As millennials, we experience music festivals in a very different way than our parents experienced Woodstock or Live Aid. We socialize our experiences, form connections with sponsors and brands and participate in the festival economy.

Socially Connected

Instead of waiting for a boxed DVD set to come out like our parents did, millennials use social media to share and document our unique experiences at music festivals in real time. Facebook’s Live Stream now allows festival-goers to broadcast live via Facebook, ensuring those of us sitting at home won’t miss a beat. According to Eventbrite, 75% of music festival posts are from millennials, with 3.5 million tweets being posted at Coachella alone.

Taking Advantage of Millennial Impacts

Now more than ever before we are seeing large brands sponsoring music festivals to better connect with millennials. Brand sponsorship is becoming a market in itself as companies try to engage young consumers – their target markets.

Festival Fashion

Of course, we can’t take our staged and perfectly edited festival selfies without a killer outfit to do it in! The rise of millennial festival culture has gone far beyond social media and brand ambassadorship and is even impacting the world of fashion. Several companies have created their own festival-inspired fashion lines in a smart business move to accommodate the growing love of festivals and festival fashion (flower crowns, crop tops, and fringe, anyone?)

Let’s face it, if I’m going to an event, I’m going to the event to be photographed, whether by street photographers or in my selfies. This is why festival fashion has taken off.

For the majority of the United States, winter clothing still makes up the majority of stocked clothing items when festivals begin in mid-March, so if brands want to seize the shopping opportunity, they have no choice but to stock between-season offerings (shorts, dresses, linen-blends) fit for festivals.

The Bottom Line

We LOVE music festivals. We are driving the industry’s exponential growth, tweeting, snapping, live streaming, and capturing for years to come. Large brands have found success by openly aligning themselves with music festivals, while fashion lines are now catering to the whims of millennial festivals. While I can’t guarantee this will enhance the actual musical experience at festivals, I can say, at the end of the day, that it really doesn’t matter to us anymore anyways.