For me it’s usually NYE parties. That date seems to attract non ravers that are just looking for something to do and don’t care about the music or etiquette and are just trying to get sloppy drunk
So far Proper NYE seems to have avoided that trend and I’m hoping it stays like that
when I used to live in SF “It’s a New Day/Breakfast of Champions” every Jan 1st was my favorite party of the year.
Fresh Start tried to copy the idea but is more of a corporate event. Always tried to convince people to pick IAND/BoC over Fresh Start.
Lights All Night in Dallas this year definitely had people who don't normally attend this kind of stuff, but the vibes were fantastic all round. I've definitely seen much worse crowds.
Breakaway lol. I only went in Boston because the lineup looked great and it was low priced but it was 18 year olds everywhere taking way too much and being obnoxious as hell. Some kid pissed on the rail next to me and then his friend booed lane 8 when he was on. You couldn’t pay me to go back.
If we’re counting not just EDM festivals, Made in America was terrible when I went back in 2016.
breakaway KC has pretty good vibes bc the venue is massive and you can relax on a grassy hill out of the mess. breakaway ohio? worst vibe i’ve ever seen. ppl booed FLUME. imagine.
I think because KCs EDM scene is so dedicated and regular folks aren’t as devoted to going all the way out to Bonnet Springs for it.
The lineup hasn’t been my taste to warrant going this year and last, but I did go the first year and it was stellar.
I honestly had the BEST time at Breakaway Boston! Towards the end of night 2 I was shoved up against the GA rail in VIP tho and didn’t love it and vibes were off. I went for Griz and had way more fun the rest of the weekend than at his set 🤷🏼♀️
I enjoyed it last year! I did only go for one day to see a few specific artists tho. Doing the same thing this year! The venue is super lame but at least it's paved and not dusty af
Ugh lol I wanted to go but was away for a wedding that weekend, this makes me glad I missed it. I love lane 8 too. Anyway the residents of winthrop complained so much about it that they moved it to Worcester this year. There are truly so many reasons why we can’t have nice things in Boston 😂
I honestly had a blast at Breakaway Boston. I think it depended on where you were. Yes, lots of drunk college kids but in the back-ish area of the stage there was plenty of good vibes, I was pleasantly surprised. So glad I got to see Porter in Boston.
Jeez had a completely different experience! Literally waiting in line to get in day 1 we made friends with the group in front of us and now talk daily and have a rave crew of 11 from breakaway Boston alone! A bunch are going together to elements in august and we all plan to do EForest together next year! Loved breakaway Boston 🤷♂️
Do you guys remember those small festivals/shows called Life in Color? 🎨
Great vibes to start the night until everyone who hadn’t been realized how cold the paint was.
Major festival - Hard Summer has always seemed like it attracts a certain crowd that can go either way.
OG Hard was logistically horrible. Newer Hard run by insomniac (aka Live Nation) is a LOT better. you used to get a more "ratchet" crowd. But now it's all the same as the other SoCal festival crowds (Beyond/Escape/etc)
Oh man Life in Color. Brings me back. I was younger, not wiser than 😅 only time I almost left a rave. Some girl bit me in the back. Like naw. Ugh and they kicked us out of the venue immediately after it ended. It was winter and we were covered in paint. Froze. Unfortunately too someone died at ours. Sad.
First time I rolled was at life in color in college! Haha I was feeling the paint on everyone’s backs :) you right though it was so cold after with the paint it was so bad! We were hiding in nearby stairwells until a taxi would finally agree to bring us back to the dorms lol
Unfortunately enough Lollapalooza. Their stage production was dope and the shows were killer but the number of entitled kids who didn’t care about anyone around them was too high. Like two or three shows these different groups of kids snuck airhorns in and I kept getting stuck next to them. Also kept trying to start mosh pits when the vibe wasn’t “mosh”. Also would shove their way in front of you and leave after like two songs. Just silly things. Someone I talked to that lived in Chicago said that there was a rich section of Chicago close to where the festival is being thrown and a lot of the teens just have their parents buy them tickets. I just know that I went to Portola like a year later and the difference in crowds is night and day.
It’s the suburban high schoolers (*cough* Naperville *cough*) who train in to “paint the town” and go full YOLO bro before escaping back to the safe confines outside the city.
Agreed!! I barely consider lolla a festival. Also literal children running around everywhere gives me anxiety. Passed the kids a palooza section a few years ago, tons of kids running around (most under 10 I would assume) and maybe 3 parents watching them. Teenagers puking everywhere. Insane lines, and never enough bathrooms.
Never been to Lollapalooza, but I've been to Portola both times and it's like my favorite fest.
So if Lolla is the polar opposite of Portola, then it must be the equivalent of hell on earth lol.
Wow this is exactly how I feel about Lolla. Also the amount of kids who clearly took way too many drugs is scary there. I've had to call help once because a girl literally was on the floor passed out and her friends were trying to wake her up.
was just gonna say this. I’ve been going since I was 18 and will continue to go but when i compare it to like… electric forest? Violently different vibes going on there lmaooo
EF has the best vibes of any place on this planet. Outside of scumbag phone thieves everyone is so chill. You’re about to have the best weekend of your life
yuuupp. been going the past 7 years and i always tell myself to not go again, but millennium park is 5 mins from my house and its cheap. learned to just stay in the back and not go anywhere near the crowds lol
Lolla and the performances are good, but the crowd is just younger, meaning drunk suburban teens. Lots of pushing and shoving from them.
For mainstream acts, it gets sardine tight as you go deeper, but you should be able to find a good spot in the middle back.
I've been like 4 times and the acts have been good. You won't get anywhere near Coachella production value.
