Summer music festivals becoming more popular for BHS students

Music festivals have always been a classic summer activity for teens to enjoy, but this year it seems like their popularity at Bearden has skyrocketed.

For some students, like sophomore Lara Repass and senior Kiyoko Reidy, going to music festivals is somewhat of a tradition.

“I’m hoping I can continue to go [to Warped Tour] every year because it’s so much fun, and I love getting to see my favorite artists,” Repass said. “I never want to miss it.”

Reidy is planning to attend the Lake Eden Arts Festival in Asheville for the ninth time this summer, and says her attraction to festivals comes from the “chill” atmosphere.

“Literally, everyone there is just there to chill and dance and listen to music, so everything is so relaxed,” Reidy said.

Junior Reese Ruther, who is attending the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta this summer, agrees that the environment is a huge part of the attraction, but the artists are what really pull people in.

“It’s awesome that you can see a bunch of different artists in one day as opposed to one artist for one night, and then the next day, when you come back, it’s completely different artists,” Ruther said.

With more expensive festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella, students had to get a little creative with their moneymaking.

Sophomore Madison Howarth is attending Bonnaroo this summer and completely cleaned out her bank account buying passes for her and her mom.

“I went about two weeks with zero money in my bank account, but I was too excited to care,” she said.

Jacob Gerken, another sophomore from Bearden, did various yard work for his neighbors for two months in order to earn enough money to pay for a three-day pass to Lollapalooza.

“I’m currently running on empty,” Gerken said. “I think spending three days listening to good music is totally worth being broke for a while, but I think my girlfriend disagrees when she gets stuck paying for my dinner.”