By Ali Schultz
It’s that time of the year again folks. ‘Tis the season of crochet halter-tops, leotards and my personal favorite, that’s right people you’ve guessed it, furry boots. Music festival season is upon us all.
It is no doubt that we are the generation of experiences. A large majority of us would rather invest our student loan money returns in ‘Chella or Electric Daisy Carnival tickets instead of paying rent. Guilty as charged, and dropping that cash on music festivals is worth every penny no matter who you are or what music genre you fancy.
I am certain that there is a music festival for everyone and it’s an unforgettable experience.
What festival is the sultan of swat, the king of crash, the colossus of clout, might you ask? Coachella, duh! Indio, California hosts my favorite festival of all. Without a doubt, this is the only festival that would motivate me to sell internal organs on the black market in order to attend. Unfortunately, Coachella let me down this year with their less than average lineup. However, there’s no denying this experience still remains supreme to all festivals. Despite the crowd of obvious trust fund babies and the self-loathing you’ll do after seeing the countless beautiful people, this is the festival of all festivals. Dodgeball games, snowball fights, rock-paper-scissors tournaments and more await you at the campgrounds. I know what you’re thinking, rock-paper-scissors? How the hell am I going to keep all the excitement in? But you catch my drift. Every year Coachella planners spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring in large displays of art and artists to perform. You could never run out of things to do or see. Even with the shit lineup it casted this year, Coachella is worth the money for the simple fact that it is so much more than just another music festival.
On the opposite end of the spectrum we have EDC, or like I like to think of it, Joan Rivers’ worst nightmare (may her soul rest in peace). The EDM lover’s paradise, EDC is never short on douchey frat guys, neon furry boots and Molly. But, my God is it one hell of a time. For those of you that love EDM, and even the daring ones such as myself that don’t, it is something everyone should experience. Although the outfits will never justify themselves to me, because lets get this straight people, the only person that can wear fishnet tops is Cher Horowitz (“As if!”), I’m down with the bracelets they wear. Those beaded bad boys are known as “kandi” to all the ravers. Once at the festival, the bracelets (kandi) are traded between random people. This concept all seems a little silly before experienced, but it is so much more than what you would expect. It is a conversation starter and a neat souvenir from your experience. Basically, what I’m getting at here is if you’re into rolling balls, EDMing or just dancing your ass off, EDC won’t ever disappoint.
For all my redneck friends, we have festivals like Stagecoach or Night in the Country. I guarantee that you’ll never more see wife beaters, cowboy boots and, most importantly, Budweiser cans, as you will at these festivals. Here, country music’s most talented artists perform every year. Although they are among some of the newer festivals, they never fail to kick ass when bringing in the stars for their lineup. All joking aside, nobody shakes it better than country girls (Luke Bryan said it himself), so these festivals are centered around down to earth people, beer drinking and nonstop dancing
For people who love variety, we have kickass festivals like Lollapalooza, Life is Beautiful and Outside Lands where artists such as my man Childish Gambino and the queen himself Elton John perform. These festivals all have something a person of any character can appreciate. Life is Beautiful, for instance, dedicated itself to aiding people in conquering their fears and embracing life in all aspects. Outside Lands is a beer, wine and food festival which, if you’re a porker like me, is exciting every day of the week. The possibilities for these things really are endless.
Attending a music festival should be on the top of everyone’s bucket list. So start selling clothes to Plato’s Closet, have a garage sale or pick up those extra shifts at work, because the festival for you is waiting.
Ali Schultz studies political science. She can be reached at dcoffey@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @TheSagebrush.
