Anyone else who attended the festival in Atlanta this past weekend will probably agree - you needed your walking shoes on. No, the stages weren’t impossibly far apart, and the crowds weren’t larger than expected. I did most of my running back and forth between acts - because I had to see them all.
Call me petty for finding any fault with such an excellent festival - it’s my own fault for not being a more genre-specific person. While most people would probably rather be up close and personal for their favorite acts, being a festival freshman, I just wanted to see everything. And when I found that some of the best artists there were scheduled at the same time as one another, well... I knew it was going to be a very long day.
I managed to divide my time evenly between my favorite acts, catching solid bits of each artist. But when it came down to Lana Del Ray vs. Gregg Allman, my friends and I ended up being a little split. Thank goodness I went with my gut.
Nothing against Lana - but Gregg put on one of the most moving performances I’ve seen in a while. Standing in the sparsely populated crowd, letting the soulful sounds of the band’s guitars drown out the weird hums wafting over from Lana’s stage, I knew I had come to the right place. It’s always rather refreshing to look around and realize that you’re one of the younger fans in the crowd at a concert - a bit of a confidence boost. In a way, you feel as though your taste is more refined.
I remember striking up a conversation with a lovely older couple who spun stories for me of Allman brothers concerts past. Looking around, I noticed representatives of every generation, feeling something as they watched Allman shine. It was more than just a performance - this was an exhibition of raw emotion.
Out of my own selfishness, I was glad Allman was scheduled at the same time as Lana. Majority of festival attendees flocked to her stage for that set, leaving me with a better view and ability to immerse myself in his performance. And from what I’ve heard of those who chose her instead, Allman was definitely the better act.
Perhaps the marketing team behind scheduling the show wanted to make sure that every demographic had reason to buy tickets - and they did a great job of bringing a wide enough array of acts there to entice anyone and everyone to attend. But I couldn’t help but be disappointed at the fact that Allman had to be overshadowed by an act straight out of pop culture like Lana, that those my own age who don’t already have an appreciation for his generation missed the opportunity to do so, as the status quo called them it’s way. In my opinion, he just deserves a bit more respect than that.
