The spring has officially sprung music festival season into full effect. If you are a music festival virgin and plan to experience your first one in the near future, you may be getting anxious just thinking about all the factors that come into play.
Fear not, and let the fun carry on with these foolproof ways to survive your first music festival.
1. Wear Comfy Shoes
A music festival is a marathon. You wouldn’t want to run a marathon in heels, would you? The same goes for a music festival. You will be on your feet all day, and the all-day adventure will most definitely include a lot of walking. Wear shoes that are supportive and comfortable and preferably closed-toed if you plan on pushing your way to the front of the stage. The added measure will prevent your toes from being stepped on.
2. Book a Place
For those going to an out-of-town festival over multiple days, staying accommodations must be taken into consideration. Since this is your first music festival experience, make an extra effort to make it a comfortable one by opting for an Airbnb.
You’ll feel like you’re staying in a real home (which you are) so it’ll subconsciously instill a level of comfort in you, and ease your mind after a long day of celebrating the music.
3. Bring Snacks and Water
It’s time to bust out that fanny pack. Bring water and snacks with you so you can stay properly hydrated and keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. With the combination of a scorching sun, all the dancing and moving and sweating, constant hydration and re-energizing are a must.
4. Get a Reliable Connection
There are so many cell phone plans and providers to choose from these days. When you’re at a festival, you want remain connected at all times, whether it’s to meet up with friends or Snapchat the fun. Carriers like T-Mobile offer an extremely reliable connection—most recently the carrier launched its LTE-U network that gives their customers exclusive privilege to use extended LTE network capacity.
Additionally, their many unlimited data plan options fit social media savvy festival goers perfectly, especially since you’ll be sharing content all festival long.
5. Wear Sunscreen
As someone who has never attended a music festival before, don’t underestimate the power of the sun. Protect yourself from sunburn and harmful UV rays that’ll be beaming all day and lather up with a heavy amount of sunscreen.
Apply constantly every few hours because you will likely sweat it off.
6. Plan on What Sets You’ll Attend
There’s a lot going on at festival—multiple acts and different stages at staggered times. You’ll find it extremely useful to make a game plan before you actually hit up a festival. Most festivals will provide a schedule on their dedicated website so you can see which performer is on at a certain time and specific stage.
Map out who you want to see and for how long so you don’t miss your favorite acts due to lack of planning.
7. Have a Home Base
Thousands of people will be in attendance at any music festival. That being said, it can be very easy to get separated from your group. To stick together as best as possible, pick a meeting spot should anyone get lost in the crowds or even crowd-surfing. When you have a home base to fall back on, it ensures everyone’s safety, which is the one of the most important aspects to maintain at a festival.
8. Capture and Share this First Experience
You will never forget your first music festival experience. It’s the first time you’ll get to feel an indescribable, once-in-a-lifetime energy, where all the people, spirits and appreciation for art and expression come together in one place at one moment in time. Get the Periscope app so you can broadcast video of the festival live on your Twitter feed.
The app also lets you save these videos to replay later on and relive the experience.
With these foolproof tips, your first music festival experience is about to be a great one. Get these hacks down and perk those ears up to enjoy the music and let the beat drop all festival long!