Summer time music festivals aren’t what they used be

Normally, what you’re stepping into with a music competition. You go. You spend twenty {dollars} on a tiny sizzling canine and one other twenty on water. You stroll round aimlessly between three levels as a result of TikTok has ruined your consideration span and you may’t watch the identical factor for greater than 5 minutes. You demolish your footwear, lose your cellphone and go residence swearing you’ll by no means go once more — however one way or the other neglect that sentiment by the point the presale rolls round subsequent March. This summer time, nevertheless, was totally different. 

Faculty college students are a serious demographic for music festivals, and their position in our lives has reworked dramatically because the starting of the 2010s after they first began gaining reputation. Nonetheless, we love music festivals as a result of they’re experiences of neighborhood and pleasure. The place did all of them come from? Maybe the whole thing of it’s a international case of FOMO. Or possibly it began with Woodstock — a collective of hippies storming upstate New York to rejoice peace and love. Or Dwell Assist, which has turn into a practice and a central level of musical and cultural historical past. 

When 1000’s of individuals wearing glitter and fishnets crowd in a single densely packed space over the last weekend of the summer time, it both finally ends up both extremely interesting or extremely repulsive. 

For instance, Governors Ball – a New York-based music competition – is an iconic a part of many NYU college students’ lives. It’s an establishment that alerts the beginning of the summer time. 

“[Governors Ball] is a ceremony of passage for tri-state space children,” artist and New York resident Ella Jane instructed the group throughout her set at Governors Ball this June. “I’ve had many a pair of footwear ruined by Gov Ball, so it’s surreal to be again right here.” 

Jane’s sentiments about festivals are shared by many. They’re quintessential to the school expertise, and nobody expects them to be good. However, minor inconveniences are very totally different from a whole catastrophe. You anticipated to lose your folks within the crowd, however not in a stampede. The difficulty is when the inconveniences start to overshadow the music, impacting concertgoers’ experiences. For Electrical Zoo, it appeared to hit a peak. 

Electrical Zoo is an digital music competition held over Labor Day weekend on Randall’s Island. This 12 months, the primary day was canceled shortly earlier than doorways opened as a result of the primary stage was not inbuilt time. The competition cited provide chain delivery points. Day Two began two hours late, resulting in some acts being canceled. 

“The entire expertise of raves was simply ruined,” mentioned Chloe Suh, a graduate of Boston College. “Saturday was an enormous disappointment. That stage was naked bones. The traces to get in have been so disorganized and complicated. [It was] just about a turn-off for future festivals.” 

Day Three noticed capability points and genuine ticket holders denied entry, main them to storm the gates. Mayor Eric Adams even said in a police briefing that they’d be “coping with [the organizers of EZOO] within the subsequent few days based mostly on their conduct and actions.” Now, the organizers are being hit with a class-action lawsuit. 

“Getting out and in of gates was borderline harmful,” Nathan Straus, an NYU junior mentioned about his expertise at EZOO. “My good friend and tons of of others waited hours for his or her tickets.  The synthesis was simply off. It appeared poorly managed which made for not the very best expertise attainable.” 

Equally, Burning Man, a weeklong occasion devoted to artwork and self-expression in Nevada, erupted into chaos after heavy rainfall created a mass mudslide that prevented attendees from leaving. Diplo, one of many acts, allegedly walked six miles within the mud after which hitchhiked with a fan to flee the desert. 

When the anxiousness of taking Instagram images in entrance of tons of begins to be overshadowed by security issues, it adjustments issues. Festivals have dominated summer time popular culture since Coachella first gained reputation in 2013. It’s turn into larger than a competition. It’s a superstar and branding occasion, the place the main target is on the frilly outsides quite than the music. Our feeds are inundated with outrageous outfits in entrance of a ferris wheel and shaky live performance movies from a couple of mile away from the stage. 

Celebrities like James Charles and even Vanessa Hudgens make it a degree to attend every year as a result of it has such a presence within the media. Hudgens even brought on a COVID-19 scandal in 2020 when, in her disappointment over the cancellation of the competition, she mentioned that “individuals are going to die anyhow.” Sooner or later between then and now, festivals modified from being about music. College students shouldn’t must cope with issues over their security — and this summer time, it occurred most of the time. 

A dip in enchantment appeared logical after each nook of the world appeared to have a competition that went fallacious. Perhaps music festivals are slowing down, or possibly we’re simply getting older. I’ll nonetheless ship my buddies the Gov Ball lineup when it’s introduced subsequent spring, and attempt to persuade them that the three-hour commute from my hometown can be price it — however will probably be veiled with doubt. There isn’t a denying that one thing has modified, and it’s making all of us hesitate earlier than shopping for a competition ticket once more.

Contact Julia Diorio at [email protected].