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VOLUNTEER
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1. Walking shoes: You'll cover a lot of ground. Bring somethingvcomfortable. Chacos
work; I’m pretty reliant on my Converse All-Stars, personally.
2. Sunscreen: I've left some festivals with really strange tan lines before. Your tent
will turn into a sauna mid-day, so it’s hard to avoid the sun.
3. Find Shakedown Street: food vendors and other fun items. Spicy Pie is my personal
favorite.
4. Sleep: Plan to give yourself a day after the festival to rest up. You'll need it.
5. Jumper cables: If cars are allowed in the campgrounds, you'll most likely kill the
battery either from leaving a light on or listening to music by your tent.
6. Baby wipes: Lots of festivals are extremely dusty. Showers are few and far between.
L angerado in March of 2007 was my
first real music festival experience. I
pulled into the campgrounds with a
few friends and was welcomed by a
girl asking for change so that she could buy
a grilled cheese. We didn't have any, so she
replied, "Karma will get you." Interesting
start to the weekend. Over the next few days I
saw countless hours of music, discovered new
bands and lived off of warm beer, granola bars
and peanut butter sandwiches. I came home
dirty, tired and covered in ant bites, but I
absolutely loved every minute of it.
A few years later, I graduated from the
Music Business Program at UGA and managed
to find myself a job that involves traveling to
music festivals all over the country. Working
at festivals gives you a completely different
perspective. You see a full town pop up in the
middle of nowhere over the course of a few
days. Instead of phones, you communicate by
radio (walkie-talkies), and instead of driving a
car, you get from place to place by golf cart.*
I have now been to over 30 music festivals,
and this will be my third summer working the
festival circuit.
The company I work for, Shimon Presents,
is based out of Atlanta, and we run something
called the Work Exchange Team (WET) which
coordinates volunteer labor at various events.
At some festivals, we only need around 150 to
200 volunteers; at others, such as Bonnaroo in
Tennessee, we have over 2,000 volunteer posi
tions to fill! The volunteers could be working
in a number of different departments—
anything from parking to artist hospitality or
catering. We've even had some hardworking
volunteers land paying jobs after working with
us. It's a great way to save some money and
"Get Your Feet WET in the Music Industry," as
our motto says.
If you're interested in signing up, WET
applications are available at www.workex-
changeteam.com. You must be 18 to work,
and a deposit in the amount of the festival
ticket price plus cancellation fee is required.
Your deposit is fully refunded after the work is
completed.
Ready for a killer music internship and a lot
of fun? Here's a quick list of some of this sum
mers best music festivals. Keep in mind that
while volunteers get complimentary tickets to
the event they work, they are responsible for
their own travel expenses.
# Hangout Music Festival
May 20-22 • Gulf Shores, AL
www.hangoutmusicfest.com
Headlining Acts: Paul Simon, Widespread
Panic, Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, STS9,
Avett Brothers, Bassnectar, Cee-Lo Green,
Dead Confederate
Info: There's no camping on-site at this
festival, which makes it a pretty expensive
weekend, but I can't imagine many things I'd
rather do than see this awesome lineup at a
party on the beach!
* Wakarusa Music Festival
June 2-5 • Ozark, AR
www.wakarusa.com
Headlining Acts: My Morning Jacket,
Ben Harper, Thievery Corporation, STS9,
Bassnectar, Umphrey's McGee, Mumford & Sons
Info: This is always one of my favorites.
It sold out last year, but still doesn't feel too
big. It does get pretty hot during the day, but
it's worth it!
♦ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
June 9-12 • Manchester, TN
www.bonnaroo.com
Headlining Acts: Eminem, Arcade Fire,
Widespread Panic, The Black Keys, Buffalo
Springfield, My Morning Jacket, String Cheese
Incident
Info: There's something for everyone. You
have so many options, it's somewhat over
whelming (in a good way). It is also HOT. And
BIG. The campgrounds seem to go on forever.
♦ AthFest Music Festival
June 22-26 • Athens, GA
www.athfest.com
Headlining Acts: Guadalcanal Diary,
Chickasaw Mudd Puppies, Futurebirds, Centro-
Matic, Jason Isbell & 400 Unit
Info: It's in downtown Athens, and you get
to support a bunch of our hometown bands!
Spread throughout the downtown bars and
venues, with three outdoor stages, this is one
of my favorite weekends of the year. I love
this town.
*WET will not be at AthFest, but AthFest
is still looking for volunteers! You can sign up
through HandsOn Northeast Georgia.
* Electric Forest
June 30-July 3 • Rothbury, Ml
www.electricforestfestival.com
Headlining Acts: String Cheese Incident,
Tiesto, Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Edward
Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Info: This one's a good hike from Georgia,
but it's worth it. It's on the same site where
Rothbury was in '08 and '09. The Sherwood
Forest is pretty amazing—between sets you
can take a break in one of hundreds of ham
mocks, the trees are lit up at night, and in
the early, early hours of the morning, you may
even stumble upon a secret stage.
* Super Ball IX
July L-3 • Watkins Glen, NY
www.superballix.com
Headlining Acts: Phish
Info: If you're a Phish fan, be there.
* All Good Music Festival & Campout
July 14-17 • Masontown, WV
www.allgoodfestival.com
Headlining Acts: Furthur, Primus, Pretty
Lights, moe., Umphrey's McGee, STS9
Info: Furthur AND Dark Star Orchestra?
Sounds like Deadhead heaven. Marvin's
Mountaintop is beautiful, too—be sure to
make it up to the top of the campgrounds at
some point to see the view of the mountains.
Others Worth Mentioning:
Bear Creek: In November, just when you
think festival season has come to an end.
Langerado: It's back!
Camp Bisco: The Disco Biscuits festival; lots
of electronic artists.
DMB's Carnival: Surprisingly, a really good
lineup.
Jam in the Dam: If you can afford to fly
yourself to Amsterdam...
Kathryn Griffin
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Do You Want to Stop Drinking Alcohol?
• We are conducting a study on a medication for treating alcohol
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16 FLAGPOLE.COM-MAY 4,2011