Summer music festival season is in full swing, with weekend-long events happening all over the country until mid-September. In advance of Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI) artists heading to Lollapalooza, Osheaga, Outside Lands, and Music Midtown, a few of the artists who have represented BPMI (and its forerunner, Heavy Rotation Records) at festivals in the past offer musicians advice on how to make the most of their festival experience-on stage and beyond. All agreed that one priority is to remember to have fun. Read on for more tips.
Nini Fabi B.M. 10, Haerts Performed at CMJ Music Marathon 2009 and SXSW 2010 as Nini & Ben
I love playing festivals, but theyre like crazy storms. Everything happens very fast. You won't have sound check; sometimes you won't even have time to plug in all your gear. In the end, it always magically works out, but it can get intense. I think it's important to find a quiet place somewhere, just before you go on, to have a moment to channel the energy you want to bring to the stage and to the audience.
Holly McGarry B.M. 15, Honeysuckle Performed at CMJ Music Marathon 2015 and Lollapalooza 2016
Even though most festivals take a cut of merch, it is always worth it to have it available. There have been times when weve thought, were the smallest band, it probably doesnt matter if we have [merch], but come to find out we would have lost out on hundreds of dollars in sales.
Interested in becoming a touring musician?
Learn about building a career as a touring musician, and how the Berklee Popular Music Institute can take you from the classroom to the festival stage.
If possible, always do a signing after your set...It adds incentive for people to buy and its a more memorable experience for fans. You can also learn a lot from talking to people, like what songs they like best, what album artwork they respond to, where you should play next time you come to town.... These tools help you build your fan base so they become long-term fans instead of just seeing you once at a festival.
If you have the time walk around the grounds, people love running into artists and its a nice way to interact/remind them of your set. Its also another opportunity to steer them toward the merch tent or your website.
Holly McGarry performing with Honeysuckle at Lollapalooza in 2016.
photo by Kyle Dean
Know your set, make sure that youve timed it. Festivals run on a tight schedule, its better to be two minutes under your time than over it. Keeping energy high is also key, quick transitions and limited dead air time is important, as is crowd participation if that fits with your bands style.
Try to get to know the names of crew members working your stage and treat them with the utmost respect. They are a huge part of how your set goes and whether or not youll get asked back. It will only enhance your experience to be kind and learn what you can from the folks working the festival.
Often you are provided artist hospitality. If you have all access-great! But be on your best behavior. You never know who is backstage or hanging out in catering. The pitfalls of free alcohol in particular should be obvious but just know your limits and value the networking opportunity more than the free drinks.
Cordelia Vizcaino B.M. 16, Kordelya Performed at Osheaga 2015 as Cordelia & the Buffalo
Be time efficient with your sound check. Part of the rehearsals with my band leading up to the performance was practicing setting up and tearing down as fast as we could, so we could make the most out of a short sound check.
Socialize backstage as much as you can with fellow artists playing the festival. Shake as many hands as you can. I loved meeting the audience after performing. I would also really recommend that!
Be a festival-goer as well. Go see big and small artists perform. You learn so much from watching every unique performance.
Stay hydrated.
photo by Brian Parys
Jeff Dorenfeld Founding Managing Director of BPMI
For me it's all about good songs and an enticing live performance. We book the artists into some of the biggest festivals in the world and the stages can be 60-plus feet wide. Preparing for the festival is a team effort, comprised of the artist and the BPMI students. The artist needs to be able to utilize the entire stage and communicate well with the audience.
They don't have to be the best players, they have to be the best performers and make their show as entertaining and exciting as possible. That's why major artists tour with their own production, they want to enhance their music with an entertaining show. We succeed when the artist leaves the stage a better performer than when they arrived.
Haydee Irizzary B.M. 17, Aversed Performed at Chicago Open Air 2017
There are many aspects of this opportunity that you can prepare for and many you cannot. You can prepare your body, show, and mind with the fact that you are now entertaining hundreds/thousands, but you cannot always prepare for the fatigue that will grow each day due to travel, sickness, stress, weather, extensive rehearsals, and poor sleep.
You've prepared every day of your life for these performances, but now you are challenged with the reality of living around it. It is that concept that introduces to us the true professionalism of a performing artist.
[At Chicago Open Air], we played on the last day of three. To maximize that opportunity, I spent the first two days walking the crowds, meeting new friends/fans, and promoting our set time. It proved to be a really wise idea and something I could recommend to all! Invest in your time there and do not be afraid to promote your performance. You'd be surprised how many people want to support you.
Micah Welch, manager MDFK Performed at Welcome to Rockville 2018
Remain grateful and humble, it is an
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
23/10/2025
A deadline is looming for a new carriage deal between Verizon's Fios TV and Nexstar, with both Verizon and the pay TV-backed American Television Alliance bl...
23/10/2025
NEW YORK During a high-profile session at NAB Show New York, new survey data was shared that revealed significant public concern over artificial intelligence (A...
23/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. and NEW YORK Fox Weather has tapped T-Mobile has as its preferred communications provider and announced that all Fox Weather reporters are being...
23/10/2025
PBS and Amazon Web Services have announced the network is using generative AI to provide enhanced search results to viewers on the PBS App and PBS LearningMedia...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
October 22nd, 2025 TRIBECA ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF MEMBERSHIP EVENTS F...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
Summer music festival season is in full swing, with weekend-long events happening all over the country until mid-September. In advance of Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI) artists heading to Lollapalooza, Osheaga, Outside Lands, and Music Midtown, a few of the artists who have represented BPMI (and its forerunner, Heavy Rotation Records) at festivals in the past offer musicians advice on how to make the most of their festival experience-on stage and beyond. All agreed that one priority is to remember to have fun. Read on for more tips. 
