The people who attended this festival were a different breed. Their makeup was the sand crusted on their legs and the salt water in their hair. Their accessories were made up of fresh flowers, seashells and sun glistened skin. Their purses were left at home and replaced with beer cozies and Frisbees. They came from all over the country but they were here with thousands of their closest friends. For one weekend they were a family that left their stress at home and only brought their smiles, open minds and sunscreen.
You can venture alone to these hangouts and still have the time of your life. Each festival I've attended I've met people that have left an impact.
This year I was privileged to meet a couple from Alabama. Gabby and Trey, both attending Auburn University, got general admission tickets. To their surprise on the last day of the festival MTV reached out to Gaby on Twitter and offered them a VIP upgrade. That means entrance to the VIP sections that have free food and drinks, better views of the stage and pool access. Through this chance they also got to meet Oscar Wylde from Caked Up.
"It was SICK! There are no words to describe it," Gabby exclaimed.
Her boyfriend, Trey said "This was my first festival experience and not much can measure up to it now that we won the VIP upgrade."
Their favorite moment was at the end of the last night after Outkast finished performing when the speakers blasted "Sweet Home Alabama" as fireworks lit the sky.
"We bleed orange and blue. This is our home. There is no better experience than this in our backyard," said Trey. "Rush Pi Kapp!"
You can venture alone to these hangouts and still have the time of your life. Each festival I've attended I've met people that have left an impact.
This year I was privileged to meet a couple from Alabama. Gabby and Trey, both attending Auburn University, got general admission tickets. To their surprise on the last day of the festival MTV reached out to Gaby on Twitter and offered them a VIP upgrade. That means entrance to the VIP sections that have free food and drinks, better views of the stage and pool access. Through this chance they also got to meet Oscar Wylde from Caked Up.
"It was SICK! There are no words to describe it," Gabby exclaimed.
Her boyfriend, Trey said "This was my first festival experience and not much can measure up to it now that we won the VIP upgrade."
Their favorite moment was at the end of the last night after Outkast finished performing when the speakers blasted "Sweet Home Alabama" as fireworks lit the sky.
"We bleed orange and blue. This is our home. There is no better experience than this in our backyard," said Trey. "Rush Pi Kapp!"
Welcome to HangOut Fest in Gulf Shores, Alabama. "Be Nice or Go Home" was the slogan adorned on the back of the staff's shirts. And let's just say, no one wanted to ever leave this place.
It's cool to travel to these festivals and plan your day to see your favorite band but it's awesome stumbling upon new ones. I discovered so many new bands this weekend that instantly became a part of my iTunes playlist.
I was privileged enough to work on the main HangOut stage all weekend so I was able to see all of the acts that graced that stage. What a lot of people don't realize who have never attended a music festival is that there is music all day long at different stages.
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| (Main Stage- HangOut) |
HangOut fest had a total of 6 stages! For reviews on the bands I got to see hover over their names and click on their links below.
The Palladia stage hosted acts like Iron & Wine, Conor Oberst, Fitz & The Tantrums and Andrew WK.
The Chevrolet stage got to see bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Wiz Khalifa, The Flaming Lips, Bastille and Jack Johnson.
The Boom Boom Tent was where the EDM crowd gathered as if it was a religious ceremony at a revival. They worshiped their Gods like Pretty Lights, STS9 and Zedd.
The smaller stages were the BMI and RedBull Sound Select stages and they saw artists like Bad Suns, Moon Taxi and Dugas.
The main stage, HangOut, is where I spent most of my time. I was lucky enough to be right there in the middle of all the action all weekend. On Friday I got to see Ozomatli, Balkan Beat Box, Dawes, Gary Clark Jr. and The Black Keys. Saturday was a day of jamming with RDGLDGRN, Needtobreathe, Amos Lee, Modest Mouse and The Killers. The last day of the festival, Josh Farrow, SOJA, Capital Cities, The Avett Brothers and Outkast headlined the stage.
A friend I made this weekend, Zach Sary, told me "Instead of getting chills during live music, I get tingles on my head like from those head massagers. Music that I grew up with, then hear something similar live, sticks in my cognitive memory and that triggers that sensation. It's unreal."
There were many emotions and feelings this weekend but they all had one thing in common. This was one of the greatest experiences ever. Walking passed groups people I heard numerous times, "This is the best weekend of my life." Or, "I don't want this weekend to ever end!"
This weekend thousands of strangers became my closest friends and family. You sit on the beach and you hear beautiful music and meet fresh new faces and you are reminded why we are on this Earth. We are lucky enough that this world has the capability to hold life so we must appreciate it. You lay back, hear the waves crash and reflect on how lucky we are to be alive and to be here. In this moment.
As headliners OutKast would say, "I hope we feel like this forever, for ever ever, for ever ever."
A friend I made this weekend, Zach Sary, told me "Instead of getting chills during live music, I get tingles on my head like from those head massagers. Music that I grew up with, then hear something similar live, sticks in my cognitive memory and that triggers that sensation. It's unreal."
There were many emotions and feelings this weekend but they all had one thing in common. This was one of the greatest experiences ever. Walking passed groups people I heard numerous times, "This is the best weekend of my life." Or, "I don't want this weekend to ever end!"
.JPG) |
| (This is A Good Sign, HangOut Fest) |
This weekend thousands of strangers became my closest friends and family. You sit on the beach and you hear beautiful music and meet fresh new faces and you are reminded why we are on this Earth. We are lucky enough that this world has the capability to hold life so we must appreciate it. You lay back, hear the waves crash and reflect on how lucky we are to be alive and to be here. In this moment.
As headliners OutKast would say, "I hope we feel like this forever, for ever ever, for ever ever."
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