From Woodstock to Coachella, nothing can bring such a wide array of fans, musicians and artists together like the music festival. Where else but Coachella can one see Azealia Banks and Frank Ocean perform in the same atmosphere as Gotye and The Black Keys? The lineup for Lollapalooza features acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Calvin Harrisand The Weeknd.
As enticing as a weekend of incredible live music sounds, it surely isn’t all fun and games getting there and experiencing it.
Dum Dum magazine’s Monica Hunt compiled a list of the “Pros and Cons of Community Musical Festivals” as it applied to Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock Music Festival. Although on a much smaller scale, the list of pros and cons of Eagle Rock are also applicable to more nationally promoted festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza.
One major drawback to the idea of the music festival is, as Hunt puts it, “the jaded.”
“We’re an omnipresent species at the festival, complaining about how we’ve seen band ‘xyz’ too many times and question why we’re doing it again,” Hunt writes. “You can eavesdrop on our conversations debating whether or not this one artist is going to ‘blow up’ soon and when they do, we wonder with subtle facial expressions signaling disgust, if we’ll ever want to see a live performance by them again.”
Not that being jaded is something out of the ordinary, but it’s possible that many people who attend music festivals aren’t going to be fans of everything. You would have to be one heck of an authority on all types of music to know and like the entire lineup of Lollapalooza.
Another setback of the music festival is how tremendously expensive going to one actually is.
Weekend passes to this year’s Coachella festival ran between $225 for general admission and $665 for VIP passes.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “Once various fees were factored in, a general admission three-day pass came to about $315, but the Coachella site was loaded with options, ranging from shuttle trips to VIP passes. Depending on the package chosen, two Coachella tickets could push $1,300.”
Even though music festivals can — and do — cost patrons a pretty penny, the exorbitantly priced weekend passes provide access to the concert experience of a lifetime.
Which leads to the one and only relevant benefit to going to a music festival: the music.
Nowhere else but a music festival will one be able to see as many 100 bands or musicians play at one time.
Per the advice of Lina Lecaro of LA Weekly , go to these festivals with an ambitious mindset of which artists and bands you are going to see. Focus on the music.
Schedule your trip and make sure you are always safe with friends. Charge your iPhone. Wear lots of sunscreen and vintage.
And lastly, go with a good attitude — you’re too young to be jaded.
Reach the columnist at jermac@asu.edu
Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press email newsletter.
