It’s hot outside. It’s an extremely long day. The place is insanely crowded. The food is extremely expensive. Water is limited. If there is an artist you don’t care for, you’re forced to watch them. Even if there is a good line up of artists, their set is maybe one hour and they only do their hit songs. It’s not a fun time. I’ll stick to concerts.
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What’s it like hating fun?
This is definitely true of the major music festivals with big crowds and high ticket prices. Small local music festivals can still be fun, though.
Agree and am aware the opinion is unpopular. Don’t want other people not to have fun just is not my thing.
Great bang for your buck where you can see a dozen artists for a single price. If there’s nothing you want to see then you can just slam beers in the 18+ section
Drugs
Not to mention being squashed between sweaty people whose jaws are violently swinging, trying not to get a disease from the vile situation in the toilets, and losing your mates and not being able to find them because your phone is either dead or has no reception
I’ve never been forced to watch an artist I don’t like. You are allowed to leave.
I doubt this is that unpopular of an opinion. I don’t go to music festivals much for those very reasons. There’s an audience for music festivals, but it ain’t me. And I know a lot of other people who feel the same
Fun isn’t for everyone.
It’s a great way to discover new bands. RIP Pitchfork music festival in Chicago — it has been one of the highlights of my summer for years. 😢
I enjoyed them 15-20 years ago. Since then, the scene has been corporatized beyond recognition
I agree. I enjoy having my assigned seat
Aww yes a concert so you can pay for extremely expensive food and water and have to wait for your favorite artist to come out but INSIDE….
The planners don’t really want you to have fun. They just want you to part with ever increasing amounts of money.
“I don’t like music festivals”
Riveting
You’re going to the wrong festivals. But I kinda agree, a poorly organized festival can be a hassle and a bummer. A lot of people come unprepared or more interested in wearing an outfit for instagram than listening to the artists.
Downvoted because I think tons of people don’t get the appeal
I do, though
Not to mention the weekend long ones, where everyone comes with their tents and doesn’t shower for 3 days in the blistering heat, all hopped up on more drugs than a pharmacy, and 1 bottle of water is $5
I’ve been to music festivals in October. That’s the only way I’m going.
Eh…I like Aftershock. It’s always fun and I get to people watch on some really interesting looking people.
I can’t believe this opinion is unpopular. Musical festivals are my nightmare. 🤣
after a certain age, if the festival doesn’t have rentable rest areas, it’s a no go for me. If the music festival is in a “downtown” type area where I can head back to my hotel for a break, I’m there. If it’s a festival that requires camping, once I crossed 35, that became a no go.
The restroom situation alone is a huge hell no.
Music festivals are for the young and/or extroverted. I went to a few in my twenties and it was a lot even then. Now that I’m in my 30s, I agree that concerts are the way.
Dude I don’t think this opinion is that unpopular. What proportion of the adult population actually goes to music festivals? If you’ve got a 400k population city & it has a festival & 20K people turn up, that’s like a big success – that’s still only 5% of everybody.
Yeah and your gf will always have excuses for the guys she talks to but if you talk to a chick weekend is fucking over.
Clearly you don’t do enough drugs
I enjoyed them as a kid (Lollapalooza, Warped Tour) but aged out of that style pretty quickly (early 20s). Never went to Coachella or Burning Man – never felt the draw.
There’s been a bunch of extremely local festivals here in Socal the past several years, and I find myself having a great time nearly without exception. The crowds are generally older, and everything is a lot more refined than they were in the 1990s. Yeah, it’s still a bunch of walking (not a bad thing) and can be a little pricey, but for a guy who spends most of his time behind a desk, it’s really a blast. I do still prefer going to club shows, overall, but the modern festivals feel pretty special and different anyway. Plus it is one of the very few occasions where as an older adult I will still be able to randomly run into friends I know from different walks of life and that is ALWAYS a welcome thing!
Surviving them is the best part and makes it a better memory.
