Worst ever festival line up?

disagree on festivals. it's not my favorite way to do things because it kind of forces you to keep your energy up all day, but some of my favorite music experiences were festivals - Maryland Deathfest 2013 (seeing Carcass for the first time), last year's 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise, and 2019's Psycho Las Vegas. with the right lineup, it can be a really cool communal experience.

the worst festivals tend to be some of the ones like the above, which combine several different types of fanbases from disparate scenes that don't mix well together, or the festivals that are really overcrowded, or outdoor festivals in the heat of summer.

Yeah, the smaller ones like ATP (in the 2000s) were great. I guess I haven't been to many huge ones, other than Lolla '95.

I have more of an issue with the cost. I had a depressive episode during MDF in 2016 and was bummed that I spent that much money to basically freak out in another city.

I think themed festivals are actually kinda cool. Like, if you like metal, then an all-metal fest would of course be dope. Or prog, or country, etc. So no, fests themselves are not bad, it's these charm-less, vision-less corporate C3/Golde Voice/fests that share the same rando bills, these are the ones that suck.

Festivals are so shitty

Bonnaroo lineup isn't terrible. Riot Fest lineup is on par with past years, I think. Agree with Josh's sentiments in general, especially in regards to the Chicago fests. Pitchfork is the only one I bother with anymore, and even that pushes me to the brink some years (punishing heat, sudden crazy rainstorms during Bjork, etc.)

I did Pitchfork one year in the mid-2000s, it was fun and yeah hot, but no real memorable performances. (Same with the few Coachellas I attended, tbh)

I think themed festivals are actually kinda cool. Like, if you like metal, then an all-metal fest would of course be dope.

really hope Migration happens next year :(

I'll be curious to see what shifting Pitchfork to September will do to the attendance numbers. Not that I expect it to take a huge hit, but I wonder if it not falling during college kids' summer break will cut down on the out of state travelers. Personally a September Pitchfork fest is more enticing, just because it moves it out of prime 95+ degree weather territory.

If I had to guess, I would guess that there are enough high school and older people around in Chicago to more than fill a few nights of Pitchfork. I know people travel for it, but unlike Lollapalooza I doubt the fest needs those people. Tickets are reasonably priced, the capacity is a modest 19,000. Vs. Lollapalooza, which is, like, 400,000 or something, with prices literally three times as much. That's a lot more asses in ... well, that's a lot more asses.

Yeah, that's why I said I don't think it's going to take a hit, I'm not arguing it'll be a death knell. Just curious to see if the shift does impact the numbers at all.

Well, given how fast Riot Fest sold out (I think?) of three day passes, and that's in Sept., too, I bet things will be ok.

Big Ears and Mostly Mozart are more my speed.

Festivals are great

i’ve been to riot fest once (poorly planned but a good time), deathfest twice (platonic ideal of a festival, good vibes good ppl great bands), and nola jazzfest ... idk at least ten times now (often overcrowded but you can also like hang out in a tent all day and watch gospel acts come and go). anything bigger than that is not my bag. but a festival experience can rule

i was just leaving Nola when Jazzfest was starting and it felt like such a missed opp

Recognised 43 on a skim of the Bonnaroo poster. This seems substantial!

Good festivals are good, great festivals are great, shitty festivals are shitty.

and then there's Fyre Fest

Xpost - Tolstoy

im 36 years old i am not attending a big huge festival thing - with 10s of thousands of people and multiple stages etc. - ever again

some "fest" that is actually just different shows at venues in a city - sure, that's a different thing

i only ever attended one festival of that ilk before and i just did cocaine in my tent all weekend and saw beastie boys on the first night and bjork on the last night.

mutek or sónar i would probably still be into

the thing I like about festivals is knowing the times the bands are getting on stage so I don't wait around bored for 40 minutes waiting for a band to come on stage, or if I do get there early, it's cos I'm staking out a good spot.

and I can go back to hotel and nap if I need to without fearing I'll misjudge the time the band goes on.

but on the flipside, a regular ole show = I only have to muster enough energy to watch 2 or 3 bands, so my back isn't likely to go out

1996: Metallica headlines Lollapalooza, causing much teeth-gnashing.
2021: Journey plays Lollapalooza, causes ____________?

i only ever attended one festival of that ilk before and i just did cocaine in my tent all weekend and saw beastie boys on the first night and bjork on the last night.

seems like you might not have really made the most of it tbh

some "fest" that is actually just different shows at venues in a city - sure, that's a different thing

yes i forgot about this, this is a very good and fun kind of fest

always wanted to make it to gonerfest in memphis but feel like i missed my window and am now too old to be able to drink enough to have a good enough time at it

atp type festivals with chalets >>> outdoor festivals with tents. past a certain age, anyway.

i've never attended a festival where you camp overnight on the grounds and with any luck i never will

i was born old

but thinking about this reminded me that both times i attended maryland deathfest me and my friends stayed on a houseboat in fells point. 10/10 experience

I have no further need to attend an outdoor music festival of any variety

I had a great time at Glastonbury 2019.

the thing to remember with large outdoor festivals that take place in cities is that a fair number of people over age 25 just roll in around 6pm

I was aghast at this in my early 20s, and with age have realized that the experience of sweating my ass off in the sun to see a handful of acts I’m interested in and killing time checking out a few that might be ok over the course of an entire afternoon is a mediocre value proposition

the mixed-venue festivals that take place in the evenings/night time are still for me

I don’t know what this is (it was promoted into my feed), but the number “88” does not have positive connotations for me:

ANNOUNCING: HEAD IN THE CLOUDS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL!!

NOV 6TH & 7TH 2021 @ BROOKSIDE AT THE ROSE BOWL PASADENA, CA.

PRESALE STARTS FRIDAY MAY 28TH @ 10 AM.

REGISTER FOR PRESALE ACCESS NOW @ https://t.co/NZ2YI86eDR ❤️🌥❤️☀️ pic.twitter.com/FX1my3tevo

— 88rising (@88rising) May 26, 2021

88 Rising is an Asian-American record label. It has very positive connotations in China.

^^ thanks for that, did not know

good to know, thx. my heart skipped a beat at the name!

lol yeah that could cause some misunderstandings

I'm on their mailing list and every time I get one of their emails I wince a little. But context is everything.

this isn't the WORST lineup but

it’s TIME ✨ saturday, may 21 in pasadena! want in? register now at https://t.co/I1diy5uSCZ for early access to tickets + mark your calendars for the presale starting thursday, june 24 at 10am PT pic.twitter.com/o5TQ6O5qJy

— justlikeheavenfest (@JLHeavenFest) June 21, 2021

Is it already time for Millennial nostalgia tours?

this lineup just wrote a strongly-worded letter to your local MP about how expensive childcare is

i give it a 7.6

I've seen ten of the 19 bands on that bill live and had a fine-to-fantastic time at all of them.

if this constitutes posting in the "worst festival lineups" thread, what constitutes a "good festival lineup" by ILM standards? 🤔

I mostly posted it here bc I didn't want to start a new thread for it and there's no "okay festival lineups that will give millennials mixed feelings" thread

I'd love to see a Freedom Rock-style commercial for this.

You know they tried to get The Strokes to headline that.
Incredible lineup.

ooh a festival for the middle-aged