Have You Been to a Music Festival? Please Tell Me About It

Cafe Society
1

I’ve dreamed for some time of going to the Montreal Jazz Festival. Despairing of the long drive, or international flight, I did some googling and found that another of my favorite kinds of music, Reggae, has a festival in short-drive-away Louisville. Because a Kentucky Reggae Festival just makes perfect sense, you know?

Have any of you Dopers ever been to a music festival, perhaps Bonnaroo or Coachella?

I have a few questions: Is it an all-in-one admission, or does each show require a separate ticket? Are all performances outdoors, or are the performances both indoors and outdoors? All kinds of drugs, I suppose? Do the local cops look the other way at someone smoking weed?

Please tell me all about it!

Thanks.

2

Most recently I’ve been to the Austin City Limits festival…all-in-one admission to several stages on the same grounds, all outdoors (so you’re somewhat at the mercy of the weather)…last time I went I saw a cop carrying around a bong he presumably confiscated from someone (who I’m guessing he let off with a warning).

3

I don’t know what kind of music you like, but you’re about 4.5 hours away from Summerfest. 10 days of music and not all that expensive. It’s what, like $15 a day to get in, plus food (which isn’t priced that badly). The only music you have to pay for is the main stage, for everything else, you just wander around and listen to it.

It’s the World’s Largest Music festival, but it’s a bit different then places like Bonnaroo (which I’d like to go to some day). It’s more family oriented and not really touristy. LOTS of small bands, quite a few medium ones. A handful of older ones and about 10 HUGE people that play the main stage. So, you can see everything from local Milwaukee garage bands, to the up and comers that’ll be big in five years to Styx/Boston/Journey/etc to Garth Brooks/Tom Petty/Brittney Spears and everything in between.

On top of that, you can spend a couple of days in Milwaukee. If you’re going to drive 4.5 hours each way, you might as well make a few days or a week out of it. There’s plenty of other stuff to do.

4

Get yourself to Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Big mix of music, big mix of food. Eat and drink yourself across the grounds and listen to music at each stage. Gospel, jazz, zydeco, rock, pop, more. Perfect.

5

I’ve only been to ones in the UK, and they’ve all been great fun. I’d highly recommend going with a bunch of friends though, if you aren’t planning to already. The company makes all the difference.

To answer your questions:

-Admission tends to be a one-shot thing. On your first entry, you get a semi-permanent wristband that gives you entrance into the grounds, where you’ll be free to wander to any stage you want. From that point onward you just flash the wristband when you re-enter.

-At all the festivals I’ve been to, some shows have been indoors, but the majority have been outdoors. Depends on the stage and type of show, I guess. Indoors tended to mean tent, though.

-A fair bit of drugs happening, yes - especially weed. There were security staff, certainly, but they were mostly there to keep the drunks from getting too drunk. I don’t remember any police ever at any festival (wouldn’t you need a wristband to enter?) and there was always good sprinkling of first aid staff around in case some idiot teenager took twelve hits of LSD and started running around hallucinating the Apocalypse. This may well be different across the pond though.

6

It is a small pond…seems typical of stateside festivals…I am off to one now!

7

Been to a few, but they are not my favorite way of seeing music. Never been to one of the huge, multi-day festivals, and honestly the idea doesn’t excite me. But I’ve been to a few of the single day mini-festivals and had a good enough time.

My favorite was the 1998 Guinness Fleadh outside of Chicago. It was huge, it was crowded, it was a mess. So what was good? The first performance we saw at the show was Mary Coughlin. We had met her earlier in the year when she performed at Schuba’s. She recognized us in the front, and waved us over to the side of the stage after the show, and gave us backstage passes. This gave us the ability to pop behind any stage, walk through the backstage area and back out to another one. As opposed to wading through the crowds.

I had a similar experience with the Van’s Warped Tour. My friend Reverend Peyton got me and my niece photo passes, so we were able to wander anywhere.

For all the years Lollapaloosa has happened in Chicago, my wife and I have never bothered to go. But if I can get the same deal as the Warped Tour, I’ll be happy.

Forgot to add, the Womad festival. It toured for one year as a mini-festival, and had an amazing time. Not especially crowded, but went in with some friends to get a skybox. Great view, excellent sound and gave us a home base to return to at any time.

8

I’ll second Tara57’s recommendation of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. I’ve been to it nine times. It really is a great event, with fantastic music both by locals and international headliners. It runs for two consecutive weekends, from 11 AM to 7 PM each day. It costs only about $45 per day (unless you go for a fancy all-access pass). Once you’re in you can wander between about ten different stages, each with a different type of music. The food at the festival is excellent, and costs only $5 to $7 a plate (cheap for an event like this with a captive audience).

When the festival lets out at 7 PM, you can go hear even more music in town.

9

I’ll third Jazz Fest. All styles of music during the day, along with a couple big headliners. Recently there’s been Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Jeff Beck. It’s more fun to watch the smaller acts though. As mentioned, it ends early so you can spend the evening catching bands and partying. Definitely a more “mature” crowd then most festivals. The main problem is finding hotel space, and deciding which weekend to go.

