How to Prepare for Your First EDM Festival

The EDM genre has become increasingly popular in recent years – millions of music enthusiasts attend EDM festivals all over the globe every year. Whether you’re packing for Tomorrowland or Electric Daisy Carnival, you’ll have a fantastic time if you prepare using our tips!

What is an EDM festival?

An Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival is a large-scale event with artists that play house, techno, trance, and dubstep music. They may take one or more days in a park or stadium. Along with music, you might find elaborate light shows and stunning visual effects, and even witness shows and performances by other kinds of artists like circus performers.

Tips for your first EDM festival

1.   Research the festival

Thoroughly research your festival before you attend – you may even wish to do this before you part ways with your hard-earned cash for the ticket! You can do this by reading the festival’s website or following them on social media – it’ll show you the event’s lineup, a map, and schedule.

This will ensure that you see the acts that you’d like to prioritize and will give you some useful tips on where food, water stations and accommodation all are!

2.   Take the right clothes

When it comes to what to wear to an EDM festival, comfort is key. You’ll be on your feet for hours, so wear comfortable shoes that you can dance in! Converse and trainers are both popular options. Don’t wear sandals, as there’s always a risk that your toes could be stamped on, or drinks could be spilled.

Also, opt for breathable and lightweight clothing, especially if your festival is in the summer months or if it’s located in a warm country. But you might want to pack layers, just in case there’s rain, wind or other bad weather!

3.   Add in a few other helpful bits of kit

There are a few other things that you might want to pack for your EDM festival. One is earplugs. If you’re close to the stage, you might want to wear these at the concert itself, and if not, you may still wish to use them when you’re sleeping – overnight, campsites can still be very loud.

Staying hydrated is also essential – you’ll be dancing and sweating, so you’ll want all the water you can guzzle! Most festivals have water stations where you can refill your water bottle, so pack a reusable one and save plastic.

A portable charger is also a useful item to bring, as you’ll be using your phone to take pictures and videos – and you might need them to find your friends!  Most festivals have charging stations, but they can be crowded, so it’s best to bring your charger.

However, you might also want to remember to pack light. If you’re visiting for the day, bring only the essentials like your ID, phone, wallet, and water bottle. If you’re camping or staying elsewhere, you could pack a little more, but remember that you might need to carry anything that you pack across fields!

4.   Avoid distractions

If you’re at an EDM festival for the whole weekend, you might want to do what you can to avoid distractions. Distractions could prevent you from living in the moment and mean that you might not get the same amount of enjoyment out of the experience!

This might mean removing social media apps from your phone to avoid endless scrolling while you’re meant to be living in the moment, or refraining from playing any distractive games from Fortnite and Minecraft to free online slots – all of this could mean you spend more time in a fantasy world, playing games, rather than the actual world in your EDM festival!

Plus, whatever you do, take a break from checking work emails. You’re at the festival to be on a mini-vacation, after all ­– don’t do office walk while you’re watching your famous bands perform!

5.   Know the dangers of drink spiking

EDM festivals can be a fun and exciting experience, and most people who visit them don’t have any issues. However, there are usually a few stories from festivals about drink spiking. Stick with your friends, don’t accept drinks from strangers, and be aware of your surroundings.

You could even pack something like a drink stopper, which you can fix on the top of bottles to prevent anyone from dropping anything into them. Of course, if you witness anyone spiking or attempting to spike anyone’s drink, immediately report it.

Are you ready for your first EDM festival?

There’s nothing quite like standing in front of a stage, arms in the air, listening to the beat drop as you dance with fellow EDM fans! Provided you’re adequately prepared for the festival, by packing right and making sure that you know what to expect, you’ll have a wonderful time at your music odyssey.

Image Credit: Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash