6 Necessities everyone needs for their first music festival
Whether it's your first music festival or your fiftieth, the key to surviving the event boils down to preparation and packing essential comfort necessities.
With music festival season in full swing, you may either be feeling the FOMO or lining up for your next wristband. However, whether it’s your first music festival or your one hundredth, the key to keeping yourself going while lining up at the food booths, squatting over a porta-potty, or hustling across the venue to make the next set time is the simple task of having a well prepared supply bag.
Unlike traveling to other cultural festivals or a theme park, packing a daypack for music festivals can be challenging due to the size and even color restraints of your bag. Plus with the added pressures of being exposed to the elements all day with very little shade or reprieve.
With that in mind, these 6 items can make your music festival experience more comfortable, more hygienic, and overall more sustainable so that after the festival you can slide right back into work - or the next festival - without missing a beat.
1. Small clear one pocket bag
This item is potentially the one that trips people up the most as it is not something most of us have on hand or use in our daily lives. Most music festivals place restrictions on the size of bags that can be brought into the venue, usually no larger than a fanny pack or small purse, and many also require said bag to be clear.
Investing in a small single pocket clear vinyl festival bag (try saying that 5 times fast) can free up your hands (and pockets) during festival days and allow you to carry all of your other necessities without having to run back and forth to a locker. Be sure that the bag is no larger than 12" x 6" x 12" at MOST, but smaller is usually better as long as it can fit your phone, wallet, and a few other items. Even if you don’t regularly visit festivals, having a clear bag can come in handy for other events and stadium concerts that may also require similar bag regulations.
2. Mist sunscreen
It’s important to wear sunscreen everyday anyway, but it is especially crucial during a festival. Unless it’s raining at the festival, 9 times out of 10 you’re going to be exposed to the sun for a large majority of the day. Remember, even if it’s cloudy, UV rays are still reaching you and your delicate skin.
And also remember - yes, even melanated skin needs UV protection. It doesn’t matter how much your Black don’t crack, your Asian don’t raisin, your Indigenous is limitless, your Arab keeps you cherub, your Brown won’t let you down….skin cancer DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE. And UV rays sure as heck exacerbate wrinkles, liver spots, and hyperpigmentation. Your melanin does not make you invincible to UV damage. Wear sunscreen.
For music festivals in particular, where it’s trickier to wash your hands regularly and you might not want to touch your face (for the best), it’s good to pack a good sunscreen mist in your festival bag. Hopefully the sunscreen you normally use has a mist version, but if not the SunBum sunscreen mist is a great option - it’s vegan, reef-safe, Oxybenzone Free, and provides protection from UVA and UVB rays. Plus, it doesn’t leave a white cast making it one of the best sunscreens for darker skin tones.
Reapply the mist to the exposed parts of your body and face, and don’t forget your scalp if you have braids!
3. Hand Sanitizer & Hand wipes
Speaking of not wanting to touch your face, hand sanitizer will become your best friend. From food to porta potties to squeezing through all the sweaty bodies (including your own) to get to the front of the stage…your hands are going to get grimey. Grab any small bottle you have on hand that will fit in your festival bag, but if you’re shopping for a new one Touchland hand sanitizer smells great (or has no fragrance at all!) and helps keep your hands moisturized. For messier situations, it’s also great to have a small pack of hand wipes on hand - no pun intended.
There’s not much to say about this point except to regularly sanitize your hands. If you’re forgetful, which is easy when you’re distracted by incredible vibes, set a timer to spritz your hands with sanitizer every so often. Or make it a routine after sets.
Your immune system will thank you for it.
4. Lip Balm
Music festivals are a death sentence to the lips. The combined forces of wind, sun, and dehydration all come together to make your lips crack and peel. If you ever experienced it, you know how long it takes cracked lips to recover, and it’s going to feel uncomfortable the entire time. It’s best to just prevent it before it happens.
The real trick to picking the right lip protection for a music festival, besides remembering to bring it in the first place, is to choose one that won’t melt. For this, it’s best to choose a lip balm that squeezes out of its container instead of one in stick form. Aquaphor Lip Balm is an affordable option that also has lip specific SPF built in!
5. Oil sheets
It’s always great to take photos during your music festival for the memories, either with the people you came with, the new friends you met during your experience, or even just a solo selfie. But, as many of us have learned the hard way, after a long day of dancing, head banging, and frolicking in the sun, the second you bring up that front camera for a picture…
You see your oily face staring back at you.
Luckily, it’s an easy fix! Slide a small pack of oil blotting sheets in your festival bag to touch up your face throughout the day to stay feeling fresh and photo-ready.
6. Loop earplugs
Last, but absolutely not least, do not forget about your ears! The little snails inside our heads are sensitive and music festivals are…anything BUT sensitive when it comes to sound. Along with the booming bass and loud speakers, there’s also people shouting song lyrics right into your ear (off-key at that).
Loop Earplugs were specifically designed with concerts and music events in mind, successfully reducing harmful noise pollution while still allowing clear and crisp music sound. They are also both stylish and discreet. The earplugs are also great for people who regularly get headaches or migraines, especially those triggered by loud sounds, or folks who may get overstimulated by noise. Keep your ears healthy for the future - and for future music festivals!
Kay Kingsman is a fiction author and travel writer who prides herself on being a full-time silly goose. Along with being the first person to crip walk in Antarctica, Kay's writing has been featured in Forbes, Insider, Fodor’s, Viator, and more.