Creating the Best Experience Possible

Sharing music festivals with your best friends is indescribable. Getting to experience your favorite artists’ sets, exploring the festival and making memories the whole time as a group makes the trip so worth it. If you have a friend that hasn’t been to a music festival before, here are some tips to ensure that their first music festival experience is the best.

Credit: Electric Zoo

1. Pre-Festival Planning

Determine which festival you’re going to bring them to. I highly recommend bringing them to a festival you’ve already been to since you’ll know what to expect. Make sure that they’ll like the music at the festival too by sending them the music of the artists on the lineup. You wouldn't want to force them into an experience they might not enjoy so it’s best to ease them into it.

2. Help with Preparations

Open up the conversation of what they have questions about so that you can give them proper expectations. Let them know they’re entering a space where they won’t be judged and will have a good time. I always make sure when I’m with any first timers to let me know if they ever feel uncomfortable or need to take a break so letting them know that beforehand will help them at the festival. 

I know the first thing I always worried about was what to wear or what to bring. Help them pick out an outfit that’ll fit the weather and vibe of the festival. They don’t need to go all out but have them wear something they’ll be comfortable in as well as shoes they can walk and dance in for hours. Make sure they have a way to stay hydrated either with a reusable water bottle or hydration pack. Then they just need to worry about having their ID, cash or credit card to pay for stuff inside the gates. You can worry about providing gum, chapstick, portable charger, etc. so they don’t have to stress about it. I’m the mom of my group so I’m always stocked with anything my friends might need.

3. Tips for Inside the Festival

I know you might want to check every five seconds that your friend is having a good time, but this is the time to just let go and enjoy the festival with your friend. I’ve gotten caught up plenty of times in making sure that a first timer is having a good time that it would ruin the experience for myself. Sometimes it’s better to just let go and let the festival and music do its magic. You can be there for them should something go wrong or if they need a friend to rely on. 

Credit: Coachella

After the festival, you can debrief with them to see how their experience was. If it’s a multi-day festival, you can do this after day one to see how they liked it and how they can enjoy the rest of the days. Hopefully, they’ll have nothing but a positive experience and you to thank them for it.