Music Festivals

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Does anyone else like going to music festivals? As a fan or as a performer?

I saw Gary Numan at Mountain Oasis in 2013, so I know I'm not the only one on the spectrum who goes

Along with ASD, I was also diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and panic disorder, so festivals have always presented something of a challenge. Sometimes I've drank too much. More than once I've collapsed from a panic attack when I couldn't get somewhere I felt safe.

The first overnight festival I went to, I had a meltdown when the hotel room door was locked and I punched through the glass door to get in.

But for all those problems, I keep going, because there are moments at a festival that are like nothing else I've experienced. Seeing my favorite band play to tens of thousands (Nine Inch Nails at Coachella), or a super famous musician who I wouldn't otherwise bother with (Madonna at Coachella), or different musical traditions from around the world who opened my eyes to whole new kinds of musical expression (DakhaBrakha at Bonnaroo), or just the utterly adorable (Unlocking the Truth at Coachella).

At a really stellar festival show, the environment, and the crowd, and the band, and me, all just sort of combine into one timeless entity, and the whole world fades away.

And then the set ends, and my feet hurt, and I'm exhausted, and thirsty, and stuck in the middle of a huge crowd, and we all shuffle our way to the next stage, looking for that next amazing moment.

I went to crowded clubs and an occasional concert back in the 1980's to see music acts I liked. Sonic Youth, The Replacements, Circle Jerks were good concerts. The B-52's with the Eurythmics opening was the best.

I followed Billy Idol's advices and danced by myself to music I liked at some clubs. There was no festival circuit back then.

I've been to club shows too, but they don't seem to have that same physical intensity.

Sonic Youth is ridiculous. I saw them on a reunion tour a few years ago and they were amazing. B-52s I saw at the Del Mar Racetrack (they have free concerts after the last race some days), and they were surprisingly good.

A lot of those 80s club bands are on the festival circuit now. New Order, Depeche Mode, OMD and Billy Idol (plus others I can't think of) have all been big hits at festivals recently.

I will never forget seeing Billy Idol at Bonnaroo. He was playing against Weird Al, and I was literally running between the stages because they were both so awesome.

I've been to a few festival style shows (Lalapalooza in the late 90's a few times and a few Ozzfests) I always preferred club shows more.

I like heavy music, and that translates better indoors sound-wise. I've seen some of my favorite bands outside and thought it wasn't as good. Plus during festival shows bands usually play shorter, more generic sets.

Saw NIN during The Fragile tour (his last good material IMO) with A Perfect Circle at Madison Square Garden. That was one of the best live performances I had ever seen.

I enjoy the idea of seeing a bunch of bands, but there really aren't too many festivals left for heavy music. Saw the All-Stars tour last year, but it wasn't what I'd call a festival. I saw it indoors and the venue sucked as*holes after a wet s**t. A bunch of as*holes. And very wet.

Lollapalooza. Never miss it. Oingo Boingo in the "pit" in the 1990s. Saw Phil Collins solo and with Genesis. I also saw Depeche Mode in 1988 and 1990.

I've never even been to a concert, but I think it would be able to see Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan play as the Original Guns N Roses at Coachella this year. I would also wear my Appetite For Destruction T-Shirt.

Went to Coachella once, would not go back again. I had a good time, but it was expensive then and ridiculously expensive these days. Worse, the multi-stage format means that at any given moment four or five bands are playing. Unless you're musical tastes are just right, this means at any moment probably more than one of the bands you wanted to see are playing, and since you can only be in one place at a time, it means effectively you can't see perhaps a lot of what you wanted to and have to pick and chose. The cost seems worth it when you look at all those bands, but when you add in that aspect of it where you can only see some of them, its not such a good deal.

Music festival is a festival towards music with some theme such as holiday, or nationality etc. Some of this festival are organized as for profit and others are benefits for a specific cause.

I have never been to any music festivals, but I have watched some on the internet. This includes ones like Tomorrowland, Boiler Room DJ sets, Ibiza festivals and more.

I sometimes will go to a concert if I really, really enjoy the band, but if I don't I could never handle it. Concerts aren't really my thing unless the band is in/is practically in special interest territory. Plus I have to travel so much to go to any anyways. Plus, if I go to a concert I either have to be seated up high (like at an arena) or at the barrier, otherwise I get anxious. Even then if I'm on the barrier and it gets overly crowded (like when people start pushing) I also get anxious. I was at a concert once and had to leave the barrier cos these two drunk guys started fighting and so I just had to get out of there and miss the second band. The bright side was I wound up meeting the singer of the first band (who I loved more anyway lol) so that at least ended a rather unpleasant experience on a good note.