Life In Color Chicago

Hello again everyone,

I have an important announcement regarding the humble people of Chicago. Since it is my hometown and some of the best and coolest bassheads i know come from the area i decided to let yall in on some news i just found out about. Some of you that are ahead of the game may know already but life in color is bringing its event to our great city. Now for those of you who dont know, life in color is an extremely big paint party. Imagine going to your favorite show, seeing one of your favorite artists perform live, and then add throwing paint into the mix. It is one event that is guaranteed to be off the hook. Now while i am not the biggest fan of paint parties (mostly because i have had paint thrown in my eyes) i still feel very obligated to post about it. Because while im not the biggest fan, i seem to be in the minority. On average the event usually hosts between 5000-15000 people, meaning that this event is MASSIVE. One of the biggest shows to hit Chicago aside from those performed in the united center. This is an event that you will not want to miss. And in case you needed a little added incentive, guess who will be performing? Ookay himself. Now for those of you who have heard of him know that this is a huge announcement. I was recently at Coachella and he played one of the most massive sets of the entire weekend. It was seriously off the hook. Honestly just because he was announced to play life in color this year means that there is a good chance that you will see me there. For those of you who have not heard him i would seriously suggest that you look his Coachella set up on soundcloud it is a guaranteed hit. I hope to see you there, and if you see me, feel free to throw some paint at me!!

The Dream Team

Well guys, i have a pretty interesting story/announcement for you today, and that is that there will be some interesting sets being performed by a certain few people this festival season.  Those two people are Minnesota and g Jones.  Now for those of you who don't know either of those artists, don't worry, you will very soon.  I have been following these two since they started creating music and know that most of you who read this blog will enjoy their music.  Just a quick background, Minnesota, one of my all time favorites aside from bassnectar has recently become a favorite of lorin himself.  Minnesota has been making music for a long time and bassnectar has finally started to pay tribute to some of the incredible sound art that he produces.  To date bassnectar has dropped a series of awesome songs that Minnesota has made during his own sets.  Some of the best and most famous of those songs are "Push it" and "Meow"  bassnectar smoothly transitions each of these songs into his sets to the point where you would think they are his own songs they fit in so well when he is performing.  Give them a listen and you are sure to love them.  The next artist im talking about is G-Jones.  This man is incredible.  Possibly the next bassnectar himself if i do say so.  Trying to speak from an unbiased opinion as i have met the man personally myself, G-Jones is the next and upcoming playing in the electronic music industry.  The guy is crazy cool and has an incredibly weird way of producing music.  He brings a psychedelic trappy side to dub step and let me tell you his sound is untouched by any.  So unique that bassnectar has taken a personal liking to his music.  So much in fact that they have started to create a ton of music together.  In his most recent album G Jones is featured on two of his songs, and they have collaborated on much much more music that is unreleased and can only be heard at a bassnectar or G Jones show.  To wrap up this story i would just like to proudly announce that G Jones and Minnesota will be playing a back to back set with each other at Basscenter before bassnectar comes on and they will also be playing back to back at many other festivals across the globe this year. So be on the lookout!

Important BASSCENTER UPDATE

Hello fellow festival goers and bassheads alike.  It is i space Jesus with an oh-so-important update on incredibly anticipated festival basscenter.  Now as im sure many of you are bassheads like me, i am proud to announce that Lorin himself has spoken on the festival.  While in recent months he has said little about the upcoming event because he likes to give his followers the essence of suprise when attending his precious events, he has recently leaked an extremely important piece of information regarding his personal part played in the fest.  During a billboard top one hundred interview with the man himself, he released possibly the biggest piece of information about the festival to date.  As many of you obviously know he will be closing the fest both days, (duh) but he had some astounding words to say about the close of each fest.  During his precious red rock shows, he ended each night with a 2 1/2 hour set each of the three nights.  Now while many thought this was as much bassnectar as anyone could ask for the God himself looked down on us and said no there is more.  During the interview bassnectar announced that both days he will be headling and playing 10+ hours of music during the festival.  In case some of you are bad at math, that means, that at the MINIMUM we will be experiencing at least 5 hours of bassnectar a night.  Potentially more depending on how much hes feeling it and the response that he gets from the crowd.  This ladies and gentlemen is insane.  And on top of that i have one last little piece of information to disclose.  According to a secret group that i follow, one of his setup, lights, and sound guys behind the scenes leaked a little secret saying that this will be bassnectars biggest and baddest production set of his career.  Meaning, be prepared for the loudest, most vibrant visuals, and clearest sounds you have ever heard come from the man.  It is sure to be a crazy event, i hope to see you there guys.