If this opinion is concerts are better than festivals, I disagree. You just have more control at concerts. Festivals are better when you want to see multiple of your favorite artists. For me it’s not which is better, rather which fits the setting.
Also a festival is just a concert where you scale it up. 1 artist -> 10 artists
Yeah, I hate them. Also, I hate when bands tour only with the festival
I agree in principle but it’s entirely possible to really enjoy all the different artists. I got lost from my group the first day of the weekend and couldn’t get in touch so I opted to go it solo all day. I saw like 13 sets and a bunch of different artists and had a blast by myself.
Lmao okay how are you forced to watch a specific artist?? Just got to another stage 🤦🏼♂️
I’ve only been to one day festivals that aren’t crazy crowded. Only twice. Been lots of fun, I hope to do it again now that I have kids, maybe take them when they’re a bit bigger
If they are the type that doesn’t allow outside food and drink. Best memories of my life are a music festival I went to for a decade straight, but you got to bring your own beer. If you wanted to buy food it was reasonable food truck prices. Hell they sold cases of beer too and it was still just gas station prices!
Peach🖤
I went to a festival on the beach. It was pretty cool. There was a constant smell of weed and I stepped on a used tampon though… that wasn’t so cool.
I used to go to at least one or two major festivals a summer along with a few smaller ones. Now that I’m crotchety (and also more financially responsible), they ain’t for me. But when I was younger, I had a much higher tolerance for being on my feet all day, spending money on overpriced drinks, and of course paying for a 3 day ticket just to be a half mile from some stage surrounded by people with no civility.
No way I’d go now unless it was for free, and if it’s free I’d feel better about leaving when I felt like it. It also doesn’t help that they’re prohibitively expensive now.
It sounds like the worst ever
Most people I know who go to festivals do so because they want the festival experience, they go to a show when they want to see a show
I feel like the whole festival scene (and I assume you’re talking major festivals and not local music exhibitions) is pretty much as you describe and anyone who keeps going expects that
They were SO FUN when I was younger. Now I wouldn’t even consider going. I know get the small town festivals that you take your own chairs to.
I’ve ever had a live music experience I preferred to recorded music. It always sounds so much worse, you had to pay a lot to hear it, and you’re not going to be comfortable while you listen to it. Festivals are just the top tier of this cupcake of shitty music quality.
I feel this. I’m over 50 though and my list is growing fast on things that bug me. Being hot and thirsty are pretty high up there
You haven’t gone to the right/your fest yet
Most people go to festivals to get laid, get drunk or get high (or all three)
I’ve never been to a festival before but that honestly doesn’t sound too far off, especially the part about having to suffer through bands you don’t give a shit about. I agree with you about sticking with concerts. At least with concerts you’re only going to be there for a few hours as opposed to the entire day.
Tickets are relatively cheap where I live.
If the weather is nice, I like music festivals where I can listen to live music and have a beer outside.
And it’s better if you have a friend who has a similar taste in music to talk to.
I like when a city has a festival split up into a bunch of different, smaller venues over several days to avoid the problems you describe.
I love music festivals but I’m pretty sure this is a very popular opinion, especially if you’re over like 30. The older I get the harder it gets to find people who want to join our festival group
Sounds like you’ve just gone to the wrong festivals. You can choose to go to music festivals when it’s cold out that’s pretty simple. Check the lineups before buying a ticket so you don’t really run into that problem. Non mainstream festivals they barely play hit songs and are mainly unreleased. Also a festival on proper grounds have great access to food/water and proper dancing space.
I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion.
I went to them for years and had a shit time until I hit 30 and tried mdma, it changed everything, I now knew what they were meant to he like.
Greatest time of my life. I still go every year since then and now I’m 40.
I honestly don’t know how people go there and drink all day then become a passed out mess at night.
i attend mostly small festivals. usually not crowded, usually good supply of water. also they’re usually organized as place for hanging out, and you usually get to see only bands you want to
Large festival is very different from small one.
