Dylan Beck
Comp 1
March 26, 2007
“The Whole World in
Minnesota”
Everything from dreadlocks and bongo’s, to tight pants and cowboy hats. Mohawks and punk struts, to glass blowing, and beer guts. There are many different music festivals out there, and though they are meant to attract all different kinds of people, there are certain groups that each festival draws in more predominately. 10,000 Lakes Festival and We-Fest in
Detroit lakes, and Warped Tour, which is held in the
Minneapolis, are the three that I am going to describe. Each of these festivals has a distinct music genre that the entire weekend is based around. This being the case, there are three different classifications of people among these events.
The first groups of people I’ve encountered are the people you will see if you attend the 10,000
Lake
Festival. These are the people I would call the hippies. I am not talking about a couple guys who were a bit scruffy and maybe like to take part is some recreational usage of natural substances. I’m talking about the real deal. No showers, no shaving, no meat, and no unnatural substances are just some of examples or there lifestyle. The people at these festivals are all one unit. They travel within a large group from place to place and the sub groups usually change from festival to festival. Though the groups change, there is no difference made because they will all end up at the same place later. This is a general philosophy I have noticed about these hippies. They travel where the people are. They own only the essentials needed to get from one place to the next, using homemade clothing, necklaces, glass blowing, and or selling drugs as means of income. The grounds at 10k are covered with grass and hay because the only means of transportation is walking and many of the people who attend these festivals are barefoot. I did not wear shoes the whole week I was there. The energy at this festival is very intense. Being that the great majority of these people are such nature enthusiast, the camp grounds stay very clean, and there is not very much conflict that occurs. The people I encountered were all very pleasant to be around, and would always try to bring a positive attitude rather then the negative one. The music, which is the underlying force that draws all these people together, is usually a jam/instrumentally based genre. I guess you could say it roots back to the 60’s festivals or the Grateful Dead heads of that era.
The next festival has an entirely different feel to it. It is the fast paced, live hard, die young attitude carried by all the punk rockers at Warped Tour. Warped Tour is a country wide festival that was solely dedicated to the underground punk rock and all that it meant. The people that I met there were usually decked out in spiked bracelets, tight ripped jeans, ripped and bloody Sex Pistols shirt, and a two foot tall orange Mohawk. But, as “hardcore” as these, “Anarchist” would be, there was a certain connection with everyone. Once again, the music drew all of us there, and that alone was always enough to lend a helping hand when a fellow rocker was in need. If you would get tossed down from the rage within a moshpit, you were quickly picked up and brushed off by a slew of sweaty, leather wearing punkrockers. Like the hippies, the punker’s hold true to their lifestyle and have and always will be there for their music and their fellow brothers.
The final festival I will talk about is one that I, myself have not yet, nor will I ever attend. We-Fest is the name of it and it is a weekend dedicated to country, drinking, and partying. Though I have not yet kicked on the cowboy boots, threw in a dip, grabbed a beer and drove my Chevy to the concert, I know some people who have. Most of the people who attend do not go for the music at all but for all the other teenagers ready to party. We fest is for avid country listeners of course, but that is not the crowd it usually attracts. Instead it is college guys, usually jocks, and college girls who are usually going there to get free beer for showing the couple of things they have, that these drunken guys will go wild for. Unlike the other two, there are many fights at this festival as well as great acts of vandalism. The grounds get destroyed and usually more then a few kids go to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. I am of course a bit bias being that I have never attended, but judging on what I have heard, I do not think I am too far from the truth.
What class of these three groups is any better or worse then the others? That is for you to experience and decide for yourself, but the next time you go to a music festival just be aware that with the music comes the people, and with the people comes the experience. I have always loved the feel of festivals, and that is usually related to the people. I love punk, and I love jamming, so if that is you genre I would suggest the first two of the three. Three very different festivals and three very different groups of people but, there are two things that bond them both together and that is music, and the love of one another.