BassCenter

Fellow festival goers.... Prepare for the greatest event to ever hit the festival world.  Im sure most of you can guess it by now, but for those of you who are unaware, BASSCENTER is coming!!!  Now we all know that the king himself Lorin Ashton, has been throwing down at private venues across the nation and the world for some time now, but will he stop there?  The answer is no.  The long suggested, long thought about event has now arrived in full force. Basscenter.  What is basscenter you may ask?  Well let me tell you, basscenter is the craziest event to ever hit the festival world.  Basscenter is a festival that is created and curated by bassnectar himself.  Meaning that every artist, piece of artwork, every vendor tent, every stage, and every visualizer on each stage has been handcrafted by Lorin and his team.  This means the absolute best of the best is creating an evironment that is similar to a playground for adults. Aside from the incredible lineup this year, the festival has much much more to offer its attendees.  First and most importantly, the festival will be curated in Colorado.... But honestly did you expect anything else.  Lorin knows whats up and he knows that there is no better place to host a party such as this one than in Colorado.  While the festivals complete details are not released yet, this is sure to be one massive event.  And with a three hour long bassnectar set to end the night each of the three nights, it is sure to be a wild ride!  Lorin will undoubtedly be unveiling an entire new albums worth of music as well as an expected mixtape.  All this new music will contribute to at least an hour and a half worth of brand new music on top of many different mashups to old songs.  As well as all the oldies but goodies that are always expected to be played at his shows.  This is going to be huge guys so if your like me and live far away from the fest, gear up and start traveling because this is going to be a wild ride.

I hope to see you there :)

The UNTZ Festival

If you are a festival goer interested in a new festival to dive into this festival season i would encourage you to look into a fest called the Untz festival.  The Untz festival is an up and coming music festival located in California.  The festival is one similar to that of the south by southwest festival located in Texas that just recently took place.  The festival prides itself on bringing it's attendees the newest and most up and coming artists and performers in the electronic music world.  Much like the south by southwest festival which provides mostly up and coming rap, it is a fairly cheap entry ticket to see some of the coolest sound that will be entering the festival world in the next few years.  Also it gives its attendees a big opportunity to see many self-proclaimed artists as well as performers across the grounds.  These performers are basically hired by giving them free entry to the fest so that they can show you their special talents, and it keeps the festival costs low because the Untz are not actually paying these performers, rather just giving them free entry into the festival.   One of the very cool aspect of this festival is that it takes place in the mountains.  This gives attendees almost a guarantee of terrific weather to flounder around in, as well as gorgeous view from the campsite as well as all the stages.  The festival features an exclusive swimming lake that is provided for those who chose to go VIP into the festival.  It allows attendees a much needed break and relaxation opportunity after the festival closes, or before it opens in the afternoon.  For those of you interested in the event i will post a picture of the festival lineup as well as a comprehensive list of packing items that the people hosting the festival would suggest bringing.

Suggested Items to Bring:

• Camping gear and shade structures – free-standing and waterproof
• Stakes and tennis balls – keep your gear grounded and protected. It can get windy!
• Water, lots of drinking water
• Reusable water bottle – stainless is best!
• Trash bags for your site
• Flashlight, headlamp, rechargeable solar lights for your camp
• Ear plugs – we recommend one pair of earplugs for the dancefloor, and another of the noise-cancellation type for when you want to sleep
• Sunglasses, hat, sunscreen
• Appropriate clothing for all types of weather
• Shoes
• Yoga mat and portable chairs
• Any prescription meds, eye solutions, and any other healthcare items. A small first aid kit is always a good idea.
• Gifts for gifting and bartering; art for sharing
• Costumes