Urban festivals are very different from camping festivals.
Small camping festivals are great. You don’t like the band? Go back to camp and chill. Get to know your camp neighbors and create your festival family.
Festivals are fucking amazing
In my younger years, I could easily do an all day festival (I was a regular Warped Tour attendee, & then there were some others as well, never did ones like Coachella or whatever). But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely noticed my affinity for them going way down haha.
i am a massive live music junkie but kinda agree.
ive been to lots of festivals i have enjoyed and will probably go to more in the future, but on the other hand it seems like most of the time, a festival just ends up hogging a specific artist(or two or three)’s stop in my local area, so rather than paying a more reasonable price to see them play 2 full sets, usually played at a higher level and on a better sound system at a normal concert, my option for seeing whatever band is now paying waaaaay more for a single truncated set that can often be a bit toned down for mass appeal.
Ah yes, the classic festival complaint: “It’s hot. It’s crowded. The food is expensive. The music isn’t tailored perfectly to my delicate little preferences.”
Let me guess—you also bring your own seat cushion to concerts and leave before the encore to “beat traffic,” right?
Festivals aren’t built for the faint of heart. They’re a glorious, unhinged marathon of sound, sweat, and serotonin. You don’t go for a pristine, curated experience. You go to live—to scream lyrics with strangers, to stumble upon your new favorite band at 3 p.m., to feel bass vibrating your spine while covered in glitter and questionably applied sunscreen.
Sure, you might catch a set you don’t care for. That’s called having taste. Skip it. Get a beer. Wander into something weird. That’s the point. Music festivals are a buffet, not a tasting menu. If you need every artist to cater to your exact Spotify Wrapped, you’re not a fan—you’re a tourist.
So yeah, stick to concerts. Controlled, air-conditioned, predictable. The rest of us will be out here in the wild, dancing through dehydration and spiritual awakenings. We’ll send a postcard from the front row.
I think Jeff Klein once said “it’s like going to a concert at an airport”
Depends on the festival. I’m not at all interested in massive festivals, simply too much going on. But I’ve been to Punk in Drublic in Hannover on two seperate occasions, I enjoyed majority of the bands and easily got near the front without fear of getting squished, it was just one day where you could come and go whenever you wanted, it was a great time. That’s the kind of festival I can enjoy attending.
Go to better music festivals
You aren’t forced to watch any artist..? What’re you talking about?
Also, try a festival at Suwannee Music Park
Even when I was a teenager I hated them.
I’m an introvert. I don’t drink or do drugs.
Me and the girlfriend (who also is an introvert who doesn’t drink or do drugs) go to Aftershock (4-day/5stage metal festival) every year. We enjoy it.
If there’s an artist we don’t like, we go to a different stage, or just ignore them until their set is over.
We go to concerts too, but sometimes it’s nice to see 20+ artists we like in 4 days rather than maybe see one per month, if they decided to tour near enough to us.
This is why I like working festivals back stage. You are close to the music, often get to see or chat with artists, access to water and food, plus you get paid.
Working catering is the best IMO.
I agree! No thanks
I don’t think it’s unpopular, though maybe unpopular withing your age range or friend group?
I didn’t mind music festivals when I was younger, but the ones I went to were never as large as Coachella. I never camped out, they weren’t multiple days. Usually they started at 11am and went until like 10, and it was a one day thing and then I went home and knocked out.
Man I go sober and have a blast, I love moshing, crowdsurfing, and singing along to my favorite songs.
There are good ones and bad ones.
I went to one where there were multiple stages 24 hour music, camping, various activities
There was a beach area around a lake, one in basically a cave, one in the woods
You saw people dressed as Chewbacca, jimi Hendrix and other random shit walking by and everyone was pretty much on LSD and other stuff because they weren’t arresting people for drug possession
I had a great time, you might have just went to a shitty one, the place was huge, like there were 50k people there or more and you could find a place to be completely alone if you wanted to
Once you get to a certain age, yeah, either need drugs or an RV to make it enjoyable the whole time.