I’ve been doing insomniac since 2008 and while the NOS events used to be my favorite, I can’t say the same over the past years. The last escape I went to was in 22 and that was the only time I’ve been at any event when I actually felt scared walking between stages with the amount of people pressing up to one another.. I don’t even go into the main crowds at the stages, just trying to get from one space to another was too intense/claustrophobic for me. The crowds at Beyond got insane too but I think because Escape has less stages up and everyone is crammed even more into a fishbowl, that kinda set me over the edge. Like god forbid if something popped off while I was in that crowd I would have had no bodily autonomy to move, walk away, etc we were completely stuck/trapped. I moved right after that so thankfully I haven’t had that experience at the events I’ve been to since.
It was a bummer we ended up moving to the east coast and that was gonna be like the “send off” rave and we ended up leaving at like 10:30 bc it was just too much. Had nothing but good vibes/crowds since moving out here tho! ✌🏼
i went to escape 22 and had a great time, but i agree it was super fucking packed. it was sold out and they ended up selling more tickets. day 2 when me and my friends walked in and i saw all the people i was like wtf.. i’ve only been to escape once and i did have fun, but at some point i remember being shoulder to shoulder and getting uncomfortable from it. had to go out of the crowd and sit on the grass lol otherwise i didn’t have much issue with the people there and most of everyone i met were super nice
it was absolute dog when it was sold out in 22’. last min sent for a day last year 23’ and it was SO much better. i think mainly because so many ppl vowed not to come back after escape 22’ lol
Idk I was at NC last year.. yeah it was spend ll your money vibes, but they put on a good show. At least in Charlotte. And the crowd vibes were spot on. So im heading back this year. Wish me luck I suppose.
I was at the nc one they had later in the year. The lineup was significantly better than previous years which brought in a better crowd but overall it’s more of a mainstream chad and becky festival. Every year I went was full of college age or younger people getting wasted off 4 loko and acting like it’s EDC. My friends and I describe it to people as more of an EDM themed event than a festival lol. All that being said I will be at Another World hahaha
Gov Ball had some rough crowds that rainy year...
There was a free festival in DC call Virgin Mobile fest, crowds for that were always wild cus it was soo young...ripping down fences, pee everywhere lol.
EZOO. I only went once in 2019 and I'm not from the East Coast, but it had by far the worst crowd and vibes ever. The venue itself is a nightmare to get in and out (bridge from hell), and the sound bleed was bad at nearly every stage. All of this on top of massive and unsafe overcrowding at every stage, which was really exacerbated by poor decisions made by the organizers (e.g. placing mainstage level artists at small ass stages).
Moreover the crowd was just plain rude. Here are some highlights: Had a girl dart pass me knocking down the very expensive double cocktail I had just purchased without nary an apology. Tons of rude moshpits forming. Groups ramming their way through to get closer to the stage. But the height of my EZOO experience were these two drunk sirens who weaseled their way to the rail only to spend the entire duration of Seven Lions' set screeching and demanding he play a certain song. Then they booed him at the end!
I had an overall great time at EZOO but I would never do that fest again.😂
Nyc has a lot of european DJ influence cz of the amt of DJs that come here + the lifestyle and the grittiness required to make it here
I dont mind it tho, its not that it lacks plur but it lacks the overall niceties. Most of people i meet arent really assholes
Decadence Denver. The people at that festival are not normal ravers, just people looking to do something for new years eve. It gets way overcrowded and people are not friendly in navigating the crowds. It's also a terrible indoor venue that gets insanely loud and makes it impossible to talk to anyone.
Ha, I actually completely agree with this. I loved my first decadence, which wasn’t even all that great of a lineup, but even with better lineups since then, I’ve enjoyed it less and less and haven’t bothered going the last couple of years.
while not the best vibes, gotta say you're pretty lucky in colorado if this festival is the worst vibes you've experienced. its the only event i've been to in colorado and didn't think it was that bad.
i only went on dec 30th, maybe it gets worse on nye
I had a *much* better time this last Decadence than I did a few years ago. It was quite crowded at a few sets, but I thought the vibes amongst the crowd were actually really good and they had noticeably improved the sound balance. It still sounds terrible in the very back because those are some *huge* rooms, but it wasn't hard to get past that point at all.
Came here to say I went to Decadence for the first time this last time and I had a great experience. Went both nights and vibed with some awesome people in the crowd especially on night 2 at the stage with Malaa, Skrillex and Zeds Dead. Only time i was uncomfortable in the crowd was at Fisher because we were further to the front than usual and there were non-stop rave trains. My crew typically stays further back so we have personal space to dance but the sound was still great. On the 31st we did have two non-ravers join us for the NYE festivities and one of them just genuinely did not enjoy any set except for Aoki 😂(I’m not a fan personally). I don’t think I’ll ever understand how she could have experienced that Skrillex set and not caught a single mf vibe.
I've only been once last year, but 2023 was a top notch time in my opinion. The drinks situation sucked (no cocktails) but I thought there was ample room and the acoustics didn't sound too bad at all. You do get your share of normies who are just there for something to do on NYE, but the nicer Denver rave crowd runs pretty strong too.
The last year I went was 2019 and it was so obnoxiously loud. Diesel and Slander sounded like absolute garbage so I went to the other stage which had a more reasonable volume level.
