Totem Takeover

Posted on by jchris25

If you have never been to a music festival than you probably have never come across a festival totem in your life. If you have decided to attend a music festival than you better get familiar with these accessories of creative art and guidance. Festival totems are best described as signs that are made by festival-goers, which can be humorous, creative, sarcastic or just plain weird! Festival-goers can construct these quirky accessories with numerous objects.

The most common materials that are used to make the pole of festival totems are pool noodles, PVC pipe, wood or plastic. These materials are used to support and hold up the sign that will be created and shown off during the festival. The sign that is displayed is the creative expression of choice. The expression of the sign is the most important and entertaining part of the totem.

Most commonly seen are parodies of celebrities and sea animals. Nicholas Cage’s face is often used as the focal point of a totem, with a witty quote referencing the festival or the headlining act. To do this, one would simply print out a giant picture of Nick Cage and attach it to the pipe. Other totem-carriers will decorate umbrellas with LED lights and crepe paper dangling off, as if it were a jellyfish. When you play the totem game, you want to have the most eye-catching, flavorful, or funniest totem at the festival.

If you decide that you want to construct a festival totem for your trip, it is important to check the website of the festival you are attending to see what materials are allowed to be used to construct your totem. I have seen many totems denied access to music festivals, because people used materials that were forbidden on the festival grounds. You also want to make sure that the dimensions of your totem are not too large, or else you might not be able to bring it in. It would be very disappointing if you put a lot of hard work and creativity into constructing your totem and you were not allowed to show it off.

The next time you attend a music festival, try your hand at creating your very own totem. If not, take a second to stop and look at the totems around you with your newfound knowledge of how they’re made. Whether they’re used as a tool to regroup with your friends, your rage stick of choice when rocking out to music, or simply the seasoning to decorate a crowd of fun-loving, sweaty fans, totems are a FestiLife thing. Enjoy them.

Stuck In TomorrowWorld

Posted on by jchris25

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mixtribe/10940250125/in/photolist-hEKDda-gFnvJZ-gFmB6w-gFnPJp-gn751J-m6C8zw-gFna6A-gBj5Ad-gFnNGK-jjALcc-hyKnLc-git8dg-gFmEPd-gFmWUj-gFnP3p-gFo4yZ-gFnefC-gFnP6F-gFnQbM-gFn9cG-gFnfQm-gFnPoK-gFmD9E-hyHVth-hzcMVJ-gFnrGb-gFnM1t-gFmEZo-gFmGqE-gFnbsU-gFnqGq-gFo2aR-gFncb6-hyHDxP-mcemLb-hyKs6p-hyHRwZ-hyJ1Qu-hyKiCn-gBiA8E-gFn9Ym-hyKift-gFo6mr-gFmMo5-gFnrKX-gFnfYr-hyKtdz-hyHLHR-hyHWgu-hyJsXh

(TomorrowWorld Photo taken from Flickr.com, Photo by: Mixtribe Photography)

The biggest music festival of the year quickly turned into a furry of complete chaos and disorder as heavy rains led to road closures, leaving thousands of festival-goers stranded and without transportation at the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) mega festival known as TomorrowWorld.

Scattered showers throughout the weekend of the festival turned the 8,000-acre farmland in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia, into a giant pit of mud. The inclement weather led the organizers of the festival to limit festival transportation on Saturday, leaving many non-campers stranded in the late hours of the night.

The poor transportation planning of the festival organizers left many of those who were stranded to pay the ridiculous amount of a surge-price Uber. If you have ever used Uber, than you know how expensive getting a ride can be, especially if there are thousands of people around you in the same conundrum. For the ones that were not so lucky to have the money to buy a ride to civilization, they were forced to sleep on the side of the roads outside of the festival without food or water.

How does this happen? I mean seriously?

If I wanted to experience a zombie apocalypse, I could have just sat on my couch and watched re-runs of The Walking Dead.

I really do not understand how a multi-million dollar production company that has a year to plan out all of the logistics to this mega festival forgets weather emergency plans? YOU’RE KILLING ME SMALLS!

The situation did not improve at all on Sunday, as the festival announced that they would be closing the festival grounds, not allowing any non-campers inside the venue.

This left thousands of people who had traveled from around the world to attend the festival very upset to say the least. Many took to social media to express their anger toward the organizers of the festival. Even artists that performed over the weekend had some negative comments for the ones who were responsible for such horrible planning.

TomorrowWorld officials have recently reached out to the attendees about refunds for those who were not allowed access to Sunday’s festivities. The festival issued a statement taking full responsibility for the events that had taken place and apologizing for the disastrous weekend.

Being One With The Crowd

Posted on by jchris25

There is a lot to consider when attending a music festival for your first time especially if you are camping. Most people spend the time before they leave making sure they have the right directions or double-checking their suitcases to make sure they packed enough underwear. But, there are a couple things some people forget to bring with them that can make the difference between having a good or bad experience.

