Camping - Things to Bring to an Oldtime Music Festival

Clifftop - Photo by Kathy Brown

Clifftop, which spans the last week of July/first part of August, will be my first oldtime music camping excursion of the summer, having missed Mt. Airy, Highland County, Elk Creek, and some of the others that come before it.  We’ll be setting up camp a few days before the festival officially begins, when the crowds are thinner and not all the vendors are set up yet.  This requires a bit more planning.  Rockbridge is another mountain music festival my wife and I are going to later this season.  After some haphazard camping last year, I’ve started to make a...

LIST OF THINGS TO BRING TO AN OLDTIME MUSIC FESTIVAL

Musical instrument(s).  Duh.

Tent – this is car camping, not backpacking, so why not get a roomy, comfortable tent that you can stand up in?  Preferably one that will keep you dry during the inevitable rainstorms.  I just nabbed the Eureka Copper Canyon on sale for $154 online.  The REI Hobitat also looks like a good choice, but is a bit more expensive.  Both of these tents are tall enough to stand up in.

Shelter – last year I bought the REI Alcove shelter and like it a lot.  Easy to set up.  Does well in the wind and rain.

  

Propane camp stove and grill table.  If you plan on making some of your own meals, this is a must.  Camping World seems to have the best prices on these types of camp tables.  See here and here.

Sleeping Pad/Mattress – I’ve had bad luck with big air beds – they always seem to leak air overnight.  However, the thin, lightweight sleeping pads designed for backpackers like the Therm-a-Rest are surprisingly comfortable and durable.  I’ve also considered using a portable foam pad, like these Tri-Fold Exercise Mats.

Armless Folding Chairs for jamming.  The locker room timeout stools that basketball players use would be perfect for taking to festivals, but I can’t find anyone willing to sell a small quantity of these chairs.  The best thing I can find are these small folding chairs on Amazon. 

Here are some other miscellaneous things to remember to bring:

Baby wipes

Batteries

Battery operated fans

Beer/booze

Book

Bug spray

Cash

Coffee

Coffee Percolator/French Press

Cooler

Cups and mugs
Digital Recorder

Duct tape

Ear plugs

Extra strings, picks

First aid kit

Flip flops for the shower

Food and snacks

Ground cover footprint

Hand sanitizer

Ibuprofen and antacids

Immodium
Instrument stand

Jumper cables

Lantern/flashlights

Mallet for driving in tent stakes

Oven mitts

Paper and pen

Paper plates and plastic utensils

Paper towels

Pillow

Piss jug – for when you don’t feel like leaving your tent

Pocket knife

Portable phone charger

Pot and/or pan

Rain gear

Razors/shaver

Reusable water bottle

Skillet

Sleeping bag

Soap/Shampoo

Spatula

Sun screen

Tapestries for shade/decoration

Tarp

Toilet paper

Towel

Trash bags

Umbrella

Warm clothes

Water

Zip lock bags

Can you think of anything else? 

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