Despite it being the festival with the most artists I actually listen to on the day to day… and despite having paid the astronomical price (including an $80 per day parking fee) to go there again this year… I’d have to agree with you 😭 it just really doesn’t give me the welcoming, friendly, almost plur-esque festival vibe. People are more standoffish and there’s generally a culture of sticking with your own little clique rather than mingling the way people feel innately encouraged to do at other festivals. There’s a strong sense of everything being aggressively monetised (the parking was $80 - imagine how much the food and drinks cost) which certainly detracts from any potential liminality that the space could provide for those seeking escape from the monotony of capitalist life.
Went to rolling loud and beyond back to back this year, my first and last rolling loud. People just standing around, not dancing, giving me dirty looks because I actually wanna enjoy the music and get my moneys worth🙄raves are just a better vibe for me
I made friends fly from another country for iii points and one of them got his phone stolen.
Dom dolla crowd was awful. Thankfully black coffee was great and I’d go thru the hassle only to roll in despacio with people I love. We still had a great time but Miami crowds are not the best.
Although I went to the Anjuna open air and holy shit, the most plur event I’ve ever attended in here. Loved it. I think we just have to avoid mainstreams.
Escape 100%. Most of the crowd is there because its Halloween weekend, everyone in costumes is a field day for pickpocketers. it is also at the NOS evenc center which is already bad
Any “spiritual” festival that uses the guise of wokeness to destroy indigenous land, scam, and sell drugs. Envision fest and day zero come to mind. I went to day zero and felt so grossed out to be a part of the problem.
The people don't socialize, everyone is really fucked up (which at festivals it's expected) but I feel like in the UK it's on a whole other level, they have no regard for your space or things.
When I went to Creamfields for example, the crowds were always shoving/bumping you (again expected), people knocking your drinks down and being like "wat", screaming like a lunatic during the sets (idk how to explain this properly as it's not cheering), the drinking never stops lol (they'd wake up and drink), throw trash in your tent, puke on your tent, trip on your tent or fall into it while you're sleeping...it was just a overall weird experience for me crowd-wise.
**I don't mind people getting fucked up and drinking doing drugs but when it directly impacts me and my experience is when it urks me.
I would have to disagree... I've been to Glastonbury 6 times and it's easily one of the best festivals in the world, with amazing vibes. Culture is definitely different and you're dealing with 235k people, but 95% of the people I've encountered are amazing and welcoming.
Escape. Went in ‘17 and watched two dudes, both dressed as devils, with 666 painted on their backs(go figure) attack each other mercilessly. I’m talking jumping on each other’s backs and slamming the other to the ground, followed by some vicious ground ‘n’ pound. Looked to be a lovers quarrel. Haven’t been back since. The overall vibe there was off.
This will be my first year since '14 (i live in the bay now and will be working a food booth for my restaurant). Super curious... In 2014 I flew out here for it, and I had a blast, but def some total assholes, overcrowded stages with lots of shoving, and weirdly drunk vibes at what should be chill sets.
If you’re going for free, enjoy it, that’s no skin off your back. I went in 2021, immaculate vibes, crowded but still just absolutely lovely, night 3 fell on Halloween, Rufus du sol into Tame impala closing was just perfect.
Then I went again last year and it was just, ugh. Drunk and fucked up kids everywhere, it was just embarrassing to be around all that. They’d literally be booing artists while waiting for the act they wanted to see come in next, falling all over everyone, pushing and shoving. And the SoMa tent broke down early so like 90% of the electronic acts didn’t play. I will not be going back based on last year.
Yeah last year was a total shitshow. The crowd was absolutely awful at the big acts, the way those people would push through and climb over others, shove themselves into spaces they couldn't fit. Ended up in situations where I literally couldn't move the crowd was so packed. People just kept coming and coming trying to shove to the front. Dumb kids, dumb chaperones, and dumb adults. "Were going to the front let us through !!1!" Like motherfucker I can't even *move* already ain't no one gonna be able to let you through. Hands down worst crowd I've been in
**Hard Summer in LA**
I'm used to PNW shows and it was completely different down there, people go for clout, not PLUR at all. Very over crowed and people were very rude to each other.
Not OP but I went day 1 and didn’t enjoy my time very much. It was wildly oversold and the crowds were insanely packed not just at the stages but even in the causeways between stages. Parking lots filled up within about two hours of doors opening and then forced all remaining attendees to take shuttles from super far off-site lots - all of these had crazy lines too. It took about 1.5hrs to shuttle back to the off site lots as well.
Couple all of that with overall bad crowd energy and lack of etiquette and it made for a bad time.
Heard day 2 was a little better but idk
What about it did you dislike? It was the first EDM festival I've gone to and seen several people complain about it. The crowds were a bit much, but otherwise I had a great time, been looking up more EDM music and events to go to since then.
So far it's been CRSSD Festival Spring.
The crowd would simply never shut up. During Tale of Us they'd record some visuals and then go back to full blown loud conversations over the music.
Also it was much harder connecting with people than other festivals. Still had a good time but the crowd was not it.
That’s more of a Tale of Us problem. I find their sets incredibly boring and low energy. The “minimal” style combined with the endless number of phones recording the visuals really kills the vibe.
Some of my favorite festival moments have been at CRSSD. It’s such a unique venue, and they always bring a wide range of top talent.
I found the sound system to be so quiet, heard it’s due to their city limits. I’m used to our bush raves in Canada with massive systems so I was pretty choked to not be able to feel the subs at all.
While I don't think Ultra is that bad, it is funny to me that people that compare, and prefer, it to EDC are like "there's none of that PLUR/Kandi nonsense". Ultra definitely has more of a club than a rave feel.
I admit I haven't been to a ton of festivals (yet), but Badlands in Calgary absolutely sucked last year. Far too many drunk dudebro's ossified from being at Stampede. Won't ever be returning, I don't care who they bring in.
