Summer. 'tis the season for festivals, camping and celebrating good music, art and the new year. After going to both Meredith and being a part of the Lorne leg of Falls, I feel that it is necessary to detail exactly what should be brought along to future camping festivals.
1. Selfie stick
Simply a must. Essential, really. How else are you going to take a #selfie in a way that disrupts as many patrons as possible? The Selfie stick is ideal for this purpose, being able to extend to 46 inches and hit other festival goers in the face as you wave it around. Excellent.
2. Phones
It's not truly camping unless you are constantly relaying every event back to your friends via 4G and Snapchat. Bonus points for sharing your drunken shenanigans as boisterously as possible while the headline acts are playing. Definitely the time for it.
3. Glitter
Put it everywhere. No, really. You have not truly been to a festival until you and everything you own, from your boyfriend to your tent are still covered in the magic shiny dust for days afterwards. Will these hands ever be clean? (No. No they won't)
4. Foghorns, whistles and the like
Many people view camping at festivals as a challenge. They see that they will be living in very close vicinity with a few thousand other people who share their taste in music and their willingness to brave the elements for the sake of A Good Time. Some may think "I can meet so many new and awesome people!" Others laugh at these types of thinkers. Not that their laughter can be heard. It's being drowned out by the foghorn they're blowing in your face at 3am.
5. Clothes
Who checks the forecast these days? Why should I? I'm going to a festival by the beach in an Australian Summer. Now is the time for crochet knit crop tops, singlets, shorts and thongs. Definitely thongs. I want my feet to be able to breathe when I'm surrounded by 16,000 other people in a mosh. Nothing can go wrong.
Forget the tarps, tents and baby wipes that others will tell you are essential. This is truly the only list you need for your camping festival preparations.
- T
For me, summer and festivals go hand in hand, but the Byron Bay Falls Festival was like no other. It was an experience of many firsts; my first camping festival, my first time road tripping through Victoria and New South Wales and seeing the sights and scenery our beautiful country has to offer.
The festival itself was located at North Byron Parklands, which is 660 acres of parkland. Hills and valleys and luscious foliage greeted us each time we entered the festival area. And every night at the Valley Stage, the thousands of people gathered to watch each act amazed me. I felt so infinitely small in such a sea of people.
The lead up to our New Years first was Salt ‘N’ Pepa, who I was so excited for and surprisingly sounded awesome 20 years after making it big. But we brought in the New Year with Alison Wonderland and a sprinkling of rain (that later turned to an absolute down pour), which was so refreshing after a long day of being in the sun.
Being an absolute shortie, I am not much of a mosher, because all I can see is sweaty heads and backs. But I joined my friends to mosh twice, for Run the Jewels and Joey Bada$$, and hands down there were two highlights of the festival. I knew barely any of their songs (shocking considering I call myself a hip hop fan) but we made it to the first couple of rows in the mosh and they were insane. Literally, sweaty bodies everywhere, but there was such a buzz.
Tkay Maidza was another act I was super excited for, and she killed it! I dare say she sounded so much better live as a result of the atmosphere she had created within the crowd.
Out of the dance acts, Empire of the Sun did not disappoint and Glass Animals were such an awesome chill act during the day. Vance Joy and the Kite String Tangle made the morning sessions, that much more bearable and soothing after minimal sleep. However, the crowd went nuts, when Vance Joy performed both Riptide and Mess is Mine and the energy surrounding just lifted.
The Temper Trap were great as always, so many great hits and they always perform with such high energy. Then we finished the end of our 3 day festival with watching Alt-J, who again performed with an awesome energy and the crowd soaked up every moment!
Despite the constant sweating, hours of freeway driving and stench of the drop toilets, I would do Byron Bay Falls Festival again in a heartbeat. It was an awesome way to finish 2014 and bring in the 2015 with a bang.
P.S If you ever have the opportunity, always get crazy face paint done at a festival; it will not disappoint
- S.P
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