It’s August, which means that it is officially music festival season. Whether you hit Grant Park for Lollapalooza or enjoyed San Francisco at Outside Lands, you know that a day at a music festival cannot be beat. After getting a firsthand experience last weekend, here are the fifteen stages of a day at a music festival.
1. Excitement
It’s the morning of the festival! You wake up feeling excited for the day to come, looking forward to your outfit, seeing your friends, and the awesome music to come.
2. Hunger
A day at a music festival is a marathon, not a sprint, making food a necessity in the morning. If you’re anything like me, this will be the best part of the day.
3. Fear
Getting into the festival is always a bit terrifying. Will your wristband work? Will the guards see the water bottle you’re hiding in your shirt?
4. Thrill
You’ve made it through the gates safely, and now get to go enjoy the festival.
5. Confusion
Walking into a festival is like walking into a maze. Where are all the stages? Where will you meet your friends? Figuring out the plan can be the most difficult part of the day.
6. Elation
You’ve made it through the gates, made a plan, and found your friends. Now it’s time to go listen to some kickass music!
7. Exhilaration
The first concert of the day is always the best. People have the most energy and don’t hesitate to sing and dance.
8. Tiredness
After the first few concerts, the exhaustion begins to set in. Standing on your feet all day is more tiring than you would expect!
9. Hunger
This is a repeat, I know, but it is the primary emotion most people feel at music festivals. The food is always good but overpriced, making it seem precious.
10. Thirst
Water is difficult to find at festivals; the line for water fountains is always extremely long, and paying for bottled water can get very expensive. Standing out in the heat all day makes water seem more valuable than gold.
11. Relief
After you eat, drink, and sit for a while, you will begin to recover what energy you lost at the first round of shows. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of sitting for the first time in four hours.
12. Excitement
The final shows of the night always include the headliners, making them the most exciting. It is usually dark, which adds to the ambiance of the shows.
13. Stress
No one tells you how stressful it is to exit a music festival. Thousands of people are trying to leave tiny exits at the same time - it can be very stressful at the end of a long day.
14. Exhaustion
When the day ends, your bed is heaven on earth. Music festivals are tons of fun, but take a lot out of you.
15. Addiction
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about music festivals, it is that once you go once, you want to go back as many times as possible. Here’s to next year!
