We are slowly but surely getting to our favorite time of year again: music festival season! With only a few months to go, there’s no better time to start planning your festival adventures. No matter what festival you’re attending or how experienced of a raver you are, a little preparation goes a long way in ensuring your rave season goes off without a hitch.

Find the Right Music Festival(s)

Think about what you want from your festival season before diving deep into it. Perhaps you just want to go to one event this year or maybe several. Whatever the case may be, take the time to research different music festivals to find the ones that match your music taste, budget, and overall expectations of what you’d like from your festival experiences. Find out as much as you can about every festival, start to build a plan to see if your festival season goals are feasible.

Early Bird Gets the…Cheapest Tickets

Basically, the sooner you buy your festival tickets the cheaper they are. Promoters release tickets in several phases and the closer it gets to the event the more expensive they’ll be. Usually once I’ve decided which music festivals I want to attend, I’ll look up when the first batch (early birds) of tickets go on sale. I always set a reminder in my calendar and make sure whoever is coming with me to the event knows about the release date as well to make sure we can score enough tickets!

Book Travel Sooner Rather Than Later

Music festivals attract thousands of attendees at one time, and they all expect to travel from all corners of the country to the venue on the days leading up to the event. My advice: be travel savvy! As soon as you’ve got those festival tickets your next step should be to plan how to travel to the event. The last thing you want is to have your tickets but have no way of getting there. And the same goes for accommodation (if you’re not camping of course!), the sooner you book the better to avoid getting stuck with something you don’t feel comfortable with.

Feel Like a Rave God(dess)

Music festivals are heaps of fun but let’s face they’re also physically taxing, even for the most seasoned of ravers! In the run up to festival season I like to kick my cardio and resistance training up a notch and I become more mindful of what I’m eating. I find that the right amount of exercise and the right foods will help me feel strong and give me the energy to dance for days and nights on end. Staying healthy in between events during festival season also helps me bounce back faster so I’m always ready to rave!

Invest in the Right Gear

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with all the events you’ll be attending during festival season, make a list of the gear you need to make sure your festival escapades go smoothly. Give yourself enough time to research your equipment, make sure you’re investing in reliable gear that will last throughout the season (for example: reliable tent, hydration pack etc.). And before purchasing, always check that the festival hasn’t listed any of your new kit on their list of prohibited items!

Plan Your Outfits

Once you’ve got the serious stuff out of the way, it’s time for the fun part of festival planning: styling! My rule of thumb is to plan my outfits at least 4 weeks ahead of time, this allows enough time for possible delivery delays or to make changes if necessary. If I’m attending multiple events over several weekends, I’ll bag each outfit (accessories included!) into individual pouches and label them with the name of the music festival. This makes packing for each event much easier, no last-minute panic packing!

We’re always updating our huge range of rave fashion, check out our latest new arrivals now and start planning your festival season ‘fits. We can’t wait to see how you style your rave looks, be sure to tag us on Instagram @iheartraves!

Listen to the Lineup

In the runup to each festival I like to create playlists with artists that will be performing at the event. I usually mix things up a little, I’ll throw in artists I already know and new artists as I like to discover new music when I go to music festivals. This way by the time I get to the event I’ve got a full repertoire of songs I can sing along to at the top of my voice. And I’ll usually have playlists on as I’m getting ready which really gets me pumped before every event!

I hope these tips get you on your way to planning the best festival season yet! Have you got more tips? Share your advice in the comment section below, I’d love to hear from you.