How to get into music festivals for freeGet a job. Music festivals can transform a quiet rural farm into a bustling city for up to a week. Many festivals are held with volunteer-driven staff. Volunteering is the most popular way to get free access to a music festival.
This means that you'll be working some shifts over the weekend, usually for a charity, to get your ticket. Have you ever experienced the FOMO of the festival? All your friends go to the best music festivals in history to party up with live music from dozens of your favorite bands. But your bank balance has a small negative symbol right next to that important number. Participating in music festivals just isn't within the budget.
If you have a specific festival in mind, they usually have a page on their website with their service providers and staff, as well as any direct employment opportunities at the festival. Emerging talent competitions can often be found for individual festivals and their competitiveness depends on the size of the festival. It can be considerably more difficult for larger festivals, such as Glastonbury, which has huge fences and tight security, so you have a much better chance at smaller festivals. Many charities, such as The Samaritans and Oxfam, offer free tickets to music festivals in exchange for a few hours of work.
Concerts, music festivals, and live shows fall into this category, but they wouldn't be limited to music. If you are a musical journalist, professional or aspiring to it, you may be able to review the festival in exchange for free admission. Some courageous music fans have shared the best ways to participate in online festivals, and you can follow their example and try to sneak into the concerts yourself, as long as you don't mind breaking the rules, of course. We've explained all the details on how to get a press pass for a music festival in a recent article, so this should give you a good idea of what's needed.
