The time has finally arrived. With Knight and Day Festival set to begin tomorrow at Victoria's Kryal Castle, the heavy music festival season in Australia has officially begun. After two years of lockdown's, cancellations, reschedules and seemingly endless frustration, thousands of fans will congregate to celebrate the end of the year in the best way possible, by losing their shit in the pit to bloody Polaris and Parkway Drive.
If you're headed to Knight and Day, UNIFY, Uncaged, Full Tilt, Monolith or any of the countless other festivals that are set to take place across Australia in the coming months (or like us, just going to ALL of them), there's a fair bit of forethought and planning that needs to happen to make sure you have the best day ever and don't end up regretting life in the sickbay while your friends are having the time of their lives, ripping it up to your mutual favourite band Never fear though, whether you're heading to your first festival ever, or your fiftieth, we've put together this handy Heavy Music Festival Survival Guide to help you have the time of your life.
Eleven things to bring.
1. Your ticket (seems obvious, but it has been done before by many people, many times!)
2. ID and any other identification documents required (it is 2021, so this includes your proof of COVID-19 vaccination via the festival accepted methods, we recommend checking individual events policies)
3. Refillable water bottle. We cannot stress this enough. Water is one of the most important tools in ensuring you have a great day and not a hate day. Check individual event policies for types accepted, most don't allow metal or glass for safety reasons, but ALL festivals should allow you to bring some form of bottle in and provide free drinking water to refill it with.
4. A hat, sunscreen, sunglasses. This is Australia, it will be likely be bloody hot and you WILL get burnt if you don't slip, slop, slap, slide and reapply! The sunglasses will help you with the inevitable afternoon glare and/or help hide the circles under your eyes on day two!
5. Comfortable clothing, footwear and a small bag for your valuables/essentials. We all want to look our best with our besties, but take it from those of us who have come underdressed in the past, festivals aren't for heels or your clubbing clothes, they're for sensible, comfortable clothing, with enclosed, comfortable footwear and at least some form of jacket for when things turn cooler in the evening. That's not to say you can't come dressed with flair, just make sure it comes with a side of common sense! Also, in 2021/2022 there will be areas that require a mask to be worn, so bring one (they also really help with the dust from outdoor mosh pits!)
6. A raincoat or waterproof jacket. Most festivals are held in areas where the temperature and conditions can change quickly, especially over the summer/autumn months. Just throw one in your bag for the day or tie it around your waist and when the heavens open up and everyone else looks like a drowned rat, feel rad about how much smarter you are than them all.
7. Any essential prescription medications in their original packaging, including the pharmacists label, showing your name on the front. This will ensure you can get your necessary medication past security and into the event, to help you, be your best you.
8. Portable mobile phone charger. Let's face it, as much as you don't want to be, the reality is in 2021/2022, you'll be on your phone quite a bit at any festival, coordinating with friends, showing tickets, providing your vaccination status, ordering an Uber for your uber drunk friend, so chances are your battery is going to die at some point, so yeah, bring one of those nifty portable chargers and be your own hero of the day. Plus if you're single and you bump into someone you'd like to see again, it is pretty hard to remember details like phone numbers or social handles, without a phone to input them into. Also, at the end of the day when you're separated from your friends, a working phone will help ensure you find them and get home safely (providing they brought one too!).
9. Adequate amounts of cash/card with enough funds on it to cover way more than you're expecting to spend. Let's face it, we all spend a little too much money at festivals, be it on food trucks, merchandise or in all likelihood, alcohol. That's fine, it is good to support the festival economy. It is just really hard to do that without the appropriate method of payment. So if the festival is an all contactless affair, make sure your card or accounts are loaded up and if they're taking cash, bring enough to cover more than you predict you'll spend. Just in case.
10. Earplugs. Your ears will thank you.
11. Your best attitude. This is going to be an amazing day/s.
Five things not to bring
1. Alcohol (unless it is a B.Y.O event)
2. Illicit drugs (we're not narcs or your mum, we just don't want you to be refused entry, kicked out, charged or worse, you'll have enough fun without your stash, trust us).
3. Selfie sticks, umbrellas. Seriously, no one wants these at festivals and most don't permit them.
4. Your pet. Unless it is an approved companion animal. (Check individual event policies).
5. Your toxic attitude. Seriously, no one wants this bullshit at a festival. Leave the sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, racism or any other shitty ways of acting at home. People are going to these festivals to have a good time and celebrate the return of live music, you should be too.
Things to do
1. Have fun, watching amazing live heavy music, surrounded by thousands of other awesome human beings.
2. Drink water. For real, at least one glass for every hour you're in attendance is a good rule of thumb, but more won't hurt.
3. Check out a band you haven't heard or seen before on one of the smaller stages. It'll mean the world to them and you might just find your new favourite band.
4. Make friends with other heavy music fans! This is the best chance to do so!
5. Mosh! To at least one band. It is fun and part of the festival experience. You can level this up by crowd surfing if it is permitted, but be safe!
6. If someone falls down, pick them up again!
While moshing, if someone falls down in the pit, clear out some space and help them up. If someone is injured, clear out some space and get medical attention so that they can be safely removed from the pit and you can return to enjoying yourself. If someone drops something and you can return it, do, otherwise get their attention and inform them they've done so, they then stand the best chance of getting it back.
7. Eat! Your body is going to burn off a lot of energy, make sure you give it some back by eating something. The healthier the option, the better.
8. Buy merchandise off of the bands. It really helps them pay their bills and it also helps you look awesome.
9. Schedule a break. We know it is tempting to run from stage to stage to see as many bands as possible, but don't forget to give yourself a little break or two during the day to rest, take in fluid, eat some food, stretch your legs, go to the bathroom, reapply sunscreen and refresh. Then get back to it!
10. Drink more water.
Things not to do
1. Be a dickhead (see point 5 of things not to bring)
That's all we can think of for now. We'll update this for camping festivals in a few weeks, for now, have a great fucking time at the festival!
Pregame by listening to some metal now
