Festival FOMO: Hate it. Love it. Learn from it.
Festival season has begun and if you’re like me, you are internally (and externally) crying over all of the cool and fun music-centric extravaganzas you are going to be missing. Whether it’s work, school, low funds in your bank account, not being old enough to attend or adult-ing NOTHING changes the fact that you are and will be missing out on your wildest dreams. As a girl who had to forgo South By Southwest this year for the first time since I was sixteen due to being a full-time working adult, I feel your pain.* We can navigate this together.
IGNORE YOUR FRIENDS’ SNAPCHATS
Nothing brings on a tsunami wave of serious FOMO like seeing your friends post snaps of Drake or DNCE getting the crowd hyped up during their set. Three words: ignore, ignore, IGNORE. DON’T OPEN IT UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED. Sure, those Snapchats and Instagram videos might allow you to live vicariously through them but later on you might be laying in bed trying to figure out how to get out of work or convince yourself that the negative balance in your bank account it worth it to go party and jam with your friends. It might actually be, but the level of regret is completely unforeseeable.
WATCH THE LIVE STREAM
Some festivals have a live stream of all the major sets on their website. This came in handy the year I went to a college organization’s national convention and Childish Gambino was one of the headliners at Austin City Limits. Believe me when I say that I was considering not going to a convention that would boost my professional career to travel back home to see the one and only Donald Glover perform under that sunny Austin, Texas sky. The live stream also allows you to pause and rewind so you don’t miss a thing! The beauty of Internet! Plus, the private party you get to have is always fun.
PREPARE FOR NEXT TIME
Spontaneous trips to your favorite festival are fun and exciting, but preparing for them gives you a better chance of actually going. Start looking into the festivals you are interested in attending early on. Pay attention to the lineup release date so you can find out which artists are scheduled to perform so you can know if it is worth your money and time to spend. Saving money early on helps you when that triple-dollar sign price tag smacks you in the face. Start a piggy bank fund or save the money you get from whatever corporate holiday your grandparents decide to slide some cash your way (totally not complaining though!).
All in all, festival FOMO can be conquered. It takes skill, determination and willpower to overcome. Well, it actually isn’t all that hard, but I am dramatic when it comes to my music and I’m sure some of you are too. You can get through it; we can get through it. You just have to try. And if you don’t want to, go ahead and wallow in your sorrows blasting the tunes of whom you miss. No shame.
*The first year I went, Katy Perry hadn’t even begun her first Warped Tour. You do the math.
