Music festivals are back! With a sad hiatus over 2020, festival-goers are thrilled to start seeing line-ups for the Fall music festival season of 2021. More than 385,000 people flooded to Chicago on July 29th for an epic Lollapalooza comeback. Over three days, massive crowds gathered around stages to watch their favorite musicians perform.
Miley Cyrus made sure we were still partying in the USA while the Foo Fighters lulled us with their classic raspy rock hits. Surprise appearances from Machine Gun Kelly, Billy Idol, and Jessie Reyez, along with the timeless Journey performance, made this a priceless weekend of music and connection. It would seem as if things are back to normal in festival land, but with Covid mandates still in place, all is not as usual.
Covid Mandates For Festival-Goers
This year’s Lollapalooza festival required all attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative covid test taken within the last 14 days. Showing such proof would allow attendees to be mask-less in outdoor public areas. If no vaccine card or negative test was shown, the festival attendee would have to wear a mask the entire time.
Stricter mandates came on day three as the crowd size grew concerns of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals still spreading the Covid delta-variant. Due to these concerns, all festival-goers were then required to wear a mask in any indoor public space.
While many anticipate a spike in covid cases due to this event, that’s not the only thing skyrocketing during the festival. Cannabis sales in July broke records for the state of Illinois, producing a 10% increase in sales from June. Shops are attributing this rise to the high volume of out-of-state traffic that the festival brought in. With Illinois having just legalized recreational sales in January 2020, this is the first Lollapalooza festival to see legal cannabis.
More 2021 Festivals
The music festival train does not stop here, with events happening across the US for the rest of the year. Life Is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas, NV, is scheduled for September 17th-19th featuring Green Day, Young Thug, ASAP Rocky, and more. The famous Electric Daisy Carnival (also in Las Vegas) will be back on October 22nd-24th, showcasing The Chain Smokers, Tiesto, DJ Snake, and more. Both festivals will require proof of vaccination or negative covid test to be mask-less in outdoor spaces.
We can also expect to see The Governors Ball Music Festival in New York, NY happening on September 24th-26th with headliners Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish, ASAP Rocky, and others. Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will also be back this year on September 2nd-5th with Lizzo, Lana Del Ray, deadmau5, and more.
Be sure to check festival websites for any Covid related updates and regulations.
