Hell, I remember running out of food within the first day of a festival and left to trade beers for supplies by the second. In all, you have a kick ass time but every time you come back, you always want to make sure the next time is a little easier for ya.

This is my collection of the twenty helpful tips to survive a music festival.

Tip 1: Start Small

Above all else, be smart about what you’re doing before, during and after the music festival. Obviously, there are situations that are going to be illegal so be smart about that, be aware that there are undercover people at the larger events, be aware that sometimes they put up roadblocks and even that there are shady people that come to the events. All-in-all, use your noggin’.

Tip 2: Bring Extra, Extra Clothing

Look at how much clothes you are bringing and then add about twice as much. Festivals are dirty and you’ll find that you run out of clothing pretty quick when you start to get really sweaty or the random rip occurs on your shirt. You can keep going but it’s always nice to have an actual change of clothes especially when you’re partying on farm land where you’re going to be stepping in shit.

Tip 3: Get Plenty of Money

Festivals are expensive. Yes, hippies show up and get by no problem but they’re hippies – you’re more likely going to need extra money for the little things that you’ve forgot, food when you run out or to buy the essentials once you’re there. It’s always good to have a bit of money in the event you need it.

Enjoy it best, with friends

Try to go with your friends. Not only will you have a good time being around the people you like but it will create a good community to be around especially when things get a little out of control. I’ve been to a festival by myself and it can be troubling when things are sketchy; it’s always good to have a friend or two there to ground ya.

Tip 5: Expect the Unexpected

Take all the thoughts you have about a particular festival and throw them out the door. If you haven’t been to a festival than you really can’t understand the amount of things going on once you’re there. The best piece of advice I can give you is to just be ready to have everything you know blown out the door. You’re going to see weird and cool people, watch mind blowing acts and be temporarily out of any type of civilized society for a little while so just throw out the expectations and roll with it.

Tip 6: Stay Cool at All Times

Don’t become an ass at the festival just because you don’t know people. Don’t push people around and freak out when something is uncomfortable; take everything with a grain of salt and keep things cool. People are there to have fun – don’t be the dick that ruins it for everyone.

Tip 7: Don’t Go Overboard

Don’t take it too far. You’re going to have the opportunity to do a lot of things at the festival – some legal, some illegal – but always keep your head straight if you partake. There’s nothing worse than someone losing their cool and freaking out – keep things within your control if you can; if things start to slip, seek out your friends.

Tip 8: Bring More than One Cooler

One cooler isn’t enough to last you through the festival especially when you get into a giving mood and hand out all your beer to the cool people around you. Bring an extra cooler with supplies so you can barter with people and be generous; you’ll be happy you have extra when you run out of the supplies.

Try to find your tent now

Don’t skimp out on your tent, please. I’ve been to festivals with cheap, $30 tents and believe me, they suck. Pony up the money and buy something worthwhile, something that can survive some extreme conditions because the weather changes all the time and nothings worse than being soaking wet, freezing cold and dirty as hell in a cheap ass tent.

Tip 10: Be Careful

Be safe about what you’re doing. I don’t need to remind you about this but use your common sense. Don’t be climbing up trees when you’re drunk or starting fights. Don’t walk away from the festival with injuries; not only are you going to ruin it for your friends but it’s going to kill your good time.

Tip 11: Don’t be Stupid

Also, don’t be stupid. Don’t pick fights with people because they did something silly. Don’t steal from people. Don’t crash their buzz or call out people. In short, don’t be an asshole. Everyone is there to have a good time but there are always a few people that try to ruin it. There’s nothing worse than feeling on top of the world than someone to come up and rip into you for no apparent reason. Accept everyone and don’t be some jackass.

Tip 12: Bring the Little Things

Don’t forget to bring the little things like batteries for flash lights or extra tampons for the ladies. You’ll find some basics at a festival and you may be able to run to a store but some festivals lock you in once you make your way inside. You could always barter if you need something so bring those little things that most people will forget.

Tip 13: Don’t Do Everything

Don’t try to do everything if the festival is massive. Pick an artist you really enjoy and make the sacrifice to see them even though there may be another favorite artist playing in a different area. You won’t be able to see everything and do everything at a festival so it’s best to just maximize what you are doing and enjoy it – rather than bouncing all over the place and never really getting into the moment.

