Music Festival Survival Guide

Music Festival Essentials:

1. Camel Back/Refillable Water Bottle. Water bottles are often overpriced, and water filling stations are few and in-between! I suggest bringing a small camel back so you will always have water on you. If you don’t have a camel back, at least bring a refillable water bottle!
2. Food. Many festivals will not allow outside food – but if you are able to sneak food in, I suggest bringing energy bars or trail mix. I somehow managed to bring in 4 granola bars and 3 tacos to Austin City Limits and let me tell you these were a LIFE SAVER while waiting front row for Drake all day. Not even kidding, someone offered me like $20 bucks for a bite of my granola bar.
3. Sunscreen. Trust me on this one! Weather can be very unpredictable. A few years ago at a music festival I went to it was 80 degrees one day and 40 the next. It’s better to come prepared even if you don’t think you will need it.
4. Sunglasses. Self-explanatory. Just bring them. Plus, they are perfect for covering your under eye bags from not getting any sleep the night before. (just kidding, you do you boo-boo – you don’t need no makeup #werk)
5. Small bag. It can be annoying to carry around a heavy bag all day, so I recommend bringing a small backpack or fanny pack just to hold your essentials. Rebecca Minkoff has the CUTEST belt bags if you’d rather wear something around your waist! Check out this adorable tassel belt bag and this stud belt bag! I am obsessed.
6. Money. Many festivals allow you to connect your debit card to your wristband – so look into that option if you don’t want to bring cash!

 Do’s and Don’ts:

• DON’T try to shove past everyone 15 minutes before your artist comes on. Everyone knows what you are doing when you say you have “friends” up at the front or pretend to be on your phone while shoving past people. Not cool dude.
• DON’T sacrifice your whole weekend just to be front row. If you are just in loveeee with an artist, I totally understand wanting to be up close! I was front row for Drake and it was AMAZEBALLS. And I lucked out because I was also obsessed with all the artists who performed before him as well. (We’re talking ASAP Rocky, 21 Pilots…need I continue?) But if being front row means sacrificing seeing other cool artists – it’s not worth it!
• DON’T be that person holding up your phone the WHOLE ENTIRE CONCERT and blocking everyone’s view behind you. Trust me – I love taking pictures as much as the next girl, but I will never understand why people do this at concerts. Like the person is right. in. front. of. you. and you are choosing to watch the concert through a screen?!? Snap a few pics and put your phone away and enjoy the live music bro.
• DO have a plan if you lose your friends, because chances are, this will happen. Try coming up with a specific time and meeting location if you lose each other. (“Ex: Meet at the popsicle stand at 3:30.”)
• DO bring a watch. In case your phone dies it will be handy to know the time! This way you know when artists are performing or when you need to meet up if you lose your group.
• DO have a back up plan for every. scenario. possible. okay, just kidding. But it is important to think ahead for things like transportation to and from the festival. Uber surges are known to be extraordinarily high, and traffic is killer – so keep this in mind!

I hope my packing essentials list and Do’s & Don’ts were helpful for you! Comment below and let me know YOUR favorite music festival. Mine (as you probably figured by now) is Austin City Limits located in Austin, TX.  I have gone the past three years and have seen artists including Drake, Pearl Jam, Outkast, Childish Gambino, Eminem, Skrillex, The Weeknd, Hozier, Sam Smith, Future and more!

Follow my instagram @thekalonblog to see updates of more travel guides I will be posting soon!

XOXO,

Katie Gibbons | The Kalon Blog