HANGOUT 2019

This year I went with some of my friends to Hangout Festival in Alabama & it was so fun! This was my first ever music festival and it was way different than I imagined lol. Now that I've gone, I want to go to every music festival because it's such a different experience. It was't a very laid back vacation by any means; from the moment we arrived we were going going going. In this post I'm gonna talk about some things I loved, things I learned, things I would do differently, and some fun experiences I had!

PACKING

So lets start out with the way I packed for this trip. Per usual, I brought wayyyyyy too much. I just don't like the idea of not having something that I may need while on vacation. I also assumed that the daily schedule would be similar to a normal vacation: wake up, beach, go out to dinner, sleep. So, I brought like four outfits for dinner and then other outfits to wear throughout the day. But it turns out that there is absolutely no time to leave the festival to go get ready for dinner. I also wish I would have packed more "festival" looking clothing. I pretty much wore jean shorts and a bathing suit top everyday (because it looked like that's what everyone wore there in Hangout's promotional pics). When we arrived, though, pretty much everyone looked like they were at a beach version of Coachella and I felt underdressed hhahaah.

Something I definitely did right was bringing a fanny pack. It was a lifesaver while we were there. I kept my phone, sunscreen, money, a phone charger and other necessities in it and I used it the entire time. They spray water on you at some of the stages, so the plastic fanny pack kept my phone from getting ruined. I also kept a pack of face wipes in my fanny pack. I used them throughout the day since I was in large crowds next to sweaty people's bodies for hours at a time.

I would also definitely bring a yeti-type water bottle. The water they provide for free is not cold at all- I didn't even drink it because I hate lukewarm water. The only other option for drinking is to buy a drink in the festival. As far as I know, all of the food stands just sell bottled water, which gets hot super quickly because you're outside in the heat all day. So, being able to put that water in an insulated container would help keep it cold for a longer period of time. You can also go to the Hangout restaurant within the festival to eat and get iced beverages. Our waitress actually took our water bottles and filled them up with ice water (what a kind soul).

HOUSING

We stayed at a little condo about a mile from the Hangout. Since there's limited parking nearby, it was great to have a condo in walking distance. We looked at several online, but since literally everyone is looking for a condo close to the Hangout during this time, most places are either booked or suppppperrrrr expensive. Our condo was definitely a good deal but, honestly, after standing in the heat all day, walking a mile at 12 AM isn't the most fun thing to do. If possible, try to get as close to the Hangout as you can. It will probably help you be less tired during the trip. Plus, if you're like a five minute walk away, you can leave between the artists you want to see instead of having to sit out in the heat while you're waiting.

The company we booked with is called Gulf Shores Rentals. They were great other than when they called us and accused us of smoking in their condo (which we would NEVER do). But the condo was clean and we checked in super quickly which was nice.

THE HANGOUT

So when you get there you wait through the security check line to make sure you don't have any prohibited items on you. After you walk in you see a directory, a bunch of brand stands, and then stages galore. I will say this- the makeshift bathrooms at the Hangout were AMAZING. I was expecting the typical fair port-a-pottties, but they had some high powered flushing ones with lights and nice toilet paper. They also had people working at the "bathrooms" cleaning them throughout the day and they provided hand sanitizer. I was very impressed with this #gohangout.

There's tons of fun stuff to do at the Hangout festival between seeing your fav artists. When it was hot during the day, everyone would just sit in whatever shade they could find. We always found open hammocks in the shade and listened to the artists on nearby stages. When we weren't hammocking we took pics around the festival at their insta worthy spots.

If you've never been to a festival, it's really different than a normal concert to say the least. I had noooooo clue what it was even like before I got in there. If you have gen admission tickets, you'll be standing real close to a bunch of other people in the heat during (and before) the performance.

Most people will try to push past you to get in the front, and if you're the one doing it people will get pissseddd at you. Some people have no mercy when it comes to letting people in front of them- they will literally cuss you out and push you, so be careful!

I think the most fun thing I learned while at the festival is how to partake in a mosh pit LOL. Okay so I had heard of mosh pits, but I really didn't know what they were. We were all noticing that people would get in circles and then there would be an influx in the crowd and we were SO confused. Then, during the MadeinTYO concert, we somehow got right on the outside of one of these circles, and then I realized what was happening. So we decided to join in and it was both horrifying and exciting at the same time. While in the circle I still had to clue what was happening, I just knew that if we were in there we would somehow get closer to the front, so we persevered through the horror. Now, when I finally got in the center of what I realized was the mosh pit, that's when things got real. Literally people were pushing each other and jumping around and they were mostly larger males. I got a dude pushed so hard into me that someone had to help me get out of that mess. I now have a very large bruise on my hip that I wear as a badge of honor. Somehow, we stayed with the mosh pit and ended up making it to the very edge of the stage. It was so hot and disgusting but it was honestly the best time I had the entire weekend.

On another note, the Hangout has lockers & I definitely suggest renting one. We were a little skeptical about it at first because we didn't know if we'd need locker that bad. But it's nice to have a place to put excess items like towels and t-shirts for later on in the evening. Plus, they're only $50 for the whole weekend so if you split the price it's not that expensive.

FOOD

Like I mentioned earlier, there's not really time to leave the Hangout to go get food. Most of the time you have back-to-back artists you want to see, so leaving just isn't feasible. Pretty much every day we ate breakfast and early lunch at the condo before we left because food at the festival was a little pricey. It wasn't too too expensive, but It would probably be around $10-15 for a water and food. For dinner we went to the Hangout restaurant so we could sit down and eat in the air conditioning. This is something I would definitely do; it's so much better than eating in the heat out at the festival, and you get refills of your drink.

This trip was really fun, and I can't wait to go to more festivals. My main tip is to go with people who know how to have a good time. I went with some pretty cool gals and they made the trip extra super awesome!! We had a lot of laughs, some great road trip convo, we scream-sang songs, pushed through crowds, and even drank milkshakes for breakfast one day. It sure was a great time!

If you have any questions about the festival, just ask me!!

Thanks for reading!

-CDH