As the school year winds down, our beloved summer winds up. Also known as: festival season. That’s right, get ready for your various news feeds to be over run by countless pictures and posts from music festivals. Music festivals are beautiful because they bring people together and allow opportunities to see favorite artists for a reasonable price.
Huge musical festivals can range anywhere from $100-$400 as a base price. If you really want to to go to a festival but your only concern is the price, think of it this way. The cost to go to one headliner’s concert could easily be half or more than half the price of a multiple day general admission ticket. This means, you could see as many artists as you want out of the usually wide selection for the price of seeing one or two big artists.
“[Tickets are] absolutely worth the money,” junior Henry Gordon said. “If you can buy at the right time for the right festival, the experience is more than worth the cost.”
These festivals are worth the money, but if you are being pressured into going by friends when you actually don’t like the music, it may not be worth it. The point of going to the festivals are usually to see artists you love. The combination of the music, people, and experiences make the festivals worth the cost,
“Music festivals give you so many amazing experiences and memories that are priceless,” junior Katie Douty said. “So even if a ticket is a lot of money you definitely won’t regret it in the end.”
The whole experience of a festival is unforgettable because there are so many aspects in a festival. For example, there are usually several stages, places to eat and places to win prizes. This allows you to plan what you want to do and who to see at what time. There are usually places where you can just relax if that’s what you wish to do. So even though the festivals are centered around the music, you would be paying for everything that comes with going to a festival.
“I love the feeling of music festivals; connecting with the music, people around you, and most importantly, connecting with yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually,” senior Alexis Crews-Holloway said.
If you know a musical festival would be your kind of scene and if you know you’d love the music and really want to see some artists, don’t let the price discourage you (unless you really can’t afford a ticket). You will meet the nicest people at festivals and get to bond with people through your love of music.
There are several local and close by popular summertime festivals that could interest a prospective festival goer. For example, starting with a festival on the cheaper side, BFD is held at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View and has starting ticket prices under $100. This year it will be held on June 6 with popular headlining bands like Modest Mouse and Of Monsters and Men. BFD is a one day festival with mostly alternative bands and uniquely gives local up-and-coming bands and platform to be discovered.
Outside Lands and Coachella are two big festivals that incorporate many genres, like indie, R&B, electronic and other genres. Outside Lands is located in Golden Gate park and San Francisco where as Coachella is held south of Los Angeles at the Empire Polo Club. Both are three day festivals that start in the $300 price range and attract a lot of people due to the quality of the artists they get and the spectrum of musical genres that they include.
“I would recommend going to Outside Lands for sure,” Gordon said. “Such a diverse audience and lineup, and get to have a great time with your friends.”
“When I got back from Coachella I literally felt like crying, it’s now my favorite place on earth,” Douty said.
If you love country music, Stagecoach is the festival for you. It is three days of your favorite country artists and is held at the same place as Coachella at the Empire Polo Club and tickets start in the $200 price range but quickly go up.
“There seem to be many festivals like Outside Lands and Coachella, but none really incorporate country so it was an amazing experience to have lots and lots of people all enjoying the same music that I do,” senior Kelly Swanson said.
For electronic music lovers, Nocturnal Wonderland is a massive electronic music festival. It never disappoints to bring the biggest names to perform and bring three days of dance. It is located in San Bernardino, near Los Angeles, and has starting prices in the $200-300 price range.
California Roots is a huge manly reggae festival in Monterey that is known for its chill vibes and messages of peace and love through music. It’s starting prices are in the $100-$200 price range for all three days.
In the end, no matter which festival you go to, coming together with strangers to see your favorite artists for a couple days, is priceless.
