Each festival tries to set itself apart, creating a specific slant through lineup, location, and overall vibe. Generally, festivals will be teaming up with local and regional media and artists to offer unique side shows ranging from improv theater to art exhibits to on-site record stores and activist booths promoting voter registration and green initiatives. Now that you've read through the festival page, you should have a better sense of what each festival has to offer. From the description try to match a festival to your personal taste to find the right festival for you.
TIPS AND TRICKS
Ask Yourself the Following Questions:
Q: How much can you spend?
- Festival passes range from $50 to $250 or higher, depending on venue, location, and who’s headlining and promoting the festival.
- Musical tastes are pretty diverse these days, as most people enjoy several genres, and festival lineups reflect this. Though some are genre-exclusive, most showcase acts playing everything from bluegrass to hip hop.
- For festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella, much of the experience is about pitching your tent and camping out for the weekend. Some camping events do offer luxury cabins or tents in return for higher ticket prices
- Most festivals provide maps pre-arrival, so you’ll want to know where the camping areas are in relation to the parking and stages. If the distance is far, try to keep your gear light or invest in a small pull wagon or cart.
- Depending on how much sleep you want to get or how close you want to be to the action (many festivals run 24 hours), you’ll want to know if the camping sites are near the stages, scattered across the grounds, or both.
- Bring the usual camping gear — tent, sleeping bag, etc. — and don’t forget a car charger for your phone, laptop, and other gadgets.
- If you’re attending a festival located in a city or metropolitan area, such as Pitchfork in Chicago, getting a hotel room for the weekend on your own is an option, or you can take advantage of the festival’s package lodging deals.
Other Considerations:
1. Learn the Local History Before You Go
- As with all travel, having a cultural awareness of where you’re going can enrich your festival experience and take you beyond simple enjoyment of the music. The uniqueness of many of the best festivals is rooted in their locality. For example, Glastonbury in the UK is held on festival grounds that have been used as such for centuries.
- Being clued in on local culture and history will also help if you plan on venturing away during the show to give your ears a rest or want to take a pre- or post-festival excursion to visit nearby attractions.
- One of the best parts about the summer music festival experience is observing the meshing of different cultures and being around new groups of people. As more and more festivals incorporate different genres, there's an increasingly diverse cross-section of fans at festivals.
- Take the opportunity to interact with other festival-goers, and don’t be afraid to ask for that camping tool you forgot. Chat about last night’s set, or join in a game of Frisbee.
- I don’t include this tip to be a killjoy, but only as a word of caution. There have been many stories of festival experiences that come to an early and nightmarish end as a result of irresponsible drug and alcohol use.
- It’s a fact that music culture and drug culture overlap, especially in a live-music setting, but be wise about bringing drugs or large amounts of booze with you. At most festivals, you’re going to be thoroughly searched before you even get though the gates. Security will either confiscate prohibited materials or ask you to leave with no ticket refunds.
- Some of the most experienced music festival goers make this note: learn to plan out a few intervals of rest and do not run yourself ragged trying to see every band. If you’ve done initial research on the area, take a short trek to one of the quiet spots you learned about and give your cochleas a break.
- Many festivals have also begun featuring morning yoga classes, a great chance to recharge the mind and body.