No Fam? No Fear! Why Going to a Festival Alone is Just as Fun

Picture this. A festival was just announced, and your favorite artist is headlining. You text your squad group chat and share the news, trying to get everyone on board. But all your friends are working, low on cash, or can’t go. You get a sudden rush of panic. You are dying to see your favorite artist, but don’t want to go alone. You fear that people will look at you funny, or that you won’t have a good time. Well, fear not. Going to a festival alone can be just as fun, if not more, as going with a group!

I remember the first time I felt this panic. It was Global Dance Festival 2016, and Bassnectar was announced as the headliner. At the time I was new to the EDM scene and didn’t have a lot of friends that were going to shows. After asking a few friends and having no luck, I made the decision and purchased my ticket. When the day of the festival approached I became a little anxious about going to a show alone. But those anxieties were completely relieved as soon as I walked through the gates. Here’s what I discovered going to a festival alone:

Total Freedom to Explore

I’m one of those people that when I go to a festival, the first thing I want to do it explore. Check out all the stages, check out the vendors, activities and more. Being solo at a festival makes this a reality with ease. I didn’t need to worry about losing my squad or waiting for everyone to be ready to go to the next area. I was totally free to go where I want when I wanted too.

Go See the Artists YOU Want to See

 When you’re with a squad, a lot of the time you have to make sacrifices on artists you want to see in order to all stay together. When you go to a show alone, that’s not an issue. You have the ability to go to whatever stage you want whenever. You can catch a little bit of one DJ’s set then head over to the other side of the venue to see another without letting your friend’s down. This can also help you discover a lot of new music. Say there’s no specific artist you are dying to see at a certain timeslot, instead of sitting in the grass and waiting for the next set. You are free to check out a completely new artist with no compromise or fear of losing your squad.

Make A Ton of New Friends

Perhaps the best part of going to shows is making new friends. My favorite thing to do is find people with the “Come Dance With Us” totems. Anybody’s who been to a festival will tell you the people are always friendly and welcoming. I love getting to talk to people, get to know them over a set or two, and once that sets over go on and find another group and start the process over. The moments are brief at times, but always impactful. At the end of a festival, I’ll have met 20 different extremely genuine people that become friends. It’s another bonus when you see them at festivals in the future and get to catch up and rage again.

I know what you’re thinking–what if everyone is looking at me and judging me for being alone at a festival? To this, I say it’s important to realize that people are paying sometimes hundreds of dollars to be at that festival. They are there for the music, to dance, and to have a great time and chances are within the first hour of the show people are already losing members of their group. Nobody will be paying attention to who you did, or didn’t, come with.

Go watch a set from a music festival on YouTube. When the camera pans over the crowd, can you tell who’s with a group and who’s not? Probably not. You’ve probably never even thought about it, so why would anybody else?

After leaving Global Dance Festival 2016 with a bunch of great memories and friends, I became hooked on the idea of going to festivals alone. Since then I’ve done more local festivals alone, days of EDC alone, club shows solo. Festivals are an excellent way to meet new friends and have a great time in a judgment-free environment. Every time I go to a festival alone, I end up having such an amazing adventure that makes a lot of memories. If you ever find yourself at a festival alone, look around, take a deep breath, and smile. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.