Attending a music festival is an unforgettable experience — the sheer diversity of music across the world means there’s a festival for just about every genre. Rolling Loud, Head In The Clouds, Primavera Sound, Sound and Fury, Camp Flog Gnaw, and of course, Coachella are just a small handful of the music festivals that have risen in popularity throughout the past decade. Concerts and festivals are an extremely fun and unique event to experience. Being able to see your favorite artists within a few days is any music lover’s dream. The wide range of different venues and arenas in which these events take place can lead to unique experiences: sleeping in tents,meeting a variety of characters, and having to pay for a $30 burger barely larger than your fist.
As Coachella starts on April 11, many people are experiencing their first music festival or even concert and don’t know what to expect. What is a mosh pit? What should I bring? Were those seats worth the price? All questions that come from someone who is taking an Uber ride to their first-ever music festival.
As these festivals rapidly approach, a guide to being “cool at concerts and festivals has never been more important.
CONCERT ETIQUETTE
- Live in the moment! Don’t record the entire thing. When you record the whole performance not only does your phone battery die, but it prevents you from fully taking in the experience.
- Bring comfortable clothes. Being fashionable, especially at a festival, is important. But if you plan to be active, whether that be moshing or dancing, bringing a comfortable pair of shoes is critical in order to not deal with foot pain for the rest of the experience.
- Keep the noise down. Screaming all the lyrics to your favorite songs is fun, but when you’re in public it ruins the show for everyone around you.
- Stay away from the speaker or bring earplugs. Although the speakers are close to the stage, standing directly next to the speakers is incredibly damaging to your ears, at rock concerts especially. If you want to be closer to the stage and end up close to the speakers, bringing foam earplugs will allow you to protect your hearing while still enjoying the music.
HOW TO SURVIVE A MOSH PIT
- To protect yourself, keep your elbows up. Like a jogging position, it protects you from being punched or kicked in the ribs and helps protect you from concert-goers shoving.
- Always be moving. If you end up in the middle of the pit, you need to move with it. Go with the flow of the crowd and match their energy because getting trampled is way worse than jumping around.
- Beware stage divers. They’re uncommon at festivals due to the security, but at smaller venues and local shows, people tend to run up on stage and jump off, expecting the crowd to catch them.
