As we reach those final days of Summer, one great thing you and your friends need to do is attend a music festival. With thousands of festivals constantly happening across the globe, it’s easy to find one with artists you will be sure to fan-girl over. In my opinion, there is no better way to stay at a festival than by camping. It is economical and an experience you will never forget. So make sure to check out great camping festivals like Coachella, Electric Forest, Okeechobee, Summerset, and new this year; Lost Lands. Just make sure to bring these Summer festival essentials along with you so you’ll have an amazing experience.
1. The Perfect Tent
Obviously you’re camping, so you will need a tent. A good brand to try is the OzarkTrail tents. The 4 Person ConnectTent was forged for campers by the festival gods. It hooks onto one side of a 10×10 straight leg canopy or 12×12 with free extenders (trust me you will want a canopy.) You can hook up to 3 of these tents onto each side of the canopy so you’ll have a miniature homestead with all your friends.
2. Tapestries
Tapestries are one of the most versatile summer festival essentials for camping. They have so many uses. For example you can hang them on the side of your canopy with clothespins or zip-ties for shade. If your legs are feeling tired, which they surely will by your third or fourth day, you can lay it down on the grass, or dust, at the back of a set and still watch your favorite artist without being inside the sweat mob. Lastly, at night you can throw it over yourself to provide a little more warmth when walking back to your campsite. Since it is so thin you can bring it with you everywhere. You can find so many uses for a piece of fabric when you have one on hand.
3. Camelbak Or Hydration Backpack
If you get one thing off this list – it should be this. It does not have to be a CamelBak branded one because they all do the job. I recommend searching amazon, mine was under $20. Dehydration is a big concern when you’re dancing in the hot summer sun and you shouldn’t rely on your friends or a stranger’s water for a whole weekend. Not only are music festivals a huge cesspool for bacteria and viruses, but when their backpack runs out of water, you’re in the middle of the pit, and it’s 20 minutes until the artists you waited all weekend to see – you’ll wish you had your on your backpack and don’t have to lose the spot you’ve been camping on for the last two artists’ sets.
I recommend one with a 1.5-2 liter waterpack; 3 liter bags get too heavy on your back and you won’t be able to dance with it on while 1 liter bags are too tiny and you’ll drink it all right after you get out of the water refill station line.
4. Bandanna Or Pashmina
On the first day of the festival you won’t want or think of these, but by the third day all the green grass will be trampled up and the whole festival will have dust and dirt flying up into your face and mouth (especially if it is the second weekend.) With a pashmina (a thick, lightweight scarf) you’ll be able to cover your greasy, dirty hair and it can protect you from getting sun poisoning. You can use a bandanna or pashmina to cover your nose and mouth when a dustbowl, a gust of wind carrying dust and dirt into the air, rolls through. The prices range, but you can buy a bandanna for $1 at Walmart, or you can get intricate and colorfully designed pashminas and bandannas online and at festivals.
5. Polarized Sunglasses
Not only do sunglasses provide protection for your eyes from the sun, but it will help to keep dirt out of your eyes when one of the above mentioned dust bowls roll through. A lot of people wear sunglasses at night too! If the stage lights and lasers ever become too extreme, you can put on your sunglasses to help block out the intensity. They will help you out if you ever become overwhelmed.
6. Solar Charger
At a camping festival there are only a few ways for you to charge your phone. You can plug it into your car, but you’re wasting gas, or you can charge it at one of the charging stations, but those can cost $5 or more and you’ll probably want your phone back before the time is up. The best solution is to buy a solar charger, one of these sitting in the sun all day will easily give my phone a full charge. I just clip it on to the back of my CamelBak and then it is always ready for me to plug into. It will probably run out of a charge at some point, but it’s a green alternative to dropping green at the phone charging station or burning a bunch of gasoline in your car.
7. Chairs
Now you’ll either think this is a no-brainer or you think “I won’t have enough room.” Think about it this way, you’re going to be spending at least 50% of your time there so you’ll want to be comfortable. It might take up room in your car, but you will be so happy you don’t have to sit inside your tent or on the ground during the day at your campsite.
8. Self Confidence
You have to have self confidence at a music festival. You might be wearing minimal to no clothing, or you’ll be dancing in front of thousands of random strangers. With all the people there from all walks of life, it is easy to feel anxious, but you need to remember that everyone else here is in the same boat, so cut loose and have fun.
9. A Baby Pharmacy
I know it sounds like a lot, but you’ll be so happy having a miniature pharmacy on you when you’re away from home. You should already be taking multi-vitamins in your daily life, but you’ll definitely want to take them every day while you’re there. You should start taking Vitamin C the week before to help boost your immune system since you won’t be eating that well and probably not sleeping a lot. You’ll want to have Tylenol or Advil on hand for any hangovers or rough mornings. I take Valerian Root every night after the RV sets to help me go to bed. Lastly, bring Neosporin for any tiny cuts and cough drops to soothe your throat from all of last night’s screaming.
10. Great Friends
The Last thing you need for your music festival is a great group of friends. You’ll be spending 3-6 days with these people, so make sure you will be able to be around them for that long, and always remember that you can always leave the group if you want to catch a different artist. Remember you can have an amazing experience with 10 friends or by yourself and there will always be people around that care about you even if they’re strangers.
Now you are ready to go out and discover yourself at your next festival. Be safe and remember to hydrate! Have fun under the electric sky.
