What Will Music Festivals in 2021 Look Like?
Well, here we are, at the end of November with no end to this pandemic in sight. This makes me question the future of festivals this summer. While I want to be optimistic, I think summer 2021 is not going to be our typical festival season that we are all expecting. This pandemic has really changed things. A giant festival where hundreds of thousands of people are squished into a venue just isn’t realistic. I mean, I almost find it hard to believe that I would stand in a crowd and let all these sweaty people breathe on me. This girl’s twitter post exemplifies how I feel!
This pandemic has been hard on everyone, so festival organizers are going to try something to make money and keep us sane.I’m going to share a few of the different methods I’ve seen done and share how I think this will work in the summer of 2021.
The Pod Experience
Okay, Relentless Beats has been doing this in Arizona for some time. The premise is pretty simple. You purchase a set space and you can bring a few friends with you. Perks of this are that you can rage with your crew and still stay away from others. Plus, you get your own bonus rail! One of the huge potential drawbacks is that you miss out on the crowd’s energy. I think being able to see everyone would help in comparison to the drive in raves, which we’ll get to soon. Of course, masks would be mandatory for the festival. Another drawback of this option is that you would be stuck at one stage, so the typical stage hopping we’re used to wouldn’t be a thing. But it could work! These girls seem to be having a blast!
Kayzo’s Doghouse: A Pod Concert Experience – Day 1 @ Rawhide | 10-9-2020 | Photos by Jacob Tyler Dunn
The Drive In Rave
I’ve talked about drive ins for awhile now and they are possible for next summer. It probably wouldn’t be the typical festival that we’re all used to, but I could see festivals trying to adopt this idea for their shows. You can read my review of a drive in show HERE. I’ve listed all the pros and cons of these in previous articles, but I’ll summarize them here. Drive in raves could work. You pay per tier and enjoy the show from the comfort of your car or outside of you car, but you stay in your area. Downsides would be losing the energy of the crowd, for sure.
Insomniac’s Plans
Remember when EDC Vegas was canceled? Well, Pasquale Rotella had some big ideas ready for EDC.
What are your thoughts about this? Would you be willing to take two rapid tests to be able to attend a festival?
Overall, we need to start preparing now because 2021 is not going to look like 2019 festivals. However, I do believe we can make the best of this situation and enjoy festivals in 2021. What are your thoughts? Which option are you leaning towards?