The surname of the farmer who founded the Glastonbury Festival is Eavis.
Michael Eavis was a dairy farmer whose family owned Worthy Farm near Pilton in Somerset. After attending the Bath Festival of Blues in 1969, he was inspired to stage a music event of his own. The first festival took place at Worthy Farm on 19 September 1970 as the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival.
That opening event attracted about 1,500 people, and tickets cost £1. The line-up included Marc Bolan, Keith Christmas and Al Stewart, while free milk from Eavis’s farm was reportedly available to attendees. The event later evolved into the modern Glastonbury Festival.
A frequent mix-up is describing Eavis as the festival’s only founder. He launched the original event, but Andrew Kerr and other organisers played important roles in developing the 1971 Glastonbury Fayre. Michael’s daughter Emily Eavis later became a major figure in the festival’s artistic direction and management.