My Made In America Experience: All The Reasons To Attend A Music Festival Once

A mere 5 days later and I’m still on this glorious high from what took place over the course of Labor Day weekend. Generally speaking, I don’t venture out of the state during major holiday weekends just for the reason that I absolutely, positively, hate traffic. So, what did I decide to do this past weekend? I prepared myself to battle what I hate most about car travel, all for my overwhelming love for music and the impending feelings, experiences, and memories I was about to make over the course of 2 days.

By now, unless you were disconnected completely from the world over the past few months, you are aware that Jay Z’s Made In America Festival took place on September 5th & 6th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Generally speaking, we all love music, but I really, really, really love music. Therefore, attending Made In America was something I’ve always had on my To-Do list since its introduction years ago. What made this year different from the previous years is that more than enough of my favorite artists would be taking the stage over the course of the weekend. J. Cole, Beyonce, Big Sean, Vic Mensa, The Weeknd, and countless others were all in once place, to entertain me. Why would anyone pass up that chance, all for less than $200? All in all, no matter what, I knew I was going to be in musical heaven.

Planning the trip over the course of a few months, I immediately prepared myself for the worst as I’ve never attended something of this magnitude before. I had mentally told myself I was going to lose my friends, get into several arguments, get entirely too drunk, and be overwhelmed by fact that approximately 140,000 people would be in attendance. The good news is, only a few of those scenarios occurred.

To put it simply, I had the time of my life. I was surrounded by thousands of people who were all there for the same purpose, which is to bask in the glory of the live showings of our favorite artists. With enough alcohol, food, and activities to keep my attention, as soon as my ticket was successfully scanned, I knew this would be one of the best weekend’s of my life. Common sense told me I would need to arrive early each day as I wanted to lock down the best view for the festivities. As I arrived for the first day, with more than ample time to spare, I witnessed more than 5 people pass out before we even got remotely close to getting our tickets checked. At that point, I said to myself, “S*** is about to get real,” and boy was I right. Never in my life have I seen so many limp bodies being carried to medics and as I continued to drink my beers each day, all I could hope is that I wasn’t the next unconscious person to end up on someone’s Snapchat or Twitter being whisked away. Great news, I survived.

For sure, you’ve seen the footage of the likes of Beyonce, J. Cole, Future, and others killing the stage. The feeling you get when thousands upon thousands are joining you as you sing and rap your favorite songs is indescribable. Hearing everyone recite Future’s ‘March Madness’ as if it was the Pledge of Allegiance, watching Beyonce look like a goddess as we all connect on the importance of not dropping our alcohol, and rapping along with J. Cole and the chicks he calls out on ‘No Role Modelz,’ I could go on and on. Once the final act of the weekend left the stage, I knew I was hooked on attending Made In America for as long as my body permits me to.

While my weekend in Philadelphia was more than amazing and I’ll probably talk about it for the remainder of the month, if you’re looking to take on Made In America next year, here’s some tips and general information that you need to know:

1. Plan Accordingly: This is vital in making sure you have the best weekend possible. Book your hotel early and if you’re not a fan of walking while in pain (more on that soon), book a hotel as close to the venue as possible.

2. Be Responsible: Everyone’s there for the same purpose, which is to have a good time. Don’t drink so much that you pass out while in line as you wait to get in. I needed to revisit that point again as seeing people drop left and right looked like a scene out of a movie. Stay hydrated. Most importantly, if you’re going to drink and dabble with any “fun enhancers,” pace yourself and know the risks as it could make or break your experience.

3. Prepare To Get Dirty: I mean that in every way possible. At one point, it seemed as if a humongous dust cloud settled over Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I’m pretty my lungs are not as great as they were before I stepped in the park on September 5th. As far as my Jordans, they’re pretty much ruined. It’s great to look nice, but for the sake of festival fun, dress in attire that you wouldn’t trashing if you had to.

4. You Will Be In Pain: Taking on 2 days of Made In America is not for the physically or mentally weak. Getting to the festival at 2:00 PM on Saturday & 4:00 PM on Sunday, at the conclusion of both nights, my body felt like it completely shut down and Jesus himself walked me back to my hotel. My feet felt like they were set on fire as an elephant simultaneously weighed my body down. Comfortable shoes or not, prepare for some aspect of pain at the conclusion of each night.

5. STICK TOGETHER: I placed this in all caps because it’s vital. “Excuse me, I’m trying to find my friends” became embedded in my brain as people struggled to shimmy by with disgruntled looks of confusion, worry, and annoyance masked on their faces. While some may have just used that to get to the front of the crowd, most cases were true. That ice cream you wanted while waiting for The Weeknd to rock the stage isn’t worth losing your friends and getting yelled at by irritated people who are tired of letting folks by every 5 seconds. In a massive crowd where decent cell phone signal is little to none, meeting up with and/or finding your friends can seem almost impossible.

All in all, my first Made In America experience was one for the books. I hope to remember it for as long as I live. Aside from some normal hiccups, I plan on attending year after year. It has even triggered the curiosity to attend other festivals across the country, but I’m not a festival pro just yet. If even one percent of your conscience is telling you to attend next year, mark your calendar as you will not regret it. Well, that’s only if you follow the tips I provided.

Made In America 2016, you have some major shoes to fill.