The Music Festival DL
April 26, 2016
As Coachella is wrapping up its 16th year, the topic of summer music festivals comes to the forefront. Over the next few months, America has been #blessed with incomparable lineups, and this post is an encouragement to not only attend one, but to be as prepared as possible.
A music festival is an experience that I would encourage everyone to partake in at some point. This past September, me and a group of friends attended Landmark Music Festival in DC. We were able to enjoy a variety of our favorite musicians and bands, from Manchester Orchestra to Drake to Alt-J to CHVRCHES. There were a plethora of artists that we collectively wanted to see, and with the festival only being two days, we had to make a game plan in order to make the most of our time.
Here are a few pointers that I learned from Landmark that I would like to think could be applied to most festivals:
Eat whenever you can.
The lines at the food trucks inside the festival were so long that I wasn’t able to eat inside the festival either day. I didn’t want to miss any artists, so I was hungry instead, which takes away from the experience. Make sure you come to the festival on a full stomach and if you have any sort of gap between bands then eat, eat, eat!
Wear clothes that you won’t overheat in.
You don’t want to wear a turtleneck to these sort of ordeals! It’s hot and crowded, so even if it isn’t hot temperature-wise, it’s still hot because there are a billion people around you. Dress appropriately to the atmosphere, but of course, keep it classy.
Prepare yourself for interactions that may take you off guard.
One of my closest friends and co-supervisor Drew is one of the people who attended Landmark with me. He wrote a review of the festival and has some really good insight into what it meant for him to attend Landmark, which could resonate with many Liberty students.
Make a game plan with your friends about who you want to see.
This was really good for my friends to do prior to the event because we figured out who we wanted to see, which stage each band would be at, and how long it would take to go between stages. We also broke off into groups or even went to a show alone that we were interested in seeing, and it was helpful for us to establish this plan beforehand so that we weren’t stressed out during the day.
Landmark was an experience I’ll never forget, and I guarantee you that if you go to a music festival this summer you will have a memorable experience as well. Firefly, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo…we’re coming for you.