With Coachella, Firefly, SXSW, GovBall, and hundreds of other music festivals releasing tickets, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty: what do patrons really want from a music festival? Here are 4 things that will either make or break your festival this year.
1. The Bands
Something old, something new, something indie, and something to dance to is the way to go when booking bands for a summer festival. This year’s big reunion band is OutKast who is making the rounds at all the music festivals in North America, and drawing in a crowd that would otherwise ignore the event. Up and coming bands are also great, because they are less expensive but often have strong followings, like Firefly festival’s Smallpools.
Foster the People and Arcade Fire are great examples of indie bands that have become staples in the music scene—don’t forget to book bands like this that people expect to see on stage. And last but certainly not least, what is a music festival without all-day dance-a-thons? Electronic Dance Music must be adequately represented to take care of festivalgoers’ dancing needs with artists like Dillon Francis and Calvin Harris.
2. The Food
There’s nothing better than a good lunch when you’re tired and tipsy at a festival. Local food trucks are a perfect option for outsourcing food for your event. Try to get restaurants that are known on yelp for their delicious, cheap eats and popular with twenty-somethings.
Take New York’s GovBall for example, they hired food trucks from Crif Dogs, Luke’s Lobster, and Bareburger for last year’s festival, which are extremely popular late-night and lunch spots year-round in the city. Their easy to munch on bunned food makes for great walking lunches and their reasonable prices are a hit with younger crowds.
3. The Booze
As with food, to-go is the concept to stick to here. With people running from stage to stage, the last thing they want to worry about is spilling their drink all over themselves. Glass is also a big no-no, because often concertgoers will walk around in flimsy footwear or bare feet and can easily injure themselves. Instead, stick to selling things like beer in cans, tall cans, or plastic bottles, or wine and alcohol in lidded plastic cups. It can be a real upsell to offer private alcohol tents to VIP ticket holders.
4. The Bathrooms
Without a convenient place to use the bathroom, patrons will be leaving after a few short hours each day. It is simply a necessity. Since music festivals always take place in wide-open spaces, porta potties are really the only option for restrooms. VIPs and band members can be supplied with upscale porta potties that look and feel like a regular bathroom, while the masses should be served with quantity over quality.
Porta potty rental for the Niagra Falls Music & Art Festival is done with ease every year as they use a company they trust for their events. Follow that lead: research companies that will not only give you a large number of porta potties for a decent price, but also will offer great customer service so you don’t have to worry about the installment or cleanup.
These festival must-haves are sure to make your concert a hit. The bonus? A good crowd. When you get together all the right ingredients for a festival, you’ll attract the best kind of people who will make your weekend stand out among the hundreds.
Citations:
Victoria Ramos studied business and now blogs about developments in the field, as well as her other interests. She loves shopping, music, hosting parties, writing, and events planning. For her larger events, she relies on Pittons Portables to meet her guests’ needs.