As I’ve been going to music festivals for almost four years now, I’ve racked up some hacks over the years that have helped my festival experience. I wanted to share these for the newbies to the festival scene who are just trying to figure it all out. Let me know if you have a hack I missed!
1. Turn Off Data on All Apps To Conserve Battery Life
This hack has helped my battery life on my phone tremendously. While I always pack a phone charger, I’d like to put off charging my phone for as long as possible. For Apple iPhones, I go to Settings -> Cellular Data -> Then selects all the apps that will not be using data for (all of them). I’ll also go to my text message settings and turn off iMessage. This will help texts send faster should I need to send a text to a friend. (pro tip: time stamp your texts to your friends!)
2. Bring Hand Wipes for the Portapotties
Porta potties run out of toilet paper, soap to wash your hands, etc. as the festival goes on. Having wipes have you covered when you go to the bathroom. Also, if you happen to get your hands or body dirty during the festival could be good to have.
3. Go to the Bathroom and/or Get Water/Food During a Set
It might be hard to walk away from a set, but I always leave in the middle of a set to get my business done. I’ll try and knock out what I need to do during this time because it’s less likely to be busy during peak set times. If I go to the bathroom, I’ll stop by a water station just to top off so I don’t have to do it again later or I’ll grab food then make my way back to the set. Most of the time I didn’t miss anything spectacular and was able to enjoy the rest of the set.
4. Use Eyelash Glue for Face Jewels and Hairspray for Glitter
The biggest question I ALWAYS get is: “How do you keep your jewels on for the whole festival?” or “How does your makeup stay on for so long?”. Repeat after me eyelash glue for face jewels and hairspray for glitter (spray the brush with hairspray, dab in the glitter and dab where you want it). Side note: I use extended wearing foundation from Urban Decay and use a drug store setting spray (I think it’s Maybelline) to keep my makeup on all night.
5. Place Important Items in a Hard to Reach Place
The worst thing that could happen at a festival for me is getting something stolen. I’d be devastated to lose my phone or wallet. So, I make sure that it can’t be reached easily through my hydration pack. I make it really hard for even me to get easy access to my wallet or phone (if it isn’t already in my hand). Find the hardest pocket to reach for you to place your items in or put it all the way at the bottom of the bag. There are some anti-theft bags that have been coming out, let me know if you’d like a review on these.
6. Dr.Scholls Gel Insoles
The second most asked question I get has to do with the shoes I wear which are: “Are they comfortable? Can you dance all night in those?”. You can dance in any shoes you want, but you need to 1. Break them in and 2. Get Dr. Scholls Gel Insoles. I also sneak ibuprofen in for if my feet start to get sore I’ll take that. Sometimes festivals have a general store or booth (sometimes merch booth) where you can purchase Advil I’d just rather save the couple extra dollars.
7. Get There Early, Leave Early
Some may not agree with me on this one, but I always recommend getting to the festival early. Sure, it makes for a long day but you are paying your hard earned money to go to this festival. You might as well make the most of it. By getting there early you can:
- Get a feel for the general layout of the festival
- Take a fire Instagram pic and get it out of the way
- See new and exciting up and coming artists
If you go early, feel free to take breaks. Just because you’re going early, doesn’t mean you have to go all out 100% energy. Conserve your energy and you’ll be good to go.
Finally, leave early. I’m not saying an hour or two hours early. I’m saying by starting to leave 15-20 minutes before the festival ends you are making it easier to get home or to the hotel. I’ve left early from festivals before to beat the traffic getting out of a parking lot, get in line for shuttles, order Ubers, etc. By having that extra buffer time, puts you in a better position so you’re not waiting hours to get back home.
I hope this was helpful for you and you were able to gather some more tips to enhance your festival experience. Let me know what hacks you’ve picked up from your festival adventures.
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