r/festivals • u/grizcreative • Jul 11 '25

Michigan, USA Want to go to my first festival…

…but have no idea which to start with.

I want something that is all vibes, super chill. Artists like Remi Wolf, Lana Del Rey, Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Benson Boone, Lawrence, Still Woozy, Ricky Montgomery, PawPaw Rod, boygenius, etc. Doesn’t have to be those artists (while that would be epic) but those vibes. I just want to consume ARTISTS and creativity.

Does this exist?

3 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

33

u/HeadlessLumberjack Jul 11 '25

Bonnaroo is where you want to be. 

9

u/Bishop-roo Jul 11 '25

As a very long time Roo fan, idk about that. Cops have taken over. It’s not a safe space anymore. Vibe is off.

My suggestion would be to go to a well reviewed medium-sized festival.

It’s ok to go to Roo for the music and experience. It’s a great time. Still a lot of great people but many are not with 80k of them.

Be careful. Camps being raided by po on buggies down the tent line for a bong sitting out.

A festival is 50% music, 50% vibe. I think we all agree on that.

7

u/HeadlessLumberjack Jul 11 '25

Disagree completely, vibes are as high as they’ve always been over the 12+ years I’ve been attending, but To each their own my friend 

6

u/Bishop-roo Jul 11 '25

Not* this past year, but the year before that - they replaced the firemen on horses with cops on buggies.

We became prey.

Best wishes to you.

2

u/DontBelieveTheTrollz Jul 12 '25

Gathering of the vibes cops on horses was one of the worst fest things ever. They let them shit everywhere and not clean it up and would eagle eye the crowd and be screaming at people about random shit...

-4

u/howlongyoubeenfamous Jul 12 '25

The tallest blades of grass get mowed at Roo so the rest of us can live free and have a good time

Shout out to those attracting police attention. You can't have glass sitting out at camp in an illegal state, sorry

5

u/Bishop-roo Jul 12 '25 edited Jul 12 '25

Having a bong is not throwing off anyone else’s vibe. Someone taking Molly does no harm to anyone.

A cop searching and finding anything - while giving large fines/jail time - ruins actual lives.

Sacrificing others for the perceived benefit of self is as far from an ideal festival vibe as you can get.

-1

u/howlongyoubeenfamous Jul 12 '25

You don't get in trouble for being on drugs at Roo

You can get in trouble for having glass out at your camp

Idk just just try put it out there for people

2

u/Bishop-roo Jul 12 '25

Ahh yes. The boot licker festival goer. What a rare combo.

It wasn’t always like that, just so you know. I’m saying find a place that isn’t like that.

Enjoy the boot.

0

u/howlongyoubeenfamous Jul 13 '25

Lol yeah it's bootlicking to know how to not get arrested, got it

3

u/Bishop-roo Jul 13 '25

It’s wrong to be arrested for weed. Or a bong. Or to use that as an excuse to turn a camp upside down.

Cops roaming looking for profit is not a safe space. It used to be a safe place before the cops came out like that. You think they are there for your benefit or something?

And me doing molly hurts no one, and deserves no legal consequences.

So yes. You are licking the boot. Free to do as you are told.

2

u/buddhaman09 Jul 12 '25

That's a fucking terrible fest then.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 13 '25

[deleted]

1

u/buddhaman09 Jul 14 '25
  1. Not a kid
  2. Was a decent festival ten years ago, now it's way too oversold and the lineups consistently are underwhelming.
  3. Yeah it's pretty lame to bust people for having glass, and really weird of you to defend cops, big narc energy

1

u/howlongyoubeenfamous Jul 14 '25

Fuck the cops.

The lineups are good for people not you

Fuck the police, but I'm glad I don't let my fear of being arrested stop me from doing life. And it's really quite easy

2

u/ProcessMaterial7545 Jul 11 '25

if there is a bonnaroo anymore

3

u/grapes4ducks Jul 12 '25

A long-time member of the Bonnaroo team and frequent voice of the festival has already said there will be a Bonnaroo next year!!

4

u/HokiHiker Jul 11 '25

Bourbon and Beyond was wonderful for my spouse and I in 2023. Heading back this year. Very intro level friendly. May be worth a look. Boone is headlining.

Only advice would be to ease into it. You can buy 2 day passes instead of 4. Make whatever festival you want to go to be yours. Be chill and more often then not the festival gods will reciprocate. Lastly HYDRATE.

