It’s that time of year again – when girls wear flower crowns, fanny packs come back in style and fratty electro-bros feel the need to shotgun a beer at 8 a.m. Yes, festival season has returned.
Coachella Weekend 1 has just passed, and now others, like myself, are gearing up for Weekend 2. Although I still don’t have a wristband, and the festival is now just days away, on a whim I bought a plane ticket to Palm Springs and have high hopes of getting one there.
I somehow made it through all of high school and almost all of college without attending a single music festival. That was, until I caved last year and coughed up more than $500 on a wristband to Coachella. Other than the awfully hot weather in Indio, lengthy shower lines and my constantly dead phone, the overall experience was enjoyable.
Like many others, I used to think people were crazy if they paid a large sum of money to attend a music festival. I thought all the festivals were overpriced and overrated. Now, after attending a handful, I think these prices are justifiable and the experience is well worth it.
Thinking about last year’s Coachella, I remember waking up sweaty every morning at 6 a.m., sitting around the campsite with my friends and reminiscing about the previous night’s debaucheries. The hope of eating well-nourished meals throughout the weekend would become a luxury quickly replaced with pretzels and beer.
Today, Coachella has evolved into a multimillion-dollar enterprise that is recognized worldwide. The festival is known for housing the Instagram-famous Ferris wheel, entertaining copious amounts of celebrities, and uniting music, food and art.
Though the crowds at music festivals are much larger than typical concerts, and the likelihood of being able to see every show is slim, it’s an experience every person should consider.
Coachella is one of the many music festivals that happen in the U.S. and is continuously becoming more popular each year. In 2015, Coachella grossed almost $85 million in wristband sales from a total of 198,000 wristbands sold, according to Billboard.
Spring is now upon us and is the time when festival-goers from all over the country gather to enjoy weekends filled with music and good company. Reminiscing on the past years has motivated me to make a somewhat irrational decision and book a flight to Palm Springs in hopes that I may get my hands on the coveted wristband and partake in the festivities once again.