If I go to hell when I die, it will be an endless music festival. There isn’t one single thing I like about them. (But I do understand why some people love them.)
I went to ozzfest as a teenager and loved it. I think the key was going as a teenager. I’m too tired for it now.
Yeah they’re pretty terrible. I worked warped tour in ‘08, Overall it was a cool experience but I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d ever go to that or anything like it ever again.
There is a huge music festival near me every summer. It seemed fun at first, but then you started to hear the horror stories. So many stories about SA, poor or a lack of sanitation, and even a few deaths have been reported.
Agreed. Not unpopular
My last festival was hosted at an all inclusive resort in Cancun. Pretty amazing experience actually lol.
Back when they were somewhat affordable (see $200 vs $500), I loved them.
As a big music guy, they were more of a party doing something I loved.
Obviously dependent on situation, but club shows are more sober and festivals are a drunken shit show. Fun for different reasons.
Exceptions include certain club shows that beg for the pregame or have extenuating circumstances (free ticket acquired while out with people, flogging molly playing after St Pat’s parade, etc). They also include must remember headliners- I was stone cold sober at Soundgarden when they reunited at lolla, same with Paul McCartney at lolla.
I love music festivals, big and small. As long as you’ve given it a shot and decided they aren’t for you, criticism is fair.
I agree so kindly take this downvote
For these reasons, the last music festival I attended was Austin City Limits Music Festival way back in 2004.
I went to the very first Coachella. It was the last music festival I ever went to, that was a lasting impression…
Love the music. Everything else about it fucking sucks.
You’re not forced to watch anybody.
I can’t imagine spending a penny or a minute even considering a festival. A garbage time is had by all. Absolute garbage.
As someone who works music festivals and went to 12 last year, I totally understand why people don’t like them 😂 I just happen to love them 🤷♀️ they are not for everyone.
Mate, have you ever been to Euroblast?
I go to little festivals that have free and abundant water
Portojohns. $20 beer and hot dogs. $45 parking. Dust everywhere.
Not every music festival is a big mainstream event. Some I attend have 5 or stages with mostly unknown artists! You bring your own food mostly and your own drinks (to a degree). They are still super busy and hot and crowded, but the dr*gs help with that!
Nothing like using one of the portable toilets, and dropping a poo on top of another person’s poo. Good times.
There is a time for music festivals.
That time is your late teens up to mid-late 20s when you are first experiencing freedom and don’t have the responsibility of kids.
It’s basically a weekend long party with psychedelics involved.
Those days had a lasting impression on who I grew in to as a person in a positive way.
They aren’t all crowded, many you can bring your own beer/drinks to the music, even bring a cooler and food if you want.
You couldn’t pay me to go to one these days.
Go spend $200-$400+ to breathe in dirt all weekend, use nasty porta potties, have your neighbor blasting EDM until sunrise then get baked out of your tent because it is 110 degrees inside an hour later.
I loved them in my late teens to late 20’s.
I understand this opinion but as someone that goes to every level of concert, from local shows where I’ve been the only person in the audience all the way up to the biggest festivals, I love it all. I love local shows and being up close and personal, same with bigger concerts but I’ll tell you that I enjoyed the energy of KoRn at Rockville last weekend a lot more than I enjoyed their concert at an amphitheater in September. It wasn’t bad, but everyone was kinda just sitting and standing around watching, but at Rockville they opened with Blind (a song they haven’t opened with since 2019) and immediately screamed “HOW THE FUCK WE DOING ROCKVIIIIIIIIIILLE” and it was the last set on the last day of a 4 day marathon and it felt great to yell “FUCK YEAH” with my hoarse voice and sore feet. Very different vibes for different people that can be enjoyed differently.
Loved them when I was younger. Like them less and less every year. Esp the tick prices now which is insane.
