On September 20th, 2018, I went to my first Music Festival, Made in American in Philadelphia, and this is what I learned from the experience.
Alcohol
As much as you may want to follow the musical festival culture and get plastered, it is not worth it. Especially when attempting to get drunk off of beer that costs $15 a bottle. The first day of the festival, I spent almost all of my budgeted spending money on only a couple bottles of beer. All it did was make me a little tipsy and a lot broke.
Unpopular opinion: you can have way more fun sober! Festival season is typically during the summer months, and it’s so hot outside that getting drunk is only going to dehydrate you more. You can also focus way more on the music sets if you aren’t drunk and make all of your fellow concert goers very happy that you aren’t falling all over them from losing your balance.
Bottom line: do what you want, but you will save so much money and hassle if you skip the alcohol!
Walking
Be prepared to walk!! Made in America was in the heart of Philly, so I did a lot of walking over the course of the weekend. Rookie mistake: I thought my converse sneakers would be the best shoes to wear, but I was very wrong. My feet were killing me by the end of Saturday night. On Sunday I opted to wear my Birkenstocks, and it was much better! Although, my feet were stomped on for most of the Kendrick Lamar set…but still worth it.
Go to sets of artists you don’t know!!
I fell in love with so many artists I wasn’t familiar with before going to MIA! My friends were really excited to hear Janelle Monae perform, which is an artist I know a little about but had never really listened to before this weekend. Her set ended up being one of my favorites of the entire weekend and I now call myself a fan of her music!! Her performance was, well… exactly that: a PERFORMANCE. She sang, danced, had costume changes, props, and an incredible light show. I felt like I was at a concert on her personal tour, not just her set at a musical festival. She sang so much about equality, female empowerment, and confidence. MY personal favorite song was “I Like That” because the lyrics are about self expression and not caring what others think! I highly recommend her music.
Made in America was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I went with my high school best friends, danced my ass off, saw my favorite artists live, and made memories that will last forever. It was completely worth the money, and I cannot wait for my next music festival!