Music festivals are crowded, hot, and exhausting. The tickets are expensive, the food is overpriced, and the pat downs are quite invasive. However, if done right, a music festival is guaranteed to be the best weekend of your entire year. And here's how to make it your best festival, yet:
Do Your Homework: Before you even get to the festival you should have a pretty good idea of who you are seeing and when. Festivals publish their schedules a few weeks before they begin, so, you should do yourself a favor and read through it. Having a good understanding of who is playing at the same time as who will save you from having to make the tough decisions at the last moment. Knowing set times and locations will save you from seeing someone you hate or missing someone you love.
Come Prepared: I think it was the Boy Scouts who once said, "always be prepared." Although I find their outfits ridiculous, I respect this sentiment. No one wants to be the guy who passes out because he is dehydrated or the girl who sits down all weekend because her feet hurt. Step one is to buy a backpack and step two is to fill it with, at least, water, band-aids, a portable phone charger, and some snacks. Check the weather and decide if you need sunscreen, a poncho, or both. Do not let lack of preparedness ruin your weekend.
Try Something New: Since I don't believe anyone would define comfort zone as "surrounded by thousands of strangers in a field," a festival is a great time to get out of your comfort zone. See a band you have never heard of or try making friends with the people around you. You might end up seeing an awful rockabilly singer like I did or you might end up making a new friend like people much cooler than me probably do. Either way, you have a good story to tell when you get home.
Do Your Thang: If you want to go see one artist, but your friends don't, then, you should go alone. You probably spent a good chunk of change on the festival, so spend it how you want. Don't let other people ruin your weekend.
Good Attitude: Going into the weekend with a good attitude ensures that you will be enjoying yourself, even when you have to stand in the port-a-potty line or when you aren't front row. Not everything is going to go you way all weekend, but being able to roll with the punches will save you a lot of grief.
Put Your Phone Down, I Beg You: It is very easy to miss out on a great concert when you are busy watching it through your iPhone. Taking a photo here or there is fine, but I promise you that no one wants to watch a shaky video of you trying to record the stage from 100 yards away. They want to watch a Snapchat video of you singing along to the song even less. Sitting on your phone the entire weekend ruins your experience, but also, it distracts other people and detracts from their enjoyment of the show.