Special, special peoples

Break out of your little social barrier and start interacting with people. Walk up, kick up conversations, sit down at a tent, give people a cig, share a beer with someone – do social things! The people you meet at festivals aren’t your normal run-of-the-mill bunch, you probably won’t see them again but you’ll have some amazing conversations when you can.

Tip 15: Be One with Nature

Embrace the dirtiness that is nature. Don’t be afraid to get messy and dirty as hell. People aren’t at a festival to look good – they’re there to have a good time and sometimes that means not exactly taking care of everyday habits like showering and using the bathroom in proper places. Respect nature, don’t litter but blend in – don’t fight what you can’t control.

Tip 16: Bring Backup Tickets

If possible, get a couple copies of your tickets or confirmation for when you’re going. Nothing’s worse than buying a ticket at the last minute and the organizers scramble to find your name (it’s happened before after driving to a festival nearly 8 hours away). Print out the tickets or the receipt of the festival if you buy the tickets online – don’t expect to get tickets at the gate if it’s a big one.

Tip 17: Don’t “Just Deal With It”

If something bad happens such as an overdose or a major injury, don’t just “deal with it” and keep going because you have to realize that people are in real danger – it could be your friend or it could be a complete stranger. People are going to be so out of their minds that people skip over the basic care for themselves and others; don’t risk serious injury and trauma just to “stick it out” – be smart.

Tip 18: Set a Meeting Point

Try to always let your group know where a general “meeting point” may be in the event that you get lost because you’re too far out of your mind. Sure, the tent is a good place to meet up but sometimes that can be extremely difficult when there are thousands of similar looking tents around you. Set something like “the main stage on the left by the giant squid statue” or something like that – this way you know where to go if you need help or if you want to meet back up.

Tip 19: Stay Hydrated

You’re going to have a lot to drink during the festival and not much of that is going to be water. You can’t survive on beer at the rate you’re going at festivals if you’re constantly dancing and running around because you’ll dehydrate. Every once-in-a-while, drink a bit of water just to balance out everything else you’ve put into your body.

Tip 20: Don’t Plan

Ha! The last one on the list basically negates a good majority of this post. Festivals are completely unique each year so there’s no real reason to do some extensive planning for them like you would a family vacation. Use your common sense when you’re going, bring essentials and just go – nothing is going to work out the way you plan it so don’t worry about it!

Final Thoughts

I’ve gone to my share of music festival and can honestly say that they are some of the most enjoyable moments of my life. There are times when things were amazing and others where I felt doomed; in all, they all had their own unique feel and were totally worth it in the end.

I know, from going, that I try to be prepared but it rarely happens. There’s not much you can do once you’re in the gate so try to be smart about what you bring in and how you’re going to survive for the duration of the festival. If things go up or down, take em in stride and enjoy the ride.

If interested, you could always read this cool book on Music Festivals; gives a nice look at the music culture we all love.

So, I wanted to put together a short list of how to keep your stuff safe when attending music festivals.

Tip #1: Don’t bring important stuff, duh!

If you’re going to be attending music festivals than you should already know that you don’t want to bring super expensive items. Try not to bring expensive items like MP3 players or jewelry because people are going to be shady, at times, and boom, now your stuff is missing. You’re not going to get your stuff returned so just avoid the heart ache and avoid bringing it in the first place.

Tip #2: Leave expensive things in the car

Who would mess with a car like this?

If you did bring expensive items to the festival than just leave them in the car. If anything, you could walk back out to the car if you need to get something like your cell phone.

If you’re going with people than you can try to keep the trips down by just setting a few ‘rules’ on how often you go back to the car – cause that can get annoying real fast.

Don’t be caught up with worrying about your stuff because it takes away from the fun of the festival; keep things in your car and you won’t need to worry about it – oh yeah, lock your car.

Tip #3: Stuff valuables UNDER the tent

Someone that goes through your tent will need to be quick at it; they aren’t going to be hanging around because they’re going to get caught. What people will do is open up your tent, take a quick look around and snatch and grab anything that’s expensive on first sight. To avoid this, create a little hole under your tent where you can stash a few things. People generally won’t go through the trouble of lifting up a tent to look around for stuff; use it to your advantage.

Tip #4: Keep your backpack on

If you don’t mind lugging a backpack around than this could be a great way to keep your stuff from being stolen. You can pick up ultra light day packs that you won’t even feel; they won’t get in the way from your partying. You can pick up these packs online or at a local store. Just remember not to set your pack down else everything will be picked up and gone.