10

I went to Bonnaroo in 04, 05, 06, and 07. It was one ticket for all the shows, which were all outside. It was a lot of fun, but make sure you are in shape to be walking around all day in oppressive heat. If you go, bring lots of food, water, sunscreen, bandana (dust ), very comfortable footwear, chairs . It is hot during the day and cold at night.
I saw a lot of drugs going on the first year I went, less so by the end. It was only soft drugs / psychedelics I saw people flaunting. The cops busted a lot of people, but when there are 80k all in one place there is only so much they can do. But they were definitely stepping up enforcement as time went on and things were not so much on the surface anymore. I’m sure there was probably stuff around still though, just not literally waved in front of your face.
There were a few people selling fake drugs, a few selling t shirts and casing people’s campsites and later coming back, robbing them at gunpoint and leaving them stranded in TN. A friend fell asleep on the ground and someone stole his wallet right out of his pants. That said, there were a ton of genuinely nice, great people. You just have to be careful in a setting with a ton of temporary, anonymous people.
It was such a fun experience, I wish I could still go but my work schedule won’t allow it. I felt old the last year I went at age 23 anyway, so I can only imagine what it would be like now. Most people were around 20, but there were a decent number of 40-50+ something s in trailers / campers. They were the best prepared.

11

I work First Aid at one of the smaller music festivals in western New York (Great Blue Heron Music Festival). We get about 7,000 attendees, and another ~700 volunteers. It’s all outdoors, although there are tents and pavilions where you can get out of the sun. Bands that play there include a lot of people you’ve never heard of, some you’ve heard of, and many project bands that include people you’ve heard of but might not realize it until you get there.

I love it. This particular festival is very family friendly, with areas for Kids and Teens activities (two different areas) and lots of families attend year after year. I’m very proud of the “Lost Child” procedures I’ve helped to create, which have resulted in no child/parent being lost for more than 9 minutes in the last 3 years. Hopefully as an attendee, you won’t even have a clue about stuff like that going on behind the scenes, as it were.

One admission for the whole long weekend, all bands included. Day passes are also available, but I highly suggest bringing a small tent and sleeping bag anyhow, as most people who come for a day decide to stay longer. Music is all day and all night, and includes lessons and jams for professionals and amateurs, as well as the official performances. If you come, do check out Jim Donovan’s drumming workshop - he’s made of awesome, and his workshops always end up with people who didn’t know which end of the drum was up making some really nice rhythms together.

Lots of vendors selling everything from clothing to jewelry to camping supplies to instruments and more. They do something called “blanket vending”, too - one afternoon anyone who wants to can spread a blanket and sell stuff, without paying any vending fees. This is great for folks who don’t want to or can’t afford to have a booth all weekend, or just have a few items for sale. Lots of handmade jewelry and artwork among the blanket vendors. Food vendors, too, including some healthy vegan options, and last year we had the best BBQ I’ve ever had - I hope those guys come back! And make sure you try Vick’s curly fries - he cuts 'em fresh on site from actual potatoes, and smothers them in a cardiologist’s nightmare of cheese and bacon and yummy stuff. So good!

Are there drugs there? Sure. Mostly alcohol, some weed, and generally one flavor of the year like mushroom chocolates. First Aid/Security doesn’t care all that much about what we don’t know about - we don’t generally go searching it out or anything. I feel fairly confident stating that it’s that way at most music festivals. You may be searched on the road by local law enforcement, however - on the way in or on the way out. If it’s brought to our attention on site, we have to deal with it…but let’s face it, if it becomes the problem of First Aid, then you’ve got a serious problem, either with the drugs or asshole friends who aren’t taking care of you. I have had to deal with a couple of overindulgers, but mostly of alcohol. My philosophy is that if you’re breathing and have friends who can keep you safe, go sleep it off in your tent. If not, I have some cots in First Aid where you can sleep it off. If you start being a pain in my ass, I’ll call EMS and let them take you to a hospital instead. But mostly I deal with band-aids and sunscreen and handing out condoms to embarrassed teenagers.

I’d say just go for it and see how you like it. I prefer the smaller music festivals to the big Summerfests and Lallapaloozas, but YMMV.

12

We do JazzFest most years and always have a blast. The year after 9/11 happened (?) we were in the Bob Dylan crowd having a great time. A joint was being passed. Guy in front of us with binoculars and an earpiece turned and flashed his FBI creds.

We went from assuming we were all being busted, to realizing that wasn’t why he was there. Very awkward.

13

Falcon Ridge, Falcon Ridge Falcon Ridge!!!
AMAZING folkie fest over the border from MA in NY. Ani, Arlo obscure but AMAZING singer songwriters…this is where Girlyman got its start.
Camping in the fields…volunteering, getting muddy…it is AMAZING.
It’s like summer camp for hippies!