Since Woodstock’s debut in 1969, music festivals have had an important place in the American imagination. Despite not being the first, Woodstock did popularize the festival phenomenon and established the DIY ethic, community spirit, and sense of freedom that many attend the events for. Since that time, music festivals have skyrocketed in popularity, turning into a multi-million-dollar industry. (1)
However, the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the seemingly indestructible “festival circuit.†Lockdowns and restrictions on social gatherings were simply incompatible with the massive coming together that large-scale music festivals entail. Since then, we’ve dropped our wristbands for masks, trading weekend getaways for many evenings in.
With America’s vaccine rollout going well, festivals are coming back. How they will operate post-COVID is another matter, and in this article, we investigate just how that may look.
What are the Vegas festivals?Â
Traveling for a music festival is a common trend.Â
Vegas’ reputation as the “entertainment capital of the world†and its popularity as a travel destination make it a vibrant festival destination with numerous options. The trip is popular with Californians, as well as those further afield. Some of the more notable festivals include: (2) (3)
- Psycho Las Vegas: A festival that attracts the finest metal, doom, psychedelic, alternative, and counter-cultural acts around.
- Desert Drip Festival: Vegas will be hosting its first-ever hip-hop music festival in 2021. Expect pool parties and a lineup full of hip-hop’s most seminal artists.
- Life Is Beautiful Festival: Traveling a global circuit that also includes Europe and the UK, Life Is Beautiful boasts one of Nevada’s strongest pop lineups.Â
- Reggae Rise Up Vegas: A two-day festival visiting central Las Vegas that promises to bring good vibrations and great artists.
Now that we’re familiar with the festival economy, it’s time to understand how post-COVID restrictions will affect our beloved events.
Capacity
Restrictions on patron numbers are looking like they will be affected. The major festivals that once graced Vegas would attract up to 750,000 people to the city, an unthinkable number of bodies in close proximity when considering current restrictions.Â
It is inevitable that some venues will have their capacity cut, though by how much remains to be seen. Some estimate that reduction will be around 50%. As venues still hold tens of thousands of people at a time, these volumes of people and what is or isn’t permitted are still the subject of much scrutiny.Â
Security guards taking on more responsibilityÂ
In the post-COVID world, many professions are finding their work responsibilities are changing as they adapt to the new environment. Airline staff have turned into frontline workers, influencers are stuck at home, and security guards are brandishing thermometers instead of ticket readers.Â
Aside from crowd control and venue safety, security guards are playing a much more active role in mitigating the impacts of COVID-19. These additional responsibilities may translate into a few minor inconveniences like increased wait times to enter events. But remember, it’s for everybody’s safety, so if you see a security guard looking fatigued, try to cut them some slack.
Safety Measures in Hotels and Casinos
For the first time since John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, COVID-19 brought the Las Vegas strip’s neon-lit hotels and casinos to a grinding halt. Since March 2021, much of the city has returned to its 24-7 operating schedule.
If you’re coming to Vegas for a music event, at the hotels and casinos you can expect fairly strictly enforced social distancing measures, rules around mask-wearing indoors, sanitation stations in public areas, and regular testing for all staff. And we want to protect the environment at the same time. With so many masks being used, are disposable face masks recyclable?
Restaurants
Attending a music festival will typically be a very big day full of dancing, drinking, and standing for hours on end. At some point, you need to take a break, and meal times at a Las Vegas restaurant can be a great way to recharge the batteries.Â
The turning over of tables in restaurants poses a