Tip #5: Wallet in the front pocket

Bouncing around, dancing, sitting down, getting up, walking around, brushing up on people and crammed when partying is an easy way to lose your wallet. The back pocket on your pants or shorts is generally loose so avoid having it pick pocketed or dropped by keeping it in your front pocket. Just remember not to put something important in there that you reach for often, like cigarettes, because this could make you accidentally slip your wallet out, boooo.

Tip #6: Check up on the tent

Tent looks good Dr. Jones!

Your tent is literally your home away from home; lose it and you’re either screwed or will need to do some serious hustling to survive the music festival.

For this reason, you should cut away from the party, on occasion, to check out your tent and area. Hell, if you leave your cooler at the tent than you have a reason to hit it up on occasion.

Doing so will make sure that people see that you’re keeping watch and you can notice if anything is missing; use the time to cool down, as well, so you avoid overheating eh!

Tip #7: Be friendly with people around you

When you’re at a festival for three days you should get to know your neighbors. Besides having a blast when talking to people near your tent you can also help one another by being a look out to make sure no one messes with your stuff. If there are people that hang around the area, maybe around the fire, than you could just buddy up; if someone dirty starts messing with the tents than they will be the first to tell them to piss off – awesome! Give them a beer to say thanks.

Conclusion

You have to be smart when you’re festival hopping. Don’t be an idiot and bring thousands of dollars, don’t leave your crap sitting outside your tent, don’t make it look like you have a bunch of stuff on you. Be dirty; be like a hippie so people don’t assume you have crap to steal. Be safe when you’re festival hoping and come to expect that you’ll lose some things; just make sure they aren’t valuable.

There are hundreds (even thousands) of music festivals in the world but there are only five that made this list. What you’ll find here are ones which every festival hopper should have on their bucket list before they die.

Coachella

Coachella has seen a wide range of inspiring artists from genres all over including rock, hop hop, electronic and more. Held at the Empire Polo Cub in Indio, California, Coachella continues to grow as many well known artists such as Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Tool and countless others lend their talents to create a festival of a life-time.

Although the festival was originally a three day event it has since moved into a two weekend format generally in April. Artists that performed from the previous year rarely make an appearance again as festival promoters wish to keep the vibe fresh.

Coachella can be a bit expensive to attend but it will certainly be worth paying for a memory and tale that you can tell friends and family for many years to come.

Learn more at the official Coachella website.

Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo is a four day festival event that’s held at Great State Park in Manchester, Tennessee. Bonnaroo has picked up popularity for indie goers as it has long since pushed to show lesser known artists and those that don’t fit into the mainstream (although there are some well known names that do headline from year to year).

The main draw of Bonnaroo is the rock but let’s not forget the massive amount of art and various projects that happens on the ground throughout the event. Thousands show up to sell their wares, cook food and display their art for the countless festival goers to see.

Bonnaroo is generally held between June 9^th to the 12^th so if you plan to go be sure to grab your tickets early.

Learn more at the official Bonnaroo website.

Glastonbury

Glastonbury is a massive music festival held in south west England where it attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year. The festival has shifted from modest size to one of the largest with well over eighty stages at the last event; featuring hundreds of artists.

Glastonbury could be considered the English equivalent to Burning Man as it attracts many hippies and free thinkers. The festival has been running for many years and doesn’t show signs of stopping. Expect to find nearly every genre of music represented at this festival.

Learn more at the official Glastonbury website.

Winter Music Conference

Winter Music Conference, held in Miami, is like none other. An entire week of electronic music (and more) runs rampant at dozens of clubs and smaller events. The biggest event of the all, Ultra Music Festival, is held on the weekend where it attracts up to 80,000 festival-goers with some of the biggest names in electronic music today.

Planning to attend WMC? Than get your hotels and tickets early because Miami virtually shuts down for the duration of the event. Prices will skyrocket once you get close but for those that are willing to take a hit to the wallet will have one of the best experiences of their life.

Winter Music Conference is generally held between March 8^th to the 12^th each year; it’s been running since the 80’s and doesn’t shown any sign of slowing down.

Learn more at the official Winter Music Conference website.

Burning Man

The granddaddy of all hippy festivals: Burning Man. Burning Man is a week long festival held in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada. Every year there is a different overall “theme” but the one thing that stays the same is the traditional “burning man” which, in short, is generally a large wooden man that is burned on the Saturday prior to the event finishing.

