Music Festival Trends in 2017

Anyone know where 2017 went? This was an absolutely crazy year. With so much going on in this world, many of us (including myself) found that the best way to escape the chaos was through music festivals. Over 32 million people in the US go to at least one music festival in the US every year (Eventbrite). I can imagine this number will definitely continue to rise in 2018 as festivals up the ante every year. Here are some of the major music festival trends in 2017 that will have an impact on music festivals in 2018.

“Immersive” Experiences

You probably read this at least once while reading about a festival and how you will be transported to an entirely new atmosphere. Many festivals this year borderlined some theme as a way to up the production value to festival goers. This is more your EDM route festival since festivals like ACL, Life is Beautiful, Coachella, etc. portray an overall aesthetic and vibe to it that it doesn’t need a theme. Immersive experiences are becoming apart of the norm and almost necessary to deliver a unique experience for festival goers.

In March of this year, I attended Beyond Wonderland by Insomniac. This was my first time at NOS Event Center in San Bernadino and I was blown away by the production for this festival. With an aquatic theme to this festival, there were sea horse structures in the mini pond, the stages provided sea-like visuals and tons of performers/festival goers walking around dressed to the theme. I felt as though I was taken on an underwater music journey.  This is the level that Insomniac is always at I have come to learn as I saw that same venue completely transform. Escape Psycho Circus in October to transport attendees to a psycho circus surrounded with various acts in EDM.

I definitely can see other festival and production companies aim to figure out ways they can match that level Insomniac is at. Relentless Beats did for Goldrush and using Rawhide Western Town to their advantage. Theming the whole experience as a Western theme took the event to the next level. Companies are going to have to think about this as it could become more expected by festival goers.

What else can the festival offer besides music?

There’s another component to these immersive experiences that really took off this year. You have the artists and production but what else are you offering to festival goers? What are they doing when they are taking a break from a set or just walking around the festival? They’re exploring different vendors, taking photos with art pieces, grabbing food, purchasing merch and so much more. All these actions that attendees are doing outside of the music are extremely important for festivals to maximize and build upon.

This is especially what Coachella does best and I experienced it first hand this year. They have numerous art installations throughout Empire Polo Club that fill your instagram feed for the two weekends out of April (and numerous tbts am I right). Would Coachella still be Insta-worthy if you were to take away those art installations? Aside from that, Coachella this year also had The Antarctic powered by HP where for about 20 minutes. Attendees could relax in some AC and experience a 360 degree audio-visual experience. This was something I had never experienced before. My friends and I loved it so much we went multiple times throughout the whole weekend.

Electric Daisy Carnival held in June in Vegas also offers extra amenities. You can visit the town square and write yourself a postcard to send to yourself or a friend from EDC. You can visit a vendor and get glitter-ified to complete your total look. Heck you can even get MARRIED at EDC and people do. Having a complete package of an experience is what keeps attendees coming back year after year. Festivals in 2018 are going to increase its offerings for its attendees in order to compete, make the experience truly unique and keep people coming back for more.

Festival Wristbands

When I first started attending larger festivals, I hadn’t realize the actual wristband had such a big role in attending a festival. Maybe because my first festival with a nice wristband was Coachella this year. The whole process of getting the box and then having to register your wristband surprised me. In hindsight, it definitely makes getting to the festival a lot easier as you just swipe your wrist and yourself in.

As the year went on, I saw more attention being placed on the wristband. At Austin City Limits you could link a credit or debit card to your wristband and use it as payment. I opted out of doing this and regretted it when ACL had differentiated the lines at vendors between cash/card or wristband. The wristband line almost always had no one in it because it was so quick and efficient.

Then when I attended Goldrush Arizona, I received an email that this event was entirely cashless. My first thought was this is really what we are coming to? No cash at all? I don’t really carry cash, but it just kind of took me by surprise. Relentless Beats encouraged linking up a credit or debit card to your wristband so I did. It was crazy how fast every line I waited in was. Relentless Beats also had a wristband area where people could load their wristband with cash. Just in case if they had only brought cash to the event. I thought this was a nice contingency parameter in place. For those who didn’t get the memo about it being a “cashless” event. I think for 2018 we can expect festival wristbands doing a lot more for attendees. As well as more festivals leaning towards a cashless model.

Label Hosted Stages or “Takeovers”

Finally, one festival trend that will definitely continue to grow in 2018 is the presence of artist, label or company hosted “takeovers” at a festival. These brands will essentially take over a stage for a day of the festival.

Dirtybird, Brownies & Lemonade, Bassrush, Nightbass, Anjunadeep, Pardon My French, were all great examples of this from this past year. At EDC Las Vegas they had art cars aside from the bigger stages where brands like Brownies & Lemonade, Trap Nation, and Monstercat were able to take over and bring their vibe to that art car. Brownies & Lemonade definitely stood out at EDC with surprise sets and back to back sets (Louis The Child b2b Ekali b2b Jai Wolf like WHAT) that made people leave those bigger stages to catch these special moments. B&L is definitely becoming a huge staple in the scene for delivering quality events with insane artist collaborations that like to keep people guessing and wanting more.

At Hard Summer, there was Anna Lunoe presents: HYPERHOUSE, Claude VonStroke’s Birdhouse featuring players of his Dirtybird label and Pardon My French where DJ Snake, Malaa, Mercer and Tchami dominated the mainstage of the festival. These are just a few of the many examples of this experience at festivals this year.

It’s such a great and unique way to add to the experience. As well as cater to fans of those labels and brands. As well as great exposure for the brand that is hosting that stage. I got to experience Claude VonStroke presents the Birdhouse at Goldrush. I felt like I got a glimpse of what a Dirtybird takeover is like. It really made me want to look into Dirtybird and the events they have. For 2018, I am already seeing takeovers on lineups such as Green Velvet’s La La Land and Justin Jay’s Fantastic Voyage. This will definitely be present for 2018.

These were the three main trends that stood out to me this year while I was attending these festivals. 2017 was an incredible year. Festivals will continue to improve and innovate on how to engage festival goers for 2018. I attended three major three-day festivals this year and had amazing experiences. I’m excited to add to the list in 2018 and see how festivals are going to continue grow and change. What trends do you think I missed? Comment below any trends you saw this year that you think will be relevant for 2018. Subscribe to vibe with me into 2018!