Have you ever wanted to embark on a journey to a magical sugar plum forest filled with extravagant lights, blissful music, colorful fairy tale creatures, and socialize with some of the kindest people you will ever meet? I’m sure you would, but it’s too bad that it’s completely made up; other than one small exception. Only a few times per year am I able to endure on a weekend long meditation spree to some of the most beautiful places on earth- EDM (electronic dance music) music festivals with the people that I care about most to get away from all the stresses and expectations we face as teens every single day. The 9 months that we are in school or working can be some of the most stressful, vigorous grinding we will experience in our lives. Knowing this, it should be a given that every single person should find a time and place to get away from it- and there’s no better way to do it than a music festival.
Ever since I was born into this schooling system, I learned more and more about how far I was setback from the start. School has not always been the easiest for me because of the extreme case of ADHD I developed as a child. Not being able to keep up with work or retain information like others slowly jaded my hopes of being successful after high school. This lead me to find many coping mechanisms outside of school to help deal with my issues, and this was music. Music is what fuels me to get through every single day, and after going to festivals like these I am able to envision myself in this happy place with every song that shuffles. Not only helping me get through the day, but it also gives myself something to look forward to.
My first festival that I was ever able to attend was Lollapalooza my freshman year. My parents warned how dangerous events like this could be so I didn’t know what to expect. I went my first year with all my closest friends, and the second I saw that stage I knew I was in love. As I grew older I was infatuated with going to different festivals all over the place. I started going to rap concerts among other things to pass the time until next summer. When the time rolled around and I was finally able to go to my first EDM festival I was ecstatic. It is not a very popular genre of music but has a very strong cult fan base that I had been a part of since I was in 6th grade. I had to be much more knowledgeable of the risks and rewards before going to something like this because of how much more advanced they are than something like Lollapalooza. My first EDM festival that I went to is called Electric Forest in Michigan. It is a 4-day event where you bring all your living essentials such as a tent, food, and whatever else you might need. At a normal festival, the doors will open around 2 PM and shows will go until around 10 PM. At E-forest, these hours are reserved strictly for exploration and bonding with all the other festival-goers. It is very easy to make connections with these people because everybody shares similar interests and everybody is there for the same reason.
One of the biggest reasons EDM festivals aren’t very popular is because a lot of people think the music can get repetitive or are simply not fond of the sound. What most don’t realize is that it is barely about the music at all. These artists/DJs that are booked to play put on some of the most amazing light shows along with a story being told on the monstrous screens. These artists put hours and hours into designing amazing images for everyone to awe over while listening to their favorite songs will being sliced over and over by the 300 foot laser beams shooting into the night. Something this beautiful cannot be displayed during the day time, which is why the shows don’t start until it’s dark out. Along with the extravagant stage sets, when the sun sets the entire camp groups are lit up with the most beautiful lights you will ever see. Pink neon lights hanging from every tree around you, massive sculptures of mythical creatures light up from a mile away along with every single other magical possibility you could dream of. Not only is the setting created to appeal to the eye, but so is every outfit someone creates to wear to this festival. You could see someone dressed up like it’s Halloween, or repping their favorite artist head to toe.
EDM music is something that has always been popular but very under the radar for most people until most recent years. With festivals like these emerging every year and bettering themselves to impress more and more each time, the world is starting to take notice. According to D&B EDM statistics, sales in 2017 from festivals and tickets to festivals have been grossed around 146,999,963 total tickets. This is a 12% increase from just a year before. People are starting to realize what a great escape from reality these outings can be.
But with all things in life, the good comes with the bad. Although things like Electric Forest may be the best things for our mental health and stability, it is not the best thing for the environment. According to Abby Patton and Peter McCullen, research conducted by Oxford University shows that 500 UK festivals produce 84,000 tons of CO2 a year. In 2009, at Glastonbury (UK festival) alone produced 54 tons of cans and plastic bottles, 9.12 tons of glass, 11.2 tons of tents and 193 tons of compostable material including food and paper cups were left behind. We all know that when large amounts of people gather there is no denying the fact that there are going to be repercussions, but not until I researched this topic did I expect the numbers to be so high. For events like this to be more eco-friendly, I believe the people running it should put more effort into encouraging people to throw away trash in cans versus on the ground, while also providing more spots to do so. Lastly, one of the most infamous stigmas around music festivals is the drug related deaths. When people go to concerts in general, many people want to take a drug to enhance their time out with their friends, listening to music. I believe this to be understandable and acceptable in my book if you are old enough to do so; except when people don’t know how to do it correctly or responsibly. According to the LA Times, since 2006 there have been 29 confirmed drug-related deaths in the US at festivals. It is sad to see and families were devastated, but they ultimately got what was coming to them for being as careless with their own lives as they were. Along with the environmental issues, there is a very easy fix to this issue. When going to a festival, if you are old enough you can make the choice of whether or not you can handle something like that. You should never take something random; always make sure you know what you have, and never push your body past its limits.
Although music festivals can be harmful to the environment or even to yourself, both are outcomes of your own choices and can be preventable to help keep our earth and bodies clean while still enjoying the time of your life. If you follow these simple rules and embrace the beautiful scenery, music, costumes, and atmosphere, you should have an amazing time at a festival like Electric Forest.
Works Cited
Lin, Rong-Gong. “These Are the Stories of 29 Rave-Goers Who Died of Drug-Related Causes.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2017, www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-rave-deaths-snap-htmlstory.html.
Low Tone. “EDM Statistics 2019 – Electronic Dance Music Facts, Stats & Trends 2017-2018.” Low Tone, Low Tone, 3 July 2019, www.lowtone.co/articles/edm-statistics/.
Paton, Abby. “What Effects Do UK Music Festivals Have on the Environment & How Can They Become More Environmentally Friendly?” PDF, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5341/07d1e02617119b2641f639bf2816aa161acd.pdf.