could not stomach nodding my head to mediocre pop music and a DJ that wasn’t even moving. 

Ending this joyride of a journey on a hangover after finding ourselves in a drum and bass club, and paying £20 for a cup of tea and ‘artisan’ ham sandwich. 

What a weekend. Would 100% do it all again.