The Pashmina Lifestyle

Well, if you don't regularly go to festivals, then you may not know exactly what a pashmina is. To many outsiders, a pashmina is just some random scarf that hippies drape around their necks for no purpose, but to a festival trained eye it is a comfortable trendy fashion statement. A pashmina can be formally defined as a fabric or garment made from cashmere and pashm, especially a shawl, wrap, or scarf. The material is typically created from goat's wool and literally translates into English as "soft gold." The scarfs in the festival world serve many purposes from as simple as a fashion statement, to a sun protect-ant, to a comfortable garment to keep warm and touch. While there are many other things trending the festival world recently such as: monicals, wire wraps, pins, grassroot hats, etc... the pashmina is by far the most trendy or "heady" of them all. Walking around the festival people are always looking and comparing their items to others items complimenting them and asking where they purchased this form of art. Beyond a fashion statement, the pashmina serves a few other purposes. One of those being a shield from the sun. During the 9-10 hour duration that the gates are open at the festival, there are often few areas to protect yourself from the sun and catch some shade. The pashmina can be draped over ones head far enough to provide plentiful shade while not limiting ones view in front of them. This aspect of the pashmina can be critical when protecting ones' self from the elements during days that are 90+ degrees out with the sun beating down. Lastly, with the inability to properly clean yourself for four days at any festival, the pashmina allows its users to have a comfortable garment to wear that does not irritate the skin and is very light weight to reduce sweating.

10 Things you must visit in your journey into the electric forest

You all know the deal, the forest is finally becoming within reaching distance and will be upon us in the next few months. Here is your place to keep up with new areas of interest in the festival, as well revisit some of the classics. The producers are constantly trying to change the dynamic of the festival to keep it fresh and interesting to repeat visitors, while maintaining the same feel. Here are some of the things they have done this year to make the experience unforgettable. 1. The rocket ship of doom - this is an oldie but goodie, this piece of artwork was placed in the forest last year. It is a rocket ship formed piece of work designed to be viewed from underneath it. Once in viewing range, looking directly up deploys a view of a vortex like view narrowing as the rocket ship climbs. 2. "The Birds Nest" - this is another old idea that the creators have used, but always manages to attract a lot of attention. Use of sticks and other materials are used in order to create a human sized nest in which festival goers are able to relax and listen to melodic music. 3. Rowdy Town - AKA "the barn" is a relatively new stage added that provides more entertainment than just music (although it provides that as well) the new stage is a full blown barn and offers the most trippy aspects the festival has to offer. Prepare to dance around the barn while weird gypsy women dance along with you. Also prepare to be buffed out by some of the coolest forest staff after a long day of wandering around the festival. 4. Craft beer tent - Who wouldnt want a nice cold refreshing beer in the middle of a forest on a nice crispy day? Good music and local beer, what could be better? 5. Jubilee stage - the newest and absolutely most exiting addition the the electric forest. The Jubilee stage is a tent encompassed stage that only the craziest shows will be played at. 6. Group hug world record attempt - last year the record was absolutely shattered by the forest family! With your support and the support of others we hope to break an even bigger record this year! 7. Giving tree - one of the most intriguing spots in the electric forest. Take something, then leave something behind. It's truly the gift that keeps on giving! 8. Marlboro tent - I dont smoke cigarettes, but dollar packs? Why not? 9. Secret meet and greets - PSA please sign up for any electric forest notifications via the application for the festival. While the constant reminders and updates to become annoying, there is some really valuable and secret information that other festival goers will not receive if they do not get the notifications. One of them being secret meet and greets with some of your favorite artists! so stay tuned... 10. The Main event - For some of the forest fam this goes without saying. Make sure to see the main events. Bassnectar, String Cheese, and Pretty lights (heavily rumored) are your acts you dont want to miss. These acts truly do make the festival pay for itself.

About Me

Hi! Im Space Jesus, and i am the creator of the how to survive at a festival blog.  My goal is to guide you through the process of encountering a music festival.  With my innovative tips and products sold on this website i know that you will be the coolest person come festival season.  I am a seasoned festival goer myself, attending over 10 festivals in all different parts of the country.  My experience ranges from Lollapalooza, summercamp, electric forest, moonrise festival, hulaween, basslights, and lightning in a bottle.  I have spent the last four years of my life dedicating myself to traveling and experiencing festivals to in turn create a better festival experience for consumers like you.  If you have any questions or inquiries please feel free to contact me at the link below.

 spacejesus34@gmail.com

Exploring the Festival

So... its day one at your first big festival, you have your camp all set up, now what to do?  Well, chances are you have a few hours before the first set of the day starts music wise, so what do you do to occupy your time until then?  I will provide two great options:

1. Patrol the campsite
2. Enter the fest and explore.

Number one.  "Patrolling the campsite"  This can be a very useful thing to do before the music in the festival begins to play.  When patrolling the campsite one may look to locate other groups of friends and their camping position relative to your spot.  Also when patrolling the campsite it is a good idea to locate the area of all the major shops and outlets.  Not only will this locate a place for you to purchase trinkets and other sorts of goodies, but it is likely the main source of all the food at a festival.  There will also likely be a general store in which to purchase forgotten items, as well as necesities such as ice and cigarettes.

