Emily Allgair, Editor

Hello Collegian readers. I have some unfortunate news for you today, and that it is that I am not made for music festivals. At least not music festivals in the cold and wet. Granted, I don’t think anyone particularly looks forward to being out in the cold rain for 12 hours, but as someone who has never experienced a music festival in the dry warmth of the sun, this wasn’t a great first experience.

It didn’t help that I didn’t have any caffeine before going, but I was sleepy to begin with. So going into a cold environment where all you want to do is curl up with a cozy blanket and watch a movie with hot chocolate, being outside with nothing but a ripped up plastic poncho to protect you isn’t exactly paradise. It also didn’t help that there was a four and a half hour gap between the sets we wanted to see.

And that’s not to say that we didn’t enjoy the sets we watched in between, but the energy wasn’t there for anyone until Bleachers, who went on at 8 pm. Then things got good. But as someone who spent a fair amount of money to see bands in the rain, I wish they would’ve done more to distract us from the weather, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. 

And again, if the weather was even 10 degrees warmer, I think I would have had a totally different experience. Maybe not totally different, but I wouldn’t have bought a $60 sweatshirt that I didn’t really want because I was that cold. And maybe, if I was old enough to do so, drinking to keep myself warm would have been a viable option, but then again draft beers were $15 (and that was the cheapest alcoholic option). 

This also was the second year in a row that this music festival almost got rained out. So if any event planners of All Things Go are reading this, here’s your sign to maybe change the weekend. Hurricane season is kind of a risky choice when planning an event with thousands of people and a stage in the mud and woods. 

The saddest part of all of this isn’t the ungodly amount of money I spent while at a concert venue for 12 hours, it’s the fact that I don’t think I’m made for music festivals. No Firefly, no Coachella, no Austin City Limits, no Lollapalooza, etc. None of that for me. I love live music, and yet, I am just not built to risk bad weather for 12 hours, let alone the thought of camping in the cold and wet. Maybe someday that will change, but for now, I am a single-concert-per-night-goer. And it pains me to say so.