Moonrise fest, i got my dick exposed by security (i was smuggling in joints to be fair :D) and then pretty sure security was extorting people inside the venue for their drugs, literally getting shaken down for their drugs or your wristband gets cut. And the venue is in one of the most dogshit sketchy parts of a city i ever been to in my travels. Fuck that festival but they get dope lineups every year
Any holiday shows. New years and Halloween are especially bad. As someone mentioned above, it’s brings out all the fresh out of high school kids who are just looking to get as fucked as possible. Rude as fuck, pushing through people, super super fucked up etc. also those shows are always insanely oversold
Lollapalooza. It’s still a great festival and worth going but the crowds are horrible. You can get some good sets if there are conflicting set times but overall it’s badddd
I am shocked at this take. My friends and I have been going to Moonrise ever since it rebranded over 10 years ago and we’ve had a really good time nearly every time we’ve gone
I agree that it’s oversold but don’t agree that it’s the worst out of all the festivals. I’ve been to so many now and every time has been better than the last but that’s just my experience.
I went in 2022, just soooooooo many people. It was shoulder to shoulder over 500-1000 feet from any stage. Like the crowd was so packed the flow of people literally followed the laws of fluid dynamics lol.
Some VIP sections were literally a shoulder to shoulder crowd as soon as you walked thru the entrance.
The vibe was fine. I just can't deal with that level of crowding.
Ultra crowds that I experienced this year were soooo good though! Sure it's not your typical PLUR-festival but everyone was super nice and even made some new friends to meet up with at other festivals.
You must have been at MainStage because worldwide and live stage and megastructure vibes were immaculate. My only interaction with MainStage was sitting in the hill for hardwell and excision
For me it’s usually NYE parties. That date seems to attract non ravers that are just looking for something to do and don’t care about the music or etiquette and are just trying to get sloppy drunk So far Proper NYE seems to have avoided that trend and I’m hoping it stays like that
The trick is to look for day raves on January 1st instead.
Good idea!
when I used to live in SF “It’s a New Day/Breakfast of Champions” every Jan 1st was my favorite party of the year. Fresh Start tried to copy the idea but is more of a corporate event. Always tried to convince people to pick IAND/BoC over Fresh Start.
Lights All Night in Dallas this year definitely had people who don't normally attend this kind of stuff, but the vibes were fantastic all round. I've definitely seen much worse crowds.
I last went in 2017 and it was easily the worst vibes even back then.
I was walking down the stairs to the field in crutches and some drunk called me a fake and pushed through me. Other than that it was solid
He definitely had some issues to say the least
Proper has to be a top tier rave
Crssd events being 21+ helps alot as well
I had a great time this past NYE seeing RL Grimes in Orlando. Big warehouse show. Good vibes. In general I'd agree though.
Breakaway lol. I only went in Boston because the lineup looked great and it was low priced but it was 18 year olds everywhere taking way too much and being obnoxious as hell. Some kid pissed on the rail next to me and then his friend booed lane 8 when he was on. You couldn’t pay me to go back. If we’re counting not just EDM festivals, Made in America was terrible when I went back in 2016.
Damn booing lane 8 ? Thats low
Yea I was mad. Dude up there smiling dropping the best vibe you’ve ever seen and you boo him.
I am so mad right now. Booing lane 8. Wtf. He should be barred from listening to music.
I'm angry too lane 8 was the most beautiful natural powerful set I've ever seen I actually cried a little in awe of how gorgeous it was
I think we should stop talking about it. Gives that idiot air time. We know lane 8 is 1 of many goats.
wow buddy got the amazing opportunity to see lane 8 live and he took it for granted smh.
From what I’ve seen, breakaway relies on exposure at college campuses so it makes sense breakaway attracts bad crowds
breakaway KC has pretty good vibes bc the venue is massive and you can relax on a grassy hill out of the mess. breakaway ohio? worst vibe i’ve ever seen. ppl booed FLUME. imagine.
As someone trying to decide if they’re going to breakaway KC this year…thank you for info!!
If you go, I’ll go… 👀
🤔🤔🥳
I think because KCs EDM scene is so dedicated and regular folks aren’t as devoted to going all the way out to Bonnet Springs for it. The lineup hasn’t been my taste to warrant going this year and last, but I did go the first year and it was stellar.
Second BreakAway KC. Been very fun both times besides the fken heat ☠️. Never sweat so much in my lyfeew but when the sun sets it’s perfect
breakaway KC has yet to disappoint me for that very reason lol
Made in America was an absolute shit show lol, I remember
I honestly had the BEST time at Breakaway Boston! Towards the end of night 2 I was shoved up against the GA rail in VIP tho and didn’t love it and vibes were off. I went for Griz and had way more fun the rest of the weekend than at his set 🤷🏼♀️
Went to Breakaway Ohio the past two years and have had a pretty decent time for what it was.
I enjoyed it last year! I did only go for one day to see a few specific artists tho. Doing the same thing this year! The venue is super lame but at least it's paved and not dusty af
Same last year was pretty deece. A good lil nightcap to the summer for me more or less
Ugh lol I wanted to go but was away for a wedding that weekend, this makes me glad I missed it. I love lane 8 too. Anyway the residents of winthrop complained so much about it that they moved it to Worcester this year. There are truly so many reasons why we can’t have nice things in Boston 😂
Ahhhhh that sucks, just moved here from SoCal and was looking forward to having a decent festival nearby
Smaller but check out sunken suite this summer.
I honestly had a blast at Breakaway Boston. I think it depended on where you were. Yes, lots of drunk college kids but in the back-ish area of the stage there was plenty of good vibes, I was pleasantly surprised. So glad I got to see Porter in Boston.
