A Reflection on My Music Festival Experience
Every generation has been touched by the phenomenon of festivals from seniors in college to senior citizens. Festivals have roots that go back to the early 1950’s. The reason was to bring an array of people together for peace and love for a couple of days. Even though there had been hundreds of earlier festivals the most famous was in 1969, the legendary music festival known as Woodstock, took place on a dairy farm in New York. Woodstock’s popularity was unexpected, the attendance was predicted to be two-hundred thousand, but the resulting capacity exceeded that limit causing admission to the festival to be free. The weekend included historic performers such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Santana.
In the work "Music Festival Experience Essay" we will talk about the effect of festivals and why they can change your outlook forever. Now, there are music festivals taking place all over the world and all year long, reaching various types of people. It is a perfect excuse to pack up and go on a road trip. The experience is well worth the overpriced tickets and excruciating blisters. Attending a single festival can permanently change one’s perspective on life. That is why a variety of ages attend, even though today’s music festivals are geared towards younger people who enjoy loud music and love to party. People who dislike partying and loud music are least likely to attend a music festival, so why do so many people want to camp with thousands of strangers in a far-off town for weekends at a time? A wide range of people attend music festivals for the music, the crowd, and the positive energy.
Initially, there is more than one genre playing throughout the festival at the same time. The different stages create an assortment of sounds all around, so there is something for everyone’s music taste. A couple of years ago, my friends and I attended the Summer Ends Festival, in Tempe, during which, music from reggae to rap was being performed constantly from 10 in the morning until midnight. My group of friends were able to rush from stage to stage to see our favorite artists as well as discovering new performers.
Stage A would have an Indie performer with Flower Childs’ dancing all around, while at Stage F there was a DJ mixing EDM music while the crowd jumped intensively. Not only does music keep the audience actively engaged, but the lights correlating with the music adds to the enthusiasm. Often times I would find myself in sync with others around me. While there is an aspect of unity at concerts, festivals take this concept to a whole other level.
A festival’s main purpose is to have music, but that is not all festivals have to offer. The culture of festivals has changed significantly since Woodstock, like the arise of Tomorrowland, Governs Ball, and most known among Millennials, Coachella. Coachella has become universally known within the past decade with the help of social influence and social media. Much like Tomorrowland and Governs Ball, festivals are events that last for weekends at a time once a year. It is still a place for people to feel at peace and live in the moment. For me, the same rush comes from every festival I attend.
My experience from festivals and live events are not the same compared to others. To get a perspective on what others thought of their encounters with festivals, I asked my roommate to describe her experience while attending the Ultra Music Festival. Which is a weekend long event in Miami, Florida at the end of March that mainly features EDM. I asked her if the experience was worth it and if she would go again. She responded, “It was fun for the first couple of hours we got there, but as the day went on the amount of obnoxious drunk people made me uncomfortable.
I would go to a festival again just not the Ultra Music Festival. Besides, the grass being covered in alcohol infused vomit, the highlight of the weekend was when the crowd’s mood would change once their favorite musician got on stage. Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn to the stage. The positive feelings were contagious. When I saw someone dancing, I could not help it but to join.” Despite the different experiences we had during our time at festivals, we had the view on how close the crowd felt, almost like a family.
When it comes to crowds, festivals are full of people who traveled across the country for all the same reasons. Even if a person decides to go alone, it does not matter because they have the opportunity to create incredible bonds with people around them. Being surrounded by people creates a sense of belonging and the world is not as lonely as it may seem at times. Because the crowds consist of thousands of people, it is inevitable to meet a new person. A connection immediately forms between everyone starts when one steps foot on the grass because of the mutual love for the environment of music. People form the most unlikely form of friendships.
An example of this situation happened at the Summer Ends Festival; a young man beside me took off his shirt because of the adrenaline rush and started swinging the shirt around. An older man next to him who looked at him for a bit with confusion. Without hesitation, he ripped his shirt off as well, then began to intensity jump together as the bass dropped. The men remained in sync with each other for the rest of the performance. It makes one wonder why there is hate in the world when everyone is capable of getting along so well.
Everyone acts differently in a crowd, which can result in positive experiences or potentially dangerous consequences. Benefits from festivals can last a lifetime. It is a break from reality and allows one to bring out their inner child. It may be fun to ignore responsibilities and obligations but activities like drinking all day without stopping in the heat, causes a potential risk for dehydration. Every concert and festival I have attended to, there have been people in the crowd needing to be carried out by security because they did not drink water and were on the verge of passing out. During intense situations like a crowd member fainting, they work together make sure the hurt individual has gotten help, so the rest of the night goes as anticipated.
Ultimately, a festival’s energy is generated because every person is there to have a good time. They are celebrating live for various reasons. The reason I go among others is to share the same passion for music with thousands of people around me. At the Summer Ends Festival, even during the concluding performances, the crowd’s energy level was same as the opening performances. While we were leaving, cars would be blasting music that was performed during the day. People who love this environment cannot get enough which causes a permanent impact to keep them wanting more.
While the bar has-been set high by legendary festivals of the past, the love for music and energy contributes to a promising future. The popularity level of festivals has remained consistent despite dramatic changes in design and structure. Festivals have continued as an event of high importance throughout generations. For me, the expectation and anticipation for the adrenalin inducing experience forms unity between festival’s crowds. The connection between individuals who attend leaves a lasting impression of belonging which can be experienced from generations to generations. There is no limit for what can come in the next couple of decades considering how far festivals have come.
