I have to agree that the guest list has always had very little influence on my choice of festivals. It's partly because I put more importance on the "vibe" - the atmosphere, whether friends are going, and side events such as workshops and sessions. The last thing I want to do is sit in a series of concerts all weekend.

The guest list is of even less importance nowadays as most of the artists (the bigger names anyway) are often only there for a single performance before heading off to another gig elsewhere. You used to have the chance to meet the artists around the festival, maybe even play with them in a session but now this doesn't seem to happen very often.

You can't blame the festivals for not wanting to pay someone to hang around all weekend when for the same money they could put three or four additional names on the bill, and you can't blame professional musicians for maximizing their employment opportunities. However it does mean that I mostly disregard who's on the bill - if I get a chance to see a performer I'm interested in so much the better, but I won't base my plans around it.