For as long as I can remember, music has always been a big part of my life. I spent most of my childhood earnestly expanding my iPod Classic's library (ah, the days before streaming) and learning the lyrics to all my favorite songs. To me, lyrics are poetry with a melody and music has been my escape from reality. I started feeding my thirst for live music in grade school by catching concerts here and there (even skipping my junior prom for one) but it wasn't until I went off to college when I realized that I had an extremely limiting music taste.
I found my passion in music festivals when I attended EDC Orlando in 2016. Before then, my knowledge of Electronic Dance Music (or EDM for short) consisted of "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," by Skrillex and mediocre Steve Aoki and Chainsmokers songs that were overplayed on the radio. That weekend opened my eyes to all the subgenres EDM has to offer. Did you know that there's such a thing as 'Liquid Funk' under the genre of Drum and Bass? According to my Spotify, my number #1 music genre for 2018 was Progressive Trance. Though my personal preference is jam-band music festivals, you can always catch me headbanging at an Excision set, shuffling to Chris Lake or getting into my feels at Illenium.
The rituals of finding new music through the festivals I attend are invigorating. Upon purchasing my ticket to the festival, I start searching through the lineup for unfamiliar artists or names that stick out to me. I then proceed onto my Spotify and search up playlists that are either fan-made or the festival created (Fun fact: most festivals make official playlists on Spotify for attendees to enjoy.) Though searching through playlists can be exciting and rewarding, nothing beats the feeling of stumbling upon acts and music you've never heard of while at the event. I figured this out when attending my first multi-genre festival, Bonnaroo, back in 2017.
Now being a seasoned festival goer, I have never quite found any other multi-genre festival that is comparable to Bonnaroo. Only at this festival is it possible to re-live your childhood memories by seeing artists like Eminem, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Metallica, while immersing yourself in a Bassnectar laser show and discovering up and coming artists like Two Feet and Jack Harlow. The lineup always varies from rap acts like Brockhampton to indie-folk artists like Hozier, attracting all walks of life that are here for one sole purpose: our love of music.
I have seen tremendous growth in my music taste, which is all thanks to music festivals. For anyone on the fence about purchasing that festival ticket or is intrigued by the culture surrounding music festivals, I say go for it! It never hurts to expand your music library while making life-long memories. You never know what you like until you experience it.
