Musical Festivals

What’s all the “RAGE?”

Musical+Festivals

Abbey Connell

With over 32 million people attending at least one music festival every year, there has to be something about these gatherings that keeps the crowd coming back every year. Many students explained what they enjoy most about going to the festivals, and why spending fifty dollars or even three hundred dollars is completely worth it.

The atmosphere and environment

A huge part of the festival itself is where the event is located and what type of environment is set. Each festival gives off a different type of “vibe” that goes hand in hand with the music styles. The atmosphere of music festivals tends to reach many people and make them feel some type of way.

Lacey Richardson talks about Outside Lands’ atmosphere, “Looking around, there was a ton of different age groups, so it made it versatile and the weather wasn’t your typical summer day festival weather, it was cloudy San Francisco with a breeze.”

Depending on the weather, many components to a festival can be affected, like how to dress, what to bring, etc. Planning ahead and going prepared is an essential part of music festivals in general.

The people

Being surrounded with others that are like minded, music festivals can be a place for bonding with friends by gaining new experiences together, or even meeting new people and immediately having something in common. Nicole Cartan attended Bass Camp 2016 and has attended in the two years passed.

She talks about why she enjoys music festivals, Bass Camp specifically, “I love festivals for the people, each festivals has their own vibe depending on what one you go to, bass camp in EDM, and it’s followers are some of the most amazing people I have ever met, they are all so open minded, loving, and accepting.”

Feeling accepted and becoming one with a crowd contributes to the popularity of festivals.  

The food

A good way to explain festival food is how Alexander Hill said it, “I ate a donut cheeseburger and a fried chicken Belgian waffle sandwich. Even if something sounds gross, you should just buy it because you need to embrace it and it’s probably good.”

With all of the booths surrounding the perimeter of the event, trying exotic food might be a once in a lifetime chance and a festival might be a place to try it.

The music

The main component of the event is in the music itself. Whether it’s group performances, solo artists, or a DJ set, music reaches the followers in a very positive way. For fans, hearing their favorite artists live has been described as “life changing” and turns listening to music into an experience.

Each person can make a different connection with a different performer, Matt Carr explains his favorite performance from Outside Lands and why, “My favorite performer was Chance the Rapper because I’ve liked his music for a long time and he put on a great show and it was cool to finally it hear it live.”

Listening to an artist live is a huge step up from hearing the same song through earphones. Since live music touches large amounts of people, festival popularity increases.

So, maybe get out to a festival or two this year and gain some life-changing experiences.