Music festival season is upon us. Maybe you just got back from Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores. Maybe you're gearing up to head to Bonnaroo in Tennessee in June or Lollapalooza this August in Chicago. If that's the case, I envy you.
If you're anything like me, you don't have the funds to spend upwards of $300 on tickets, travel and a place to stay. Not to mention food and souvenirs, because, let's be real, no matter how many times you say you won't buy a t-shirt, you're going to buy a t-shirt.
Realistically, any one of these music fests is probably going to run you at least $500.
The cheapest might be the Hangout Festival for Auburn students because of the location, but even after you spend $229 on tickets, roughly $40 on the gas to get down to Gulf Shores and a minimum of two nights in a hotel -- maybe about $125 a night, if you're lucky -- you're already out nearly $400, and you haven't even bought food.
Don't pretend you won't buy those $6 beers either, because you totally will.
So what's a poor college kid without a "real" job or parental paycheck to do?
Nothing, really, unless you're willing to go broke and eat Ramen noodles for months in advance.
Or you could do a bit of research and take advantage of some of the more localized festivals that won't break the bank.
The weekend of May 9-11, I went to Atlanta for the second annual Shaky Knees Music Festival. Tickets cost me a grand total of $160.
It's close enough that you can stay in Auburn and make the drive.
My friend and I got lucky at the last minute and found a friend who let us crash at his place for free. Before that, we'd found a cheap hotel ten minutes from the venue that was going to cost us, when split, $90 total for two nights.
We spent $30 on parking for the weekend and each bought a $25 t-shirt.
Instead of eating at the festival, we bought most of our food on the cheap at a nearby Kroger.
My rough total for the whole weekend, give or take a few dollars and cents for rounding, was $275.
It's still steep, but it's not $500.
It's possible to get your festival fix for even cheaper, though. Auburn and Opelika host an impressive number of local festivals all summer long.
This past weekend, the Auburn Arts Association put on their annual Jazz and Bluegrass festival, complete with multiple artists from around the state, vendors and food stands. Tickets were $20.
Every Thursday this month, Town Creek Park hosts a free concert from 6-7:30 p.m.
If the single-day festivals aren't enough of a fix for you, May 28-June 1, University Station RV Resort in Auburn holds Bluegrass on the Plains, a 5-day, $105-dollar festival just a six-minute journey from the University down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Sure, these local fests might not feature Modest Mouse and Childish Gambino, but they're well worth the prices.
They're great ways to get some sun, a great place to hang out and a wonderful way to support local and rising artists.
Who knows? Maybe the banjo player you see at an Auburn festival will make it big and headline something major next year, and by supporting them here, you'll have helped them get there.
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