Camping and crowd etiquette is something every festival patron should be conscious of when they are sharing land and resources with thousands of other people.

Most of what I will say will probably sound like common sense, but lets be honest sometimes common sense is thrown out the window. Most music festivals that take place in the summer are over the course of three or four days, so camping on the festival grounds is a popular option among those attending. Unfortunately, people use that as an opportunity to forget how to be a decent human being. Simple actions like throwing away trash and being courteous to the neighbors around you are easily forgotten for whatever reason.

Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when you are at a music festival that will contribute to a positive experience.

Once you enter the festival venue for the day, and the music has begun the constant flow of traffic from stage to stage can get hectic. Staying close to your friends or getting a good view for the upcoming artist is a constant struggle when you are a part of such a large crowd.

Believe it or not there is an etiquette that exist amongst crowds at music festivals. The most important thing to keep in mind is to try and refrain from disturbing the people around you when you are making your way through a crowd. Searching for a good location to watch the show or if you are just simply heading to the bathroom can be a real distraction.

Trust me when I say, I have bumped enough shoulders and have had my belongings stepped on enough times to believe “it was just an accident” every time.

So, before you head to a music festival think about some things you can do to be a good neighbor to those around you to make everyone’s experience including yours an enjoyable one.

Who Wants Tickets?

Posted on by jchris25

Fireworks after Paul McCartney's performance at Firefly. (Photo by: Charlie Rose, VCU alum BFA in Painting & Printmaking) http://instagram.com/rosecl2

Fireworks after Paul McCartney’s performance at Firefly. (Photo by: Charlie Rose, VCU alum BFA in Painting & Printmaking) Check him out on Instagram.

College students have quickly become the main demographic attending music festivals across America. But, having the bank account of a college student can make it hard to purchase tickets that are being sold at such high prices. So, naturally what college kids do is look for cheaper ticket prices on alternative sites such as Craigslist, EBay and StubHub.

There is nothing wrong with trying to save a few bucks on the cost of your trip if you can, but there are some dangers you can face by digging for a deal. If you are trying to purchase tickets through a third party website like Craigslist, there are some things you should be aware of before you spend your money.

Here are: 4 Ways To Avoid Music Festival Ticket Scams.

Another popular alternative option that college students choose when trying to purchase cheaper festival tickets are getting them through scalpers. Scalpers usually sit at the entrance of the event begging you to buy tickets off of them. This is the worst thing you could possibly do and I highly recommend that you never attempt this, but lets be honest people can be desperate sometimes.

So, if you do make the horrific, horrific, (that’s right, I said it twice) mistake of purchasing your tickets from a scalper, here are some tips that will help you prevent being scammed in the process. And, I pray the festival gods have mercy on you.

If you aren’t purchasing off impulse, and attending a music festival is something you have planned well in advance, than there are some ways you can do to get a bargain on your ticket.

Most, if not all festivals try to cater to their younger audiences by creating different ways for people to attend. This is extremely helpful for college students who are ballin’ on a budget, but requires you to be involved in the process and commit to attending well in advance. So, if you know what festival you want to attend in the upcoming year, I encourage you to get a head start and figure out what avenue is best when purchasing your ticket.

So, think twice before you purchase your ticket and make sure you have explored all the avenues available to you. I would hate to say, “I told you so.”

Decoding The Lineup

Posted on by jchris25

Summer has come to an end, but the music festival season continues into the refreshingly cool months of fall. There is no time like the present to begin looking into attending your first music festival. The biggest question that is always asked is “which one?”

The first place to start is researching the artist lineups of the festivals you are interested in attending. Each festival embodies a vibe that tends to reflect the artistic intentions of its performers. The headliners of each festival are typically good indicators as to what type of audience will be in attendance.

I experienced my first music festival in 2013, when I attended Firefly Music Festival, in Dover, DE. The lineup of their festival gave me a great idea of the type of music was going to be played, and the atmosphere that would exist while I was there. As a huge bluegrass/rock fan, artists like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Avett Brothers, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were bands I was not only excited to see, but also helped me to envision the overall environment of the festival itself.

If you look at the lineup of AllGood Music Festival, you can see that Primus, Moe., and Lotus are the headliners because of their set times, font size, and position on the page. Headliners of festivals usually play at the end of each night giving ample opportunity to draw the largest possible crowd. The larger size font, and the location of the artist on the lineup page indicate who the main acts of the festival will be.

After you have discovered the headliners of the festival you are interested in attending, locate the artists you do know in the festival lineup. Dependent upon how many bands you know and where they are located in the lineup you may want to reconsider if that is the festival for you. However, it is important to listen and discover artists you do not know. Listening to the latest works and reviews of unknown artists can also help you determine if that is a festival that you would enjoy. If you have already decided on a specific festival, researching artists can also help you plan your own festival schedule.

So, when searching for your first music festival to attend think about the lineup, music you know, and music you do not know.