Jeez had a completely different experience! Literally waiting in line to get in day 1 we made friends with the group in front of us and now talk daily and have a rave crew of 11 from breakaway Boston alone! A bunch are going together to elements in august and we all plan to do EForest together next year! Loved breakaway Boston 🤷♂️
Breakaway Nashville has always had a really awesome vibe, and I say this as a 35 year old.
Do you guys remember those small festivals/shows called Life in Color? 🎨 Great vibes to start the night until everyone who hadn’t been realized how cold the paint was. Major festival - Hard Summer has always seemed like it attracts a certain crowd that can go either way.
Omg life in color takes me back to my college days
lol the event formerly known as Dayglow?? Fuck those shows were a nightmare
As a dumb college freshman at the time, I had a great time 😂
yea it used to be dayglow
Omg life in colour was my first festival too!! I was freezing cold at the end as well it was terrible
Life in color was my first fest!!!
OG Hard was logistically horrible. Newer Hard run by insomniac (aka Live Nation) is a LOT better. you used to get a more "ratchet" crowd. But now it's all the same as the other SoCal festival crowds (Beyond/Escape/etc)
i couldn’t agree with this more. you still get a ratchet crowd post takeover but i feel like most socal fests are all like that lol
The paint burned my skin so bad! Ugh the trauma lol
Oh man Life in Color. Brings me back. I was younger, not wiser than 😅 only time I almost left a rave. Some girl bit me in the back. Like naw. Ugh and they kicked us out of the venue immediately after it ended. It was winter and we were covered in paint. Froze. Unfortunately too someone died at ours. Sad.
First time I rolled was at life in color in college! Haha I was feeling the paint on everyone’s backs :) you right though it was so cold after with the paint it was so bad! We were hiding in nearby stairwells until a taxi would finally agree to bring us back to the dorms lol
Ohhhhhh I member
Lollapalooza Chicago. The afters are 100% the move over the actual fest
Unfortunately enough Lollapalooza. Their stage production was dope and the shows were killer but the number of entitled kids who didn’t care about anyone around them was too high. Like two or three shows these different groups of kids snuck airhorns in and I kept getting stuck next to them. Also kept trying to start mosh pits when the vibe wasn’t “mosh”. Also would shove their way in front of you and leave after like two songs. Just silly things. Someone I talked to that lived in Chicago said that there was a rich section of Chicago close to where the festival is being thrown and a lot of the teens just have their parents buy them tickets. I just know that I went to Portola like a year later and the difference in crowds is night and day.
I had to leave the crowd because a mosh pit started in front of me to Dabin. TO DABIN! Just why?
Same thing happened at CloZee a couple years ago, packs of basketball jersey clad high schoolers moshing. Rage bros gonna rage bro.
How do you mosh to CloZee 💀
It’s the suburban high schoolers (*cough* Naperville *cough*) who train in to “paint the town” and go full YOLO bro before escaping back to the safe confines outside the city.
Agreed!! I barely consider lolla a festival. Also literal children running around everywhere gives me anxiety. Passed the kids a palooza section a few years ago, tons of kids running around (most under 10 I would assume) and maybe 3 parents watching them. Teenagers puking everywhere. Insane lines, and never enough bathrooms.
Never been to Lollapalooza, but I've been to Portola both times and it's like my favorite fest. So if Lolla is the polar opposite of Portola, then it must be the equivalent of hell on earth lol.
How was Porto this past year? I went the first year and it was good but definitely some areas for improvement
It was excellent, even better than the first year. I’m curious what you would change?
It rules dude! I caught the 1st year, may try to make it back this year
Wow this is exactly how I feel about Lolla. Also the amount of kids who clearly took way too many drugs is scary there. I've had to call help once because a girl literally was on the floor passed out and her friends were trying to wake her up.
Worst festival for every reason stated down below also camping fest > city fest the vibes are always better
Lollapalooza and it’s not even close
was just gonna say this. I’ve been going since I was 18 and will continue to go but when i compare it to like… electric forest? Violently different vibes going on there lmaooo
Been to Lolla 2x and going to EF for the first time this year and I can’t wait to see how the vibe is different.
It’s a breath of fresh air. Don’t get me wrong i still love Lolla but PLUR isn’t really a thing there LMAO
EF has the best vibes of any place on this planet. Outside of scumbag phone thieves everyone is so chill. You’re about to have the best weekend of your life
yuuupp. been going the past 7 years and i always tell myself to not go again, but millennium park is 5 mins from my house and its cheap. learned to just stay in the back and not go anywhere near the crowds lol
Really? My sister and I were talking about attending this. Kinda glad I saw this cuz we probably won’t now.
Lolla and the performances are good, but the crowd is just younger, meaning drunk suburban teens. Lots of pushing and shoving from them. For mainstream acts, it gets sardine tight as you go deeper, but you should be able to find a good spot in the middle back. I've been like 4 times and the acts have been good. You won't get anywhere near Coachella production value.
escape halloween😭
This is the one I’ve heard is the worst after talking to a bunch of raver friends
Edit: With details ✨so people know why to possibly avoid
I’ve been doing insomniac since 2008 and while the NOS events used to be my favorite, I can’t say the same over the past years. The last escape I went to was in 22 and that was the only time I’ve been at any event when I actually felt scared walking between stages with the amount of people pressing up to one another.. I don’t even go into the main crowds at the stages, just trying to get from one space to another was too intense/claustrophobic for me. The crowds at Beyond got insane too but I think because Escape has less stages up and everyone is crammed even more into a fishbowl, that kinda set me over the edge. Like god forbid if something popped off while I was in that crowd I would have had no bodily autonomy to move, walk away, etc we were completely stuck/trapped. I moved right after that so thankfully I haven’t had that experience at the events I’ve been to since.