Agree. I’ve been to one and I am done lol
poorly organized music festivals are terrible
Bonnaroo was a good time before Live Nation sucked the soul out of it. Went one year after and it was very meh. I now only go to concerts or local music festivals to my city because it’s almost the same exact lineups almost every other major festival at this point
and my BIGGEST rant about concerts in general… to the artist/band: SING YOUR FUCKING SONG! I’ve sang it in my car a thousand times.I didn’t pay to see you stand on a stage and point the mic at the crowd. Your job is to sing the song. Do your fucking job.
They’re definitely over priced but I got home from Boston calling this weekend and it was so much fun!
went to ACL in 2018 and couldn’t see a lot of the artists I wanted to see bc they were at the same time. It was hot as hell and I was so exhausted from the heat that after the first day I didn’t even want to go to the other 2 days. Yeah I don’t even want to go to another big festival like that again.
Have you tried meeting people and making friends while there? That’s what I did at my first one and I enjoyed it so much.
Large corporate day festivals are not great. Small, locally thrown curated events are where it’s at (BYOB/no security camping fests are elite, my friend brought a grill and made quesadillas at the main stage of a fest once)
It heavily depends on the festival, imo. I wouldn’t be caught dead at a lot of them. But I’ve been to like 50+ and they are some of the best memories of my life.
I am into electronic music and some of my favorite festivals have been in the middle of nowhere with only about 5,000 other people max. Everyone is letting loose and people are very friendly in that community. Made a lot of my best friends that way 🙂
Cooperate music festivals, yes. I’ve been to some awesome independent ones
You’ve never been to a festival
I enjoyed the Warped Tour back in the late 90s/early 2000s but I was also in my late teens/early 20s at the time. Nowadays music festivals are a big hell no from me.
just got back from one and the actual music was a very small part of it for me lol. I was mostly tripping and rolling balls just hanging out with randos.
the incoming molly comedown might make me think about it a bit differently though lol.
so, as others have said, drugs
You dont have to go, i prefer mountain biking.
It’s not a music festival if there is no camping. That’s just a “music festival”. There’s a difference. You might not like a real one either though.
I agree, and the drive back sucks ass especially trying to leave the festival. Forget camping festivals when you’re around a bunch of people who sweat in the heat and haven’t showered, and your items are unattended? Hell no.
After that last heatstroke shroom trip I’m done going to any more than a few dozen people I loosely know. I don’t feel comfortable at super fests
I’ve learned the importance of pacing yourself.
If it’s three days, and you’re not the most energetic person, it’s a marathon. Build in breaks.
Pick a few sets you’re less interested in, and use that as a time to chill in the grass or get food.
If you’re feeling extra exhausted, and there’s a day where most of the artists don’t come on until later afternoon, just arrive then.
Basically don’t force things, and you’ll have a much better time.
I usually have the mentality of “I won’t do this again for a while” and I make the best of it.
Some festivals are one time thing & some you go to multiple times.
While concerts are way easier, music festivals have the best memories. The struggle is part of the fun lol.
100% agree!
I just came back from a music festival that was none of those things. Had a great time.
Festivals are value for music LOVERS like only die hards even go to a lot of concerts, festivals are for the super niche.
I personally love the culmination of people and emotions at that scale and I try hard them so I’m able to get close to the stage every time. (Bar they don’t block it off because you didn’t know VIP was split)
I did some of the old cal Jam festivals very taxing. I’m glad I went, but I could not imagine doing them today.
Well, at least the restrooms are pleasant!
I’m not a huge fan of music festivals, and I agree with a lot of what you said. But when there are a few bands you’re into, and you’ve got a good group with you, good vibes, and decent weather, it can be an amazing time.
I went to Lollapalooza many years ago with my girlfriend and my best friend. We got luxky with the weather. Had a few drinks, some food, smoked up. Saw a few bands I liked, and discovered several new bands that I came to love and still listen to. I sort of bonded with the music that day in a way i never quite had before. It was one of the coolest and most memorable experiences of my life.