After thoroughly patrolling the campsite, my next piece of advice would be to enter the festival.  Even though there is no music playing, the festival still has much to offer.  The time before any music starts playing is the best time to check out what the festival has to offer aside from music.  Explore things like the little shops, and "street performers" that the festival has hired to entertain you.  Oftentimes there are places to explore or people to listen too or check out that you may not have the time to explore later in the festival.  Also this is a great time to familiarize yourself with the festival grounds.  Festivals are usually very large, and it takes some time adjusting to the nature of the fest an locating where everything is at.  Now may be a good time to check out all the stages and plan out your music agenda for the day.  My last suggestion would be to scope out a "safe spot" inside the fest.  This is a secluded area inside of the festival that your whole group is aware of, and can meet up at if you were to get separated from the group.  This is a very helpful tip as many cell phone providers have poor service inside festivals.

Choosing and Setting up a Camp Spot

Once you have gained entry into the gates of a festival, the next step can be tricky... The next step is to obtain the optimal campsite area.  When looking into the type of campsite you would like to construct on your festival journey, factors you must consider are:

1. How many people are in your group?
2. How many cars/ tents/ canopies do you have in your group.
3. Would you like to face a walkway (high traffic area), or would you like to face other camps?
4. What shape is most optimal for your campsite?
5. Proximity to the festival ***

Regardless of what kind of camp that you intend on setting up, i would highly recommend that every potential camp pursues number five.  Proximity to the festival is a crucial aspect in determining the area that you would like to camp.  It is extremely important that you position yourself in the closest proximity possible to the festival entrance.  There are many reasons for this but the main reason being, this will allow you to enter/ exit the festival with ease as many others may have up to a 30 minute walk to reach their camps.  Also many vendors/ food/ and shops will set up near the entrance of the festival and towards the center of the campground.  Even though you may not be spending much time at your campsite during the fest, it is still crucial to get the location of the camp right so that if you need to make a quick trip back to your camp during the day, its not the end of the world.  Once you have found the optimal campsite, set up a camp that gears towards your needs as a group and have fun!

The Road to a Festival

So you purchased your festival tickets for this upcoming season? So what?  The real question is now, how do you plan on making that happen... That is, how do you plan on getting there?  Believe me from experience, there is a right way and a wrong way to approach getting to a festival.  Here is a list of a few tips and suggestions that will make the journey to the festival a breeze:

1. Use the buddy system - always drive with as many people as can physically fit into your vehicle.  Not only does this save gas money, but it also provides many forms of entertainment as well as other drivers.

2. Obey all traffic laws - this is a big issue.  If your one of those people who has a lead foot or likes to switch lanes with no signal, now is the time to really break those habits. Police are always patrolling the major highways and channels used to travel to festivals as easy targets to catch unlawful drivers.  The police will take advantage of any slip up they can to pull over festival goers in an effort to make some easy cash and to mitigate some other external factors.

3. Use Waze - Waze is a directions and maps application just the same as google maps or any other application of the sorts.  But one key element of Waze is that it allows its users to track the point of any police on any street at any time.  The application stays up to the minute by having users like or dislike a post to determine whether or not the patrol car is still in the same location taking radar for instance.

4. Do not distinguish yourself -  As exited as you may be about the festival culture you are about to embark on I strongly suggest that you do not label yourself as a festival goer while driving to the event.  Distinguishing effects such as: Grassroots hats, festival pins, pajminas, hula hoops, gloves, or signs on windows such as "Headed to forest" will make you an easy target for police on the roads.

5. Leave at the optimal time-  This is a very crucial point.  Departure time can be a blessing but it can also be very discouraging if it is not correct.  A good departure time will allow you as a festival goer to drive right into the event and get a good camping spot.  A poor departure time will ensure that you wait in long lines to enter the festival, as well as a lesser quality camp spot.

Abiding by these tips will allow for safe, easy, and efficient travels to a festival.