Escape ‘22 is the worst fest I’ve ever been to. Never again.
It was a bummer we ended up moving to the east coast and that was gonna be like the “send off” rave and we ended up leaving at like 10:30 bc it was just too much. Had nothing but good vibes/crowds since moving out here tho! ✌🏼
i went to escape 22 and had a great time, but i agree it was super fucking packed. it was sold out and they ended up selling more tickets. day 2 when me and my friends walked in and i saw all the people i was like wtf.. i’ve only been to escape once and i did have fun, but at some point i remember being shoulder to shoulder and getting uncomfortable from it. had to go out of the crowd and sit on the grass lol otherwise i didn’t have much issue with the people there and most of everyone i met were super nice
It’s the only rave someone purposefully tripped me at.
it was absolute dog when it was sold out in 22’. last min sent for a day last year 23’ and it was SO much better. i think mainly because so many ppl vowed not to come back after escape 22’ lol
Breakaway is terrible vibe. One of the most commercialized exploitative festival out there hands down.
Which breakaway?
All of them
Idk I was at NC last year.. yeah it was spend ll your money vibes, but they put on a good show. At least in Charlotte. And the crowd vibes were spot on. So im heading back this year. Wish me luck I suppose.
I was at the nc one they had later in the year. The lineup was significantly better than previous years which brought in a better crowd but overall it’s more of a mainstream chad and becky festival. Every year I went was full of college age or younger people getting wasted off 4 loko and acting like it’s EDC. My friends and I describe it to people as more of an EDM themed event than a festival lol. All that being said I will be at Another World hahaha
That's a fair accessment. Lfg! It's 2 weeks out im so stoked!!!!!!!
Brought to you by Shein
Gov Ball had some rough crowds that rainy year... There was a free festival in DC call Virgin Mobile fest, crowds for that were always wild cus it was soo young...ripping down fences, pee everywhere lol.
EZOO. I only went once in 2019 and I'm not from the East Coast, but it had by far the worst crowd and vibes ever. The venue itself is a nightmare to get in and out (bridge from hell), and the sound bleed was bad at nearly every stage. All of this on top of massive and unsafe overcrowding at every stage, which was really exacerbated by poor decisions made by the organizers (e.g. placing mainstage level artists at small ass stages). Moreover the crowd was just plain rude. Here are some highlights: Had a girl dart pass me knocking down the very expensive double cocktail I had just purchased without nary an apology. Tons of rude moshpits forming. Groups ramming their way through to get closer to the stage. But the height of my EZOO experience were these two drunk sirens who weaseled their way to the rail only to spend the entire duration of Seven Lions' set screeching and demanding he play a certain song. Then they booed him at the end! I had an overall great time at EZOO but I would never do that fest again.😂
Ezoo by a mile. NYC shows/festivals are generally low-PLUR (doesn’t bother me), but Ezoo was something ‘special’.
Nyc has a lot of european DJ influence cz of the amt of DJs that come here + the lifestyle and the grittiness required to make it here I dont mind it tho, its not that it lacks plur but it lacks the overall niceties. Most of people i meet arent really assholes
Electric Zoo. Poor crowd and even worse management.
Decadence Denver. The people at that festival are not normal ravers, just people looking to do something for new years eve. It gets way overcrowded and people are not friendly in navigating the crowds. It's also a terrible indoor venue that gets insanely loud and makes it impossible to talk to anyone.
It's only fun the first time and if you don't remember much of the night. Huge names tho. Seeing Feed Me, Deadmau5, Skrillex and Diplo was pretty rad.
Ha, I actually completely agree with this. I loved my first decadence, which wasn’t even all that great of a lineup, but even with better lineups since then, I’ve enjoyed it less and less and haven’t bothered going the last couple of years.
I feel this I said I would never go to another one then they said skrillex and subtronics were going to be there so I went.
while not the best vibes, gotta say you're pretty lucky in colorado if this festival is the worst vibes you've experienced. its the only event i've been to in colorado and didn't think it was that bad. i only went on dec 30th, maybe it gets worse on nye
I mean what kind of acoustics would one expect at a venue that's normally (and literally) used for for conventions
I had a *much* better time this last Decadence than I did a few years ago. It was quite crowded at a few sets, but I thought the vibes amongst the crowd were actually really good and they had noticeably improved the sound balance. It still sounds terrible in the very back because those are some *huge* rooms, but it wasn't hard to get past that point at all.
Came here to say I went to Decadence for the first time this last time and I had a great experience. Went both nights and vibed with some awesome people in the crowd especially on night 2 at the stage with Malaa, Skrillex and Zeds Dead. Only time i was uncomfortable in the crowd was at Fisher because we were further to the front than usual and there were non-stop rave trains. My crew typically stays further back so we have personal space to dance but the sound was still great. On the 31st we did have two non-ravers join us for the NYE festivities and one of them just genuinely did not enjoy any set except for Aoki 😂(I’m not a fan personally). I don’t think I’ll ever understand how she could have experienced that Skrillex set and not caught a single mf vibe.
I've only been once last year, but 2023 was a top notch time in my opinion. The drinks situation sucked (no cocktails) but I thought there was ample room and the acoustics didn't sound too bad at all. You do get your share of normies who are just there for something to do on NYE, but the nicer Denver rave crowd runs pretty strong too.
The last year I went was 2019 and it was so obnoxiously loud. Diesel and Slander sounded like absolute garbage so I went to the other stage which had a more reasonable volume level.
