A new year means a new round of festivals and fun. If you’re a California native who plans to trek far and wide within the state to hit all of your favorite destinations, or if you’re making the journey to the Golden State to see your favorite act in a one-in-a-lifetime gig, braving LAX on your way, this year’s festival lineup is not one to be missed.
However, there are a few things to remember when you’re hitting the festival circuit. Whether this is your first time at a festival or you’re a seasoned vet, here’s a short survival guide to taking on California’s premier music festivals.
BYOB
From Coachella to Life is Beautiful, every festival has its own rules and regulations about what you can bring in with you. If the venue allows you to, one of the most important things we can recommend in this music festival guide is to bring your own beverage. Specifically, you should bring water – and a lot of it.
There will be bottles for sale, but you might not want to shell out $6 for a bottle of Aquafina when you can fill up your reusable bottle for free at home. Dehydration is a genuine threat, especially for the summer desert festivals. California has a reputation for being a state with good weather. Still, even 70 degrees will make you sweat after a while, especially if you’re crowded in with thousands of other people.
Festival doesn’t let you bring in your own water? Bring a bottle anyway: water-filling stations should be available throughout the festival grounds. Make frequent trips and encourage your friends to do the same!
Keep clean
If you’re camping or glamping, instead of staying in a hotel, you’ll want to focus on keeping clean. From mud-stained shoes to body paint and spilled drinks, you’ll get a little grimy. You can try to pack along rinse-free body wipes to keep yourself fresh during the event, with plenty of dry shampoo, extra deodorant, and tons of hand sanitizer.
As a special tip from this music festival guide: bring extra toilet paper. There might be port-a-potties onsite, but you don’t want to be caught in an awkward situation without it.
Arrange transportation ahead of time
Whether or not you’re attending an on-site camping festival, you’ll need reliable transportation to and from the festival grounds for you and your friends. Don’t leave this to chance – save your energy for the concerts!
Nothing will add an element of panic to your festival experience quite like the feeling of terror that may come with feeling ‘stranded.’ Setting up your transportation ahead of time, like scheduling a shuttle service that will pick you up at a designated location and time, will save you and your group a lot of hassle and worry.
What to bring – and what not to bring
Like at any music festival, do not bring valuables. Professional cameras and audio recording devices are usually not allowed, but leave your expensive sunglasses, bags, jewelry, and other trendy collectibles at home. An outdoor festival is not the place to risk losing or ruining your possessions.
All vendors accept credit cards and cash, but make sure you keep them in a safe place. At many festivals, lockers are available for rent, which you can use to stash more cumbersome items. These lockers often sell out well before the festival, so do so well ahead of time.
Comfy shoes are a must. No one wants blisters or sore feet while they’re trying to dance. Do not wear any shoes you wouldn’t mind getting dirty, or even completely ruining! If you’re worried about your shoes not matching your festival style, consider painting them, or decorating the laces with charms.
Check the weather ahead of time for Indio or Palm Springs if you’re heading to the ever-popular Coachella. Even if it isn’t sweltering, wear a hat and plenty of sunscreen. No attempt at a tan is worth a bad burn.
Check the festival’s guide for what is and is not allowed. You’d be surprised as to what security won’t let in. Save yourself the trouble, check the list and leave these things at home.
Stay Safe
Last but not least, stay safe! Don’t take anything that is offered to you by strangers. There are usually police monitoring the festival grounds, so doing anything illegal is a risk. That being said, check with the festival guide or website to see whether any medication you need is allowed on the grounds.
Save yourself time and money with affordable transportation to and from the festival grounds. Make sure to book your private shuttle with Xpress Shuttles!
Final reminder: Have fun. Rain or shine, the show will go on!