I used to go to the edm festivals back when they were just called massives / raves in the 00s… and honestly, you’re not wrong. That’s why I don’t go anymore lol
Last festival I went to was in the forest. All the stages had a great tree cover. We had radios with us so we could get NOAA weather stations. Didn’t get above ~80⁰f in July.
BIG DUUUUB
How is this an unpopular opinion? I would say the majority of people, especially introverts and the crowd-shy, share this opinion and, will enthusiastically tell you about how much they do not like this thing. Finding people who like going to music festivals is probably more difficult than the other way around.
I went to a festival last year while sick and still loved it. I can take the heat and the EDM with a little alcohol made me feel good. :3
For live music I like seeing bands at bars and small venues with a few hundred people at most.
For partying, drugs, and being largely oblivious and uncaring what the music is, I like music festivals.
The best festivals I’ve been to were when they were just starting out. Once they became popular, that’s when the overcharging and crowding began
Some of my greatest memories have come from Festivals. Coachella 2019 had some amazing moments that i will always cherish.
I agree as far as day festivals go. Back in the 90s when I was a young man I would go to camping festivals that lasted up to a week and they were insanely fun.
What music festival did you go to where you were forced to watch anyone?
If you ever get a chance to go to a music festival in Japan you’ll fall in love with them. Outdoor ones are still hot, but you can bring your own food, water and alcohol, there are more than enough toilets for everyone and if you want to buy anything the prices aren’t insane like I’ve seen in other countries. I’ve been to Summer Sonic, Fuji Rock and Loud Park multiple times and they were all 10/10 experiences.
Music festivals kind of suck the first day, but by the 2nd day you’re in heaven and for most of the 3rd. By the end of the 3rd you can’t walk and start to nod off to the headliners. At least that was my experience.
But I liked to spend all day at them, and it always took a few sets to get acclimated and then I had an amazing time.
I can’t imagine paying full price and just showing up for headliners
Eh I think you’re either a curmudgeon, old for your age or just not into the music.
I spent almost all my disposable income on festivals like Lollapalooza for 7 years in my 20’s. My friends that came with, usually 8-10 ppl this was our big vacation working our asses off while also in college.
We would split up and see what bands interested us routinely and outside of romantic relationships it was basically “I’m going here, if you want to join cool!”
We usually knew about 30-40% of the bands but that 30% was all shit most people our age knew easily.
Depends on the festival obviously but if you like live music festivals give you 30 weekends worth of bands in 3 days minimum.
I haven’t been to one since the late seventies/early eighties. I honestly don’t remember the music, but I sure had a great experience.
I don’t think most people go to music festivals for (just) the music. Many go to wander around and also get messed up on a variety of substances.
Hell naw dude you’re going to the wrong festivals.
Electronic festivals are something else entirely, I recommend at least one in your life even if you’re not terribly a fan of the music
I get what you’re saying cause I also hate crowds.
But I’m still going. I’ve just begun having my fun ( britney spears ) and I watch tomorrowland brazil on youtube .
I watch the huge parties all around the world. The huge crowds. And I want to experience that and I will.
Sure the f will. I have a list of djs I wanna see. I’ve already seen armin van buuren twice. Second time I was l8 because of …. just life. But I have a list. Yes the crowds are horrible but if you wanna just watch from youtube YOU CAN DO THAT. Shit I’ve been doing it for years.
I’m not doing no drugs though. Not judging but last time I seen armin you know wh else I seen ? People with ” event medical ” written on the back of their shirt with stretchers.
Stream ” too many Times ” by Kai tracid. Some of yall need to listen to that song again.
I did Big Day Out in Melbourn way back in 2002 I think. My day was pretty unreal. Highlights were millencolin, Jimmy eat world, wilco, Jane’s addiction, queens of the stone age, foo fighters.