The apps suck, the dating pool is more of a rancid pond, and you can’t bring yourself to unfollow the last four guys you went on bad Hinge dates with, so now you’re stuck seeing their “pint in the sun lads wahey” IG stories for the rest of your life. Why not, then, go on a blind date at a music festival? Why not expose yourself to a random chance encounter that might change your life? Why not, eh!?
Every year, up to 130,000 people make the annual pilgrimage to Download, the UK’s biggest rock and metal weekender. Statistically speaking, at least some of them are single – which is what prompted the creation of Download Festival Singles Dating, a Facebook group to connect people at the event “whether that’s as friends or more than that”.
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We decided to play Cupid and put out a call for people who wanted to get set up with a stranger, and paired them up based on some questions, like: What band were they most excited to see? What did they like to do on a date? Were they an extrovert or an introvert?
Six brave singles answered the call. We did your best to match them up, sent them off on a date to see if there were any sparks and then caught up later with them to see if they clicked. Welcome to Casa Amor, festival-style.
Sarah, 28, a support worker from Liverpool
My dating life at the moment is shite. Shitty men, shitty people, better off being alone! [laughs] Peter and I picked stuff out for each other [at the shops], I obviously went colourful. I’m not even gonna lie to you, I thought ‘he’s not going to like me and he’s not gonna understand me’ but we’ve got things in common. His dad and my granddad are from the same place, so we bonded over that. Yeah, I would meet him again – he’ll see me whether he wants to or not!
Peter, 24, a hotel porter from Bradford
I’m single as a Pringle – just broke up a month ago. My first impressions of Sarah were: very extroverted. The complete opposite of me. I loved her piercings and tattoos. I bought her two necklaces and a few bracelets – all colourful because she had a colourful attitude, whereas me, you know, dark as. [laughs] The conversation flowed quite quick – it turned from awkwardness to an actual conversation. We’re gonna go to the Apex stage now, actually!
Mark, 37, hospitality worker from Aberdeenshire
We had a spot of lunch and a slushie. Food was lovely, conversation was good. I just wanted to see what a blind date was like. We talked about where we’re from, what we do, bands we liked, people we’d seen at Download and who we’d see today. It was just one of those random pairings, I guess – but I think we made it work.
Bella, 22, an account executive from London
We went for a picnic date, I got tacos and he got a Yorkshire pudding wrap. He seems like a nice guy. I was hoping there’d be some sort of spark, but I didn’t quite find that. I probably wouldn’t meet up with him – he’s a bit old for me. But I’d trust him in a moshpit, he seems like a nice lad!
Tyler, 21, a barman from Cornwall
Dating [for me] right now is just… nothing. Whether it’s just because I’m not looking hard enough or I can’t be bothered, it’s just not there. I wasn’t really expecting much [from this] – not in a bad way!
We went up on the Ferris wheel and mainly chatted about music and where we came from. It was very music-oriented which is fair for a festival. I believe we are going to hang out again…I mean, she hasn’t wandered off yet! We’re going on the bumper cars.
Charlotte, 23, a lab technician from Stoke
was hoping to make some new friends, maybe make some friends in a different way [laughs] and meet some fellow metalhead people. My dating life is absolutely rubbish – I broke up with a partner recently. We went on to the ferris wheel and it went very well – he’s really lovely. We talked about being into metal, family, the views of all the queues and how glad we were to not be in them! And yes, I would 100 percent trust him in a moshpit.
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