North Coast Has Won My Heart
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend North Coast Music Festival in Bridgeview, Illinois. This is my 4th ever North Coast and I am so happy to share that this NC was just as magical as the past ones, if not even more than usual.
I’m glad North Coast is so special… because Friday…. It seemed that everything that could go wrong, did. Before I start, I want to share that none of it was NC’s fault and they actually brightened my day!
So we arrived at our hotel to check in at 3, right on time. I get my room keys and open my door- there is a man sitting inside who proceeds to yell at me. I don’t blame him because if someone opened my hotel room door, I’d be worried too! I assured him that this was the key the front desk had given me. He was FURIOUS! He stormed downstairs and yelled at the lady at the desk for almost 5 minutes. Finally, he leaves and she gets ready to get me a different room. It’s all good.
Wrong. I always check every hotel room I go to for roaches and bedbugs. It doesn’t matter the price. I’ve even checked the MGM Grand and a cabin in the Dells that was $1500 a night. It’s just something you do at EVERY hotel. If you don’t know the process, lift up the mattress, shine your flashlight, and use your room key to swipe. And yep, I saw lots of little critters moving the second I did that.
Then, the lady at the desk called me a liar (I was so mad by this point) and I walked her down to show her. Obviously, I wasn’t lying. By this point, I do not want to stay at this hotel. She’s trying to find me another room and she can’t, all the rooms are full. Thankfully, I got a refund for my hotel… but UGH! This took over 2 hours!!!
We got a new hotel and it was clean and looking good. But now, we were much further away from the festival. I was supposed to interview Isaac Palmer… but had to cancel, which was sad. Finally, we get ready, get in the car, and head to the festival! But we’re not done, because then, in all the chaos, I forgot to take a picture of the parking pass. My phone will not load the internet or anything so this adds quite a bit of time. We were late picking up our media passes, but thankfully, once I got signal, I was able to get in because the PR team worked so well with us.
I was so glad to be in because honestly, at that point, I was in near tears. I had taken off work for the day and it was all a waste because we didn’t even get to the festival until almost 7:30. But I was determined to have a good time. The music was vibing, I had my friends, I was finally HERE and North Coast proceeded to show me a great time! I was so bummed I had missed some epic sets like Isaac Palmer, Dogma, Bad Snacks, and Level Up. But there were tons of other amazing artists that I grooved too such as Boogie T, DJ Diesel (who shocked me!!!), Deorro, Sullivan King, Above & Beyond, and finally, Subtronics! So many amazing artists that I nearly forgot all of the stress and tears from earlier in the day. Music is truly powerful.
Saturday, everything went smoothly and we had no worries. Isaac Palmer’s team had reached back out to me and agreed to conduct the interview Saturday instead. Nobody wants bed bugs so they were VERY understanding. I bopped around taking pictures, handing out TFV bracelets, and so much more.
Saturday was my favorite lineup wise so I was thrilled to spend some time checking out some of the BEST artists such as ARMNHMR, Dab the Sky, Seven Lions, and Illenium. I’m a huge melodic dubstep fan! I spent so much time singing my heart out that I actually lost my voice just a little bit. Whoopsie!
Since Friday was so chaotic, I didn’t spend a lot of time taking photos or videos. By the time I got there, I just wanted to enjoy my night, which I sure did! Saturday I spent a lot more time enjoying everything else the festival had to offer. I ate some delicious pizza, explored some of the art and activities such as the Yacht Club, and checked out some vendors. I spent most of the evening in the Stadium dancing to the melodic dubstep.
Finally, Sunday! We spent a lot more time checking things out this day. We took some time exploring and found Club Coast, which was just as much fun as last year. I wish it would have been in a different location as I really enjoyed hunting for it last year. I wish we could have checked out the Chill Dome, but the line was just too long. I felt like exploring more of the festival instead of standing in line.
Honestly, I wasn’t too hyped about the Sunday lineup before going to the festival. There were some good artists but it wasn’t my ideal lineup. That being said, I still had so much fun and discovered some new artists! I had heard of Alan Walker and Crankdat before, but I really wasn’t all too familiar with them. These were two of my top sets for the weekend! We vibed to some San Holo, checked out the legendary Chase & Status, and finally ended our night with Slander.
There were a few things that, in my opinion, needed to be changed. I was not a fan of the water lines as they were both really long. I did prefer The Vega line, but even so, it was still quite long. I know they’ve made changes in the past few years, so I’m hoping we figure out a solution to get water to all without having to wait quite so long.
Bathrooms are always super important at a festival and I loved having clean, stocked, and available restrooms. I appreciated the fact that they ALWAYS had toilet paper!!! That can be a challenge to keep up with at festivals, but North Coast delivered. There was plenty for everyone and you didn’t have to wait long.
One thing I absolutely loved about North Coast this year was the sense of community and family. I didn’t experience any negative vibes throughout the entire weekend. Everyone was kind and friendly. I was giving out TFV bracelets and in return, I received so many trinkets! It was neat to see all the thought that everyone put into spreading joy and love. This was truly one of my favorite experiences of the weekend.
Hoping to see you next year at North Coast! It will be a treat, grab those tickets EARLY! Here’s a link to all the photos!