Good news people, festival szn isn’t over yet! Sure, Coachella is great and I am an avid Lollapalooza attendee, but I think I may have found a new festival to top them all: Grandoozy. Stationed in Denver’s Overland Park, this festival just wrapped up its inaugural year and it was a huge success. The fans loved it, the artists loved it, we all loved it. Here’s why it is the best festival ever:
First of all, the lineup. Not only were there AMAZING headliners (Kendrick Lamar, Florence and the Machine, and Stevie Wonder), there was truly an artist for everyone. Ty Dolla $ign, Miguel, The War on Drugs, 6lack, Logic, and The Chainsmokers are only the tip of the iceberg. From native Denver bands to internationally known artists, they’ve got you covered.
Obviously music is our first concern here as it’s a music festival, but the whole festival idea wouldn’t work out too well without other things to do. You’re allowed bring food in, but in case you don’t want to pack out an entire day’s worth, the festival grounds are littered with vendors. In typical festival fashion there were also hydration stations, plenty of bathrooms, and a sweet merch tent. For those over 21, there was a tent dedicated to Denver’s specialty, microbreweries. With everything going on, I easily could’ve spent several hours there without seeing any music and been just as entertained.
Aside from all of this, the main thing that made Grandoozy so amazing was the size of it. For its first year of existence it attracted a pretty big crowd (about 25,000 people), but compared to the 100,000 people that show up at Lollapalooza each day, this felt like nothing. I got there early enough that I was able to walk right up to the front barrier of the crowd, and I spend the rest of the day parked in that spot, less than 20 feet away from some of my favorite artists. Once it got closer to the headliners the crowd definitely got bigger, but I never felt claustrophobic, or in danger of getting trampled, and I had zero problem seeing the stage (which is rare considering I’m 5’ 3”). Definitely a win for me.
Ok, so I kind of saved the best for last: the outfits. Yet another plus of attending a brand new festival, there’s no pre-set fashion style. Long standing festivals like Coachella definitely have a certain dress code to them, but I got to make this one up on the fly. Here’s what I went with:
Tube top: Pretty Little Thing
Shorts: Cotton On
Hat: Urban Outfitters
Bandana: Madewell
Sunglasses: vintage
Boots: I’ve been sitting here trying to remember where they’re from for like 10 minutes and I can’t figure it out but you can find black pointy-toed boots literally anywhere
If you’re like me and you like to spend your money on concerts and festivals, Grandoozy is most definitely the way to go. It’s relatively inexpensive, extremely accessible, and the atmosphere was super laid-back. Everyone was a rookie, and everyone was there for a good time. Without a doubt, 11/10 would recommend.