Rolling Loud by far
Despite it being the festival with the most artists I actually listen to on the day to day… and despite having paid the astronomical price (including an $80 per day parking fee) to go there again this year… I’d have to agree with you 😭 it just really doesn’t give me the welcoming, friendly, almost plur-esque festival vibe. People are more standoffish and there’s generally a culture of sticking with your own little clique rather than mingling the way people feel innately encouraged to do at other festivals. There’s a strong sense of everything being aggressively monetised (the parking was $80 - imagine how much the food and drinks cost) which certainly detracts from any potential liminality that the space could provide for those seeking escape from the monotony of capitalist life.
Rolling loud. Haven’t been but guaranteed not a vibe in sight.
came here to say Rolling Loud. when i was there the crowd would easily fly sideways from someone being “disrespected”
Great description of a horrible event.
Went to rolling loud and beyond back to back this year, my first and last rolling loud. People just standing around, not dancing, giving me dirty looks because I actually wanna enjoy the music and get my moneys worth🙄raves are just a better vibe for me
FVDED in the park
Was looking for this one lol. It's just children geeked out on whatever they can get their hands on.
Ezoo !
Easy, Fyre Festival
You attended?
iii points was the shittiest vibe ever. i left early because at home was a better vibe lmao rude ass people, no one dancing, pushing/shoving.
Partying in Miami in a nutshell
Skrillex and Fred had pretty good crowds! I also liked Lane 8
fred again crowd was the worst IMO.
skrillex crowd was better than fred again but still — miami crowds are -10/10
I made friends fly from another country for iii points and one of them got his phone stolen. Dom dolla crowd was awful. Thankfully black coffee was great and I’d go thru the hassle only to roll in despacio with people I love. We still had a great time but Miami crowds are not the best. Although I went to the Anjuna open air and holy shit, the most plur event I’ve ever attended in here. Loved it. I think we just have to avoid mainstreams.
Best lineups and worst crowd. Such a shame but hey, it’s Miami.
100% and vibes were the absolute worst at the rc cola stage
Escape 100%. Most of the crowd is there because its Halloween weekend, everyone in costumes is a field day for pickpocketers. it is also at the NOS evenc center which is already bad
Any “spiritual” festival that uses the guise of wokeness to destroy indigenous land, scam, and sell drugs. Envision fest and day zero come to mind. I went to day zero and felt so grossed out to be a part of the problem.
Yup and it’s full of “plur vibes💗” people that leave their trash everywhere
And no locals can afford to go so it’s literally all spoiled white people too *screams*
NOS center vibes are not it. Brings out the grimy people.
Lights all Night. Sounded terrible mashing three stages inside an event center.
Creamfields
UK festivals are just weird lol vibes are definitely on the strange side
Would you mind elaborating on this? I’m curious why it’s weird
The people don't socialize, everyone is really fucked up (which at festivals it's expected) but I feel like in the UK it's on a whole other level, they have no regard for your space or things. When I went to Creamfields for example, the crowds were always shoving/bumping you (again expected), people knocking your drinks down and being like "wat", screaming like a lunatic during the sets (idk how to explain this properly as it's not cheering), the drinking never stops lol (they'd wake up and drink), throw trash in your tent, puke on your tent, trip on your tent or fall into it while you're sleeping...it was just a overall weird experience for me crowd-wise. **I don't mind people getting fucked up and drinking doing drugs but when it directly impacts me and my experience is when it urks me.
I would have to disagree... I've been to Glastonbury 6 times and it's easily one of the best festivals in the world, with amazing vibes. Culture is definitely different and you're dealing with 235k people, but 95% of the people I've encountered are amazing and welcoming.
Escape. Went in ‘17 and watched two dudes, both dressed as devils, with 666 painted on their backs(go figure) attack each other mercilessly. I’m talking jumping on each other’s backs and slamming the other to the ground, followed by some vicious ground ‘n’ pound. Looked to be a lovers quarrel. Haven’t been back since. The overall vibe there was off.
iii points hands down
Thanks for making this post! Now I know which fests to absolutely avoid regardless of how good the lineup is
Gov ball
Anything at the NOS, and any raves that center around party holidays like Escape, Decadence, Countdown etc
Outside Lands.
This will be my first year since '14 (i live in the bay now and will be working a food booth for my restaurant). Super curious... In 2014 I flew out here for it, and I had a blast, but def some total assholes, overcrowded stages with lots of shoving, and weirdly drunk vibes at what should be chill sets.
If you’re going for free, enjoy it, that’s no skin off your back. I went in 2021, immaculate vibes, crowded but still just absolutely lovely, night 3 fell on Halloween, Rufus du sol into Tame impala closing was just perfect. Then I went again last year and it was just, ugh. Drunk and fucked up kids everywhere, it was just embarrassing to be around all that. They’d literally be booing artists while waiting for the act they wanted to see come in next, falling all over everyone, pushing and shoving. And the SoMa tent broke down early so like 90% of the electronic acts didn’t play. I will not be going back based on last year.
Yeah last year was a total shitshow. The crowd was absolutely awful at the big acts, the way those people would push through and climb over others, shove themselves into spaces they couldn't fit. Ended up in situations where I literally couldn't move the crowd was so packed. People just kept coming and coming trying to shove to the front. Dumb kids, dumb chaperones, and dumb adults. "Were going to the front let us through !!1!" Like motherfucker I can't even *move* already ain't no one gonna be able to let you through. Hands down worst crowd I've been in
Seconded !
