Appropriately preparing for any music festival is a lot like studying for finals. In both situations, you’ll need to do research, determine your priorities, and make use of at least 4 different colored highlighters.
Unlike finals, you can’t pass or fail a music festival, nor are you miserable preparing for it. Instead, festivals are about not only having a good time, but you can have a really great time. Here’s how.
Step 1: Research.
It’s not all about the headliners. Yes, it is great to witness the big acts, but don’t forget to glance through the lineup and see which unfamiliar names catch your eye. It’s a great way to find new music and, possibly even, the next band you’ll obsessively fan-girl over in months to come.
Step 2: Prioritize
The only downside to festivals is that there are so many bands and it is basically impossible to see them all. Not even the most seasoned festival-goers are able to see every single artist that their hearts desire. You’ll have to determine who you want to see most and then design your festival schedule accordingly. Here is where the multi-colored highlighters come into play. Print out the festival lineup and apply a separate highlighter color to each of the following four suggested categories: “Will die if I don’t see,” “Have seen before, but would like to see again,” “I only know 2 songs of theirs, but I really dig those two songs”, and “Ew, no! I don’t need to see them.” If you’re anything like me, most bands tend to fall under the “Will die if I don’t see” category, making the prioritizing process much more difficult.
Step 3: Playlists
Nothing is worse than going to a festival without enough lyrical knowledge. Concerts are so much better when you can sing along with 75,000 of your closest friends. In order to make this possible, get on Spotify and make a festival playlist that includes at least three songs from each band you plan on seeing. Listen to this playlist religiously in the weeks before the fest, and then, in order to cure your post-concert depression, listen to it in the weeks after the festival is over.So, here it is, the three steps to navigate through any music festival. We wish you the best on your musical journey and may all your wildest festival dreams come true.