Burning Man attracts some of the wildest, weirdest and open minded individuals. Thousands of artists share their work along with the festival attendees. Everyone is expected to contribute in some small fashion and show their independence.

Burning Man continues to blow the minds of those whom attend although it has picked up in mainstream popularity and made changes over the years (for the better or worse).

Learn more at the official Burning Man website.

So there you have it; the top 5 music festivals in world. Ready to start festival hopping? I know I am – see you there.

Your first time attending a music festival can be quite overwhelming at times but using a few of these tips will help curb some of the unexpected events that may pop up along the way.

Yeah, once you get there you’ll be so overwhelmed with what’s going on that you’ll say “eff it” to everything you forgot but once the morning rolls around and you’re without supplies, you’ll be cursing yourself.

In this post, I want to give a few tips on what to bring to music festivals. Although some of these aren’t necessary, you’ll always be thankful when you have them.

Any other drink besides beer

How many times have you made the mistake of just buying cases of beer for a festival then later down the line you could really use water or an energy drink.

Beer will dehydrate you in mass quantity, bring drinks that don’t contain alcohol for a change.

Extra sets of clothes

I admit, I generally don’t care at all when it comes to my personal hygiene when I’m at a festival, I’m there to get dirty and go wild.

However, when the temperature drops by 50 degrees and it begins to rain, you’ll really wish you brought an extra hoodie or pair of pants.

Lights

I don’t know how many times I’ve bought a battery lantern only to forget it just as I leave. It’s always helpful to have a light that isn’t your cigarette lighter.

The light can sit in your tent so you can actually see where you’re going, instead of throwing everything in and just laying on top of it (you’ll end up doing this anyway).

Food

Food?! Do I really need to tell you to bring food? Apparently, yes.

Food is one of those items that you weight against the alchohol. Not enough room to fit food? Oh well, throw in another case.

You have to eat at some point, it may as well be something other than granola bars and banannas.

A (good) tent

Don’t skimp out on buying a good tent. Yes, the $20 childs tent looks like a great deal but these things leak, are way too small and generally get lost very quickly.

Opt for at least a 4 person tent, this way you could invite people back or if you’re with your buddies, there’s ample amount of room for all of you.

Sleep (once in a while)

Out of everything that you’ll do at a festival the main thing that will catch up to you is the lack of sleep.

Going at it for 2 or 3 days straight is very admirable but your body will feel miserable once it starts to shut down from exhaustion.

Try to grab a nap when the music dies down, sleep on something comfortable (aka. not the ground) and give your brain a rest for a change.

Acoustic instruments or MP3 players

Depending on the festival, the music may die down in the early mornings for the people that are finally crashing.

If you’re apart of the group that is staying up the whole time, you’ll probably want to hear something.

A drum circle is always welcoming at parties and when you want to try to catch some winks in your tent, an MP3 player is a godsend to chill you out.

Hell, just 2x of everything

This is more of a general tip because it seems like everyone runs out of everything by late night on the 2nd night.

Cigarettes, beer, fire wood, clothes, you name it and it’s pretty much exhausted at this point. Pack up twice you think you’ll use and if you don’t end up using it, give it away to people.

Good Vibes

I don’t think this necessarily needs to go on here but I think it’s worth mentioning.

Bring good vibes to the party, help each other out, give stuff away, let people chill out with you, share your fire, share some food, talk to people, don’t be grumpy and most importantly: don’t get arrested at parties.

People are there to have fun and let go of the world for a while, they don’t need people to complain about their jobs nonstop, just be a good spirit.

Something to barter with

If you didn’t take the tips about bringing extra supplies and things other than beer it may be good to bring things you could eventually barter with.

I’m not saying to do anything illegal.

Bring items people may want to trade for food, water, a tent or any other item. Trade some glowsticks for cigarettes, play some music for beer, hell, anything works at festivals.

Of course, bring some extra money as well.

Go with the flow (but be smart)

In the end, just go to have a great time. I usually don’t think to hard about the things I’m bring, I just try to cover the essentials and eventually note what I should bring next time.

After a while you’ll be able to deal without certain things while others you’ll really be happy you brought. You can read a bit more about How To Prepare For A Summer Music Festival with this handy guide.

Remember, you’re going to be camping out for multiple day, it’s best to be prepared before you end up cold and miserable.

Happy partying

Did I forget to mention anything you usually bring to festivals? Share some tips in the comment section below.