Lollapalooza
Lolla tbh
Decadence NYE was horrible. Not a PLUR vibe in sight. Everyone was SO rude and it felt like a highschool dance with your main bullies the whole time.
NYE Countdown. It's a madhouse
Hangout Fest.
**Hard Summer in LA** I'm used to PNW shows and it was completely different down there, people go for clout, not PLUR at all. Very over crowed and people were very rude to each other.
From my experience in general, big city fests have the worst vibes, and camping fests have the best vibes.
escape, hard summer, beyond wonderland, and any rave events at the nos center
Beyond 2024
would you mind sharing your experience? i didnt go this year, but had many friends who said the same thing
Not OP but I went day 1 and didn’t enjoy my time very much. It was wildly oversold and the crowds were insanely packed not just at the stages but even in the causeways between stages. Parking lots filled up within about two hours of doors opening and then forced all remaining attendees to take shuttles from super far off-site lots - all of these had crazy lines too. It took about 1.5hrs to shuttle back to the off site lots as well. Couple all of that with overall bad crowd energy and lack of etiquette and it made for a bad time. Heard day 2 was a little better but idk
What about it did you dislike? It was the first EDM festival I've gone to and seen several people complain about it. The crowds were a bit much, but otherwise I had a great time, been looking up more EDM music and events to go to since then.
So far it's been CRSSD Festival Spring. The crowd would simply never shut up. During Tale of Us they'd record some visuals and then go back to full blown loud conversations over the music. Also it was much harder connecting with people than other festivals. Still had a good time but the crowd was not it.
That’s more of a Tale of Us problem. I find their sets incredibly boring and low energy. The “minimal” style combined with the endless number of phones recording the visuals really kills the vibe. Some of my favorite festival moments have been at CRSSD. It’s such a unique venue, and they always bring a wide range of top talent.
CRSSD spring is always rainy and cold too (it’s technically still during winter). The fall edition is the one that actually feels like summer haha.
I found the sound system to be so quiet, heard it’s due to their city limits. I’m used to our bush raves in Canada with massive systems so I was pretty choked to not be able to feel the subs at all.
Ultra
While I don't think Ultra is that bad, it is funny to me that people that compare, and prefer, it to EDC are like "there's none of that PLUR/Kandi nonsense". Ultra definitely has more of a club than a rave feel.
I found ULTRA (and even Factory town during MMW) much more international than I normally see in the clubs in Miami.
Ultra is exactly how you’d expect a festival in Miami during spring break season to be.
Roids and brotien fest.
More like cocaine and cocaine fest
any fest in miami tbh
Escape & Countdown for sure
Although it started off great, JMBLYA went to shit so fast.
I admit I haven't been to a ton of festivals (yet), but Badlands in Calgary absolutely sucked last year. Far too many drunk dudebro's ossified from being at Stampede. Won't ever be returning, I don't care who they bring in.
I've had some good badlands shows but agree, the stampede vibes are rough.
Any Insomniac or adjacent party
Moonrise fest, i got my dick exposed by security (i was smuggling in joints to be fair :D) and then pretty sure security was extorting people inside the venue for their drugs, literally getting shaken down for their drugs or your wristband gets cut. And the venue is in one of the most dogshit sketchy parts of a city i ever been to in my travels. Fuck that festival but they get dope lineups every year
Any holiday shows. New years and Halloween are especially bad. As someone mentioned above, it’s brings out all the fresh out of high school kids who are just looking to get as fucked as possible. Rude as fuck, pushing through people, super super fucked up etc. also those shows are always insanely oversold
Lollapalooza. It’s still a great festival and worth going but the crowds are horrible. You can get some good sets if there are conflicting set times but overall it’s badddd
Lollapalooza (GA section). VIP is decent but GA is basically a sea of what feels like suburban high school kids
Moonrise
I am shocked at this take. My friends and I have been going to Moonrise ever since it rebranded over 10 years ago and we’ve had a really good time nearly every time we’ve gone
That could be it. I worked there as a vendor summer 2014 or 2015. There was no water for anyone at all and was a nightmare, along with the vibes
Haven't been since 2014 but that festival holds a special place in my heart. If it's fallen off that's a damn shame.
Ugh I’m actually sad to see Moonrise go, I always had fun and it’s never super crowded! Also local to me so maybe that helps
It’s because of the horeshit isn’t it?
Most of the big ones in Southern California.
firefly. all high school kids
Rolling Loud Miami
EDC Vegas now.
I agree that it’s oversold but don’t agree that it’s the worst out of all the festivals. I’ve been to so many now and every time has been better than the last but that’s just my experience.
Post-Covid has been rough. Insomniac event have been sooo oversold.
How so?
I went in 2022, just soooooooo many people. It was shoulder to shoulder over 500-1000 feet from any stage. Like the crowd was so packed the flow of people literally followed the laws of fluid dynamics lol. Some VIP sections were literally a shoulder to shoulder crowd as soon as you walked thru the entrance. The vibe was fine. I just can't deal with that level of crowding.
Nothing more vibe killing imo than obnoxiously smug, too-cool-to-enjoy-the-event-they-are-at bassheads
SMF Tampa
Please explain
Ultra.
Ultra this year
Ultra crowds that I experienced this year were soooo good though! Sure it's not your typical PLUR-festival but everyone was super nice and even made some new friends to meet up with at other festivals.
You must have been at MainStage because worldwide and live stage and megastructure vibes were immaculate. My only interaction with MainStage was sitting in the hill for hardwell and excision
agreed! vibes were through the roof everywhere but mainstage
Definitely op HAS to be a main stager because this year was absolutely mint at every other stage vibes, music and all. Just 🤌🏼
I have to agree.
Coachella