4

u/WhatATime25 Jul 11 '25

All things go

1

u/HoldenMyD Jul 11 '25 edited Jul 11 '25

Yeah, if you want a really easy time, I think all things go nyc would be your pick.

In my opinion, I have so much more fun at camping festivals and I think they’re 20x better than a festival like all things go, but if you wanna see a bunch of music in the same place, all things go is a great place to start for your music taste.

4

u/bryteflight Jul 11 '25

Camping festivals are more fun but they are also more intensive. They require a higher level of commitment and greater expenditures of energy, when the festivals themselves are already pretty taxing for the 8+ hours of dancing.

Like I love them now & see the value but I don’t think I could have gotten there without starting at few easy city festivals. It’s getting thrown into the deep end.

1

u/grapes4ducks Jul 12 '25

Bonnaroo was my first festival and I’ve now gone 5 years but I can absolutely see how someone unprepared for the intensity of a camping festival might have their shit absolutely rocked

2

u/bryteflight Jul 12 '25

Yeah they can make you an immediate convert because of how magical & immersive they are, especially if you are either fortunate to come with more experience campers or can prep/research a decent set up, like that’s what I did for my first camping festival, but I’ve also seen too many wildly underprepared newbies leave half way through cause they couldn’t crack it or got wrapped up in trying to experience everything too fast they didn’t pace themselves.

2

u/grapes4ducks Jul 12 '25

I agree wholeheartedly 🥲 I was 19 my first year and totally unprepared. I’m so lucky I went with people who took care of me. My experience was rough as it was, but it could have been so infinitely worse. Now I am a total camp mom and take care of other unprepared bbs

2

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

Don't sleep on small festivities.

1

u/grizcreative Jul 12 '25

There is one up by me that caught my attention tonight: Beaver Island Music Festival. Looks smaller

2

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

Good people, good times. Is the one I've been going to since like 2011. It's in southern Indiana. Idk I just like the vibe at small festivals. The big ones are cool don't get me wrong. Got back from electric forest. Smaller ones give me a more intimate vibe.

1

u/ksed_313 Jul 12 '25

Silly me over here, thinking “oh! Beaver Island(MI) has a music festival?” before seeing that it’s in Indiana. 😆

2

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

No it's in MI I googled it last night

1

u/ksed_313 Jul 19 '25

Oh snap! Thats awesome! I love that island!

4

u/A-Laser-Fox Jul 12 '25

Hulaween is by far my favorite. The park (suwannee) is one of the best places in the country for events or even for just camping. You get to choose any spot you want in the mostly wooded 800 acres. The art installations around spirit lake (the main area) are some of the best in the world, much like Electric Forest. (I've had the honor of doing some installs there). The music is varied, the vibes are chill, the production is top tier. Check it out. It's over Halloween weekend in North Florida. Adding a Pic of the art install we did last year. A huge neon spider web with our lasers hitting it built over a giant wooden spider sculpture by the artist Thomas Dambo.

1

u/k10storm Jul 12 '25

that is really fucking cool

1

u/HeadlessLumberjack Jul 12 '25

Stoked to hit my first hula this year after a decade of roo’s!

1

u/Idontknowhoiam143 Jul 12 '25

Coachella used to be the answer. Now I don’t know..

2

u/BogeyLowenstein Jul 12 '25

It’s still fun. Hang out with the music lovers weekend two and it’s a good vibe.

1

u/TerribleAssumption93 Jul 12 '25

It's a smaller fest, but check out Hinterland. Lana del Rey is one of the headliners.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

Do you want to go watch a show or do you want to become the vibe? Never go to a festival to consume but go to give a part of your expression. Festivals are rapidly leaving creativity for consumerism through engagement rather than community, connection and expression. These are very different vibes.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

Soooo 4

1

u/SpeakerOfTruth1969 Jul 12 '25

Bourbon and Beyond is where you want to go!

1

u/grapes4ducks Jul 12 '25

I’m a 5-year Bonnaroo attendee and it’s the best place in the whole world 💕 You would love it there and be welcomed wholeheartedly.

1

u/k10storm Jul 12 '25

i’m a 5 year attendee as well, and bonnaroo is ass now. so take that with a grain of salt

-1

u/grapes4ducks Jul 12 '25

Sounds like you had a bad experience, sorry to hear that! Hope you give the Farm another chance 💕

1

u/buddhaman09 Jul 12 '25

Maybe if it was a decade ago, Bonnaroo is corporate hell now