If you have never been to a big name music festival then you might think that spending $300 or more on a ticket for a weekend event is ludicrous. If you’re like me, and love going to music festivals, then you know the festivities begin long before the actual weekend comes.
Some die-hard fans buy their tickets to Sasquatch, Coachella or EDC way before the lineups are even released. These people have been budgeting out their money all year in preparation for the day tickets go on pre-sale. Once the ticket is purchased, it is time to start getting physically and mentally prepared for the festival months in advance.
You are going to be walking, standing, and dancing your ass off for three or four days in a row. This can take a toll on your body. Making sure you are working out and eating right for a few months is actually enjoyable when you have a goal such as being able to rage for a long weekend with no complaints. You don’t want to be the person with blisters on both feet after day one who is falling asleep before the late night sets even start.
Preparing for music festivals is not something you should do alone. You want to convince all your friends why they should go with you to one of the most exciting weekends of the year. Music festivals can be eye-opening experiences full of new music, new people and new memories that you want to be able to share with your friends. Finding a group of random people to go with can be thrilling, trust me I did it my freshman year, but bragging to your friends about an amazing weekend is not as great as laughing about it together months later.
After I have my group set, I find myself noticing everything that could make the event more memorable in every store I walk into. In the past I have purchased giant flowers to use as totem poles, wands covered with flashing LED lights and materials to make a personalized flag for our campsite. Random toys and supplies are always a hit at the festival grounds, but what people notice most are your outfits.
Depending on the festival you go to you are going to want to look into how people usually dress. Knowing your surroundings can help you decide how much you want to fit in or stand out of the crowd. You can stay with your own personal style or follow a theme with your group such as dressing up as food or wearing onesies.
While thinking about what you want to purchase for the weekend does get you excited, nothing brings more enthusiasm than predicting and finding out what the lineup of artists will be. You can go through the lineups from years past, check the fan threads on the Internet and do your best to guess who is going to be performing for you in just a few months.
The day the lineup actually does come out is one of the most exciting days leading up to the festival. Finding out that some of your predictions were right and that you are going to see a few of your all-time favorite artists play is a mind-blowing experience in itself. Yes, your mind will be blown months before the festival even begins. Although the lineup will have some artists that you listen to on a daily basis, the best part of preparing for a music festival is listening to all the artists that you have never even heard of.
As the festival approaches closer and closer, you start to become familiar with the new music you have downloaded. Genres you never thought you would particularly like will be completely flipped upside down by all kinds of artists from around the country, and world.
When the festival is only a few weeks away, a schedule will be released showing who is playing on which stage during your event. Now you can sit down with your friends to pick out all your favorite artists and try to get your schedules in sync. You might have to convince them that some new folk band is cool, while they insist on seeing a DJ, but this time will be full of laughs and smiles.
By the time the actual weekend comes around, you are more prepared than you ever thought you would be and you cannot wait to get to the festival grounds to start the party of the year.