hile I’m no expert, I certainly learned a few things from experience while enjoying music festivals over the past few years of college. If you’re heading out to a music festival soon (Firefly, Lollapalooza or Warped Tour) or if you’re planning ahead for next year, check out these tips to help you get the best of the fest.
Tickets & Passes
—In 2011, when my friends and I went to Lollapalooza in Chicago, two of us had passes and two of us had tickets. Passes typically last the span of the festival’s operating days, and allow one to exit and reenter the park. Tickets are usually only for one day, and often do not allow for re-entry. Check the event schedule: if the shows you want to see are spaced out, sitting around in the blistering heat of the park when you could be ducking into an air-conditioned shop or mall outside the venue for an hour or two, may help you decide whether you want tickets or a pass. Another tip: buy tickets early. Availability may also determine whether you get a pass or single-day tickets. Most major music festivals have early-bird specials that can save you money on passes. Try to start looking into your ticket purchases at least four months prior to the festival.
Long Day’s Night: Booking the Hotel
—After you’ve bought your tickets, it’s time to book the hotel. When my friends and I booked our hotel for Lollapalooza, we wanted to save on cash. While the hotel covered our basic necessities, it didn’t cover much else. Here are a few things to consider when deciding where to stay:
• Location– How far is the hotel from the venue? How far are you willing to commute? We drove about 40 minutes into the city each day for the show, but if we could’ve stayed closer and taken public transport, we would have.
• Amenities– Do you want to have a refrigerator or a microwave in your room? We didn’t have either, since it would cost extra to have them. Most hotels have a microwave that is accessible for hotel guests, but it might be good to get the fridge for the room, even if it does cost a bit extra. That way, you can keep all of the water you need during the day cold at night. In our case, the ice machine in the hotel was broken.
• Read the online customer reviews of the hotel– for a more candid idea of how things really work in the hotel in terms of service, food and quality. For example, the most prominent customer review of our hotel in Chicago read: SMELLY HOTEL-Y. This became the joke of our trip, but the hotel actually didn’t have a horrific odor like we expected. However, the other reviews that suggested that the service could have been better were accurate. It would explain why they ran out of plastic-ware and food during the breakfast buffet when only ten people were there.
Getting There
—If you’re driving to the festival like my friends and I did, definitely invest in a good GPS. Most GPS devices offer features beyond driving maps and allow you to navigate around toll routes, display the quickest routes or most gas efficient ones, all helping you save money. We used our GPS for walking around the city (some GPS devices allow you to set them for walking and biking routes as well.) Of course, smart phones also have these features, so get a car charger if you plan to use your phone. If you’re flying to the festival, be sure to book your airfare well in advance, especially if the drive would be 18 or more hours. Your legs and back will thank you.
Be a Record-Keeper
—if you’re planning on driving, create a system to save all gas receipts from the trip. It’s easier to add all of the receipts up at the end and divide the total equally by the number of passengers when trying to figure out who owes what. On the same note, keep a record of who owes how much money in a notebook, or on a computer spreadsheet. It keeps everyone honest, and is more accurate and efficient than trying to remember that so-and-so owes you $3.50 for the starburst you got them at the last toll plaza.
Recommended Packing
—For the outdoor venue:
• Bring a back pack with comfortable straps. Most venues will have a size restriction on bags, so check into that beforehand on the venue’s website. However, most standard (school) sized backpacks are acceptable.
• Garbage bags to line your backpack. In case you don’t have a poncho, lining your backpack will help protect your stuff (and you) from inclement weather.
• Gallons of aloe. Gallons. And sunscreen. Loads of that too.
• Athletic/workout clothes. You dress for success at work. You’re going to see successful musicians, so all you have to do is dress for comfort, ’cause at 1:30 in the afternoon in 100 degree weather, that’s all that’s gonna matter.
• Extra socks. Nobody likes wet socks. Nobody.
• Rain boots. If it rains the morning of or during the show, the area in front of the stage will be a mud pit. But you’ll be the perfectly prepared person wearing the rain boots, and you can stand there and smile smugly at the silly people in their ruined shoes.
• Toilet paper & hand sanitizer– just trust me on this one.
For the indoor venue: (
Much of this can work for regular concerts/shows as well).
• Thick shoes. By thick, I mean if you’re being tossed around in a mosh pit and somebody steps on your foot, it’s not going to break. Sneakers or other closed-toe shoes are usually your best bet.
• Dress comfortably for being crammed in standing room only with 500 or more people. Unless you can go to the bar, in which case, wear whatever you want.
• Condense your stuff. Ladies, I know we’re all about the ginormous purses, but unless you want your stuff snatched, slim it down to just a wallet or a wristlet.
Know Thy Venue
—When the only thing you have to do is count down the days to the show, study up on the venue’s maps, policies and activities. Besides shows, most venues have contests and giveaways planned by their sponsors and the details are usually included on the website. Know what will get you in trouble at the venue (obviously don’t bring your pet alligator and Desert Eagle.) For example, most venues do not allow cameras with detachable lenses. Check with the venue to see if media/press passes are available. Be prepared to show I.D.
Purchasing Merch
—Your favorite band rocked their set, and you want to show them some love by buying their ridiculously cool (and ridiculously overpriced) T-shirt. Here’s a few tips for getting the show souvenir that lets people know you were there. For anyone buying merch: after the show, about a million people rush the merch table, so if you can, buy your merch before the show. Also, know what you want and have your method of payment ready. People are going to get testy if they have to wait while you stammer “uhh, maybe, I think I want…wait, where’s my wallet?”
For the ladies, I am so sorry to say this, but when it comes to concert shirts, we get ripped the buck off. You’re in line thinking, “I usually wear a medium, so I’ll just get that,” and the shirt you get looks like a postage stamp. “What is this?! A baby shirt?!” you cry in outrage. That’s when the guy working the merch table looks like he wants to bite your head off.
American Apparel is not your friend– unless you are naturally very thin and may or may not disappear when you turn sideways. If you can, buy the same printed shirt in men’s sizes because it will fit better and you will be happier with your purchase (and yourself) because you won’t have to squeeze into a baby shirt. Unisex shirts also tend to run more true to size, and will fit better. If you don’t want to buy a men’s t-shirt due to print/style, buy your women’s sized t-shirt one to two sizes larger than you usually wear. If you know you will need to see multiple sizes of the same shirt, ask for all of the sizes you need at one time. It will save you both time and keep the crowds from eating you alive. If all else fails, buy a poster. Take it home, get it framed. T-shirts fade. Posters are forever.
M.V.P.I (Most Valuable Piece of Information)
—Don’t let little things ruin the entire trip for you. Enjoy the shows and the people you’re seeing them with. Make memories, see that band you’re not sure about, try new food. Talk to other people at the shows. Be open-minded. Most importantly though, have a blast! You traveled far and paid lots of hard-earned cash earned from your part-time campus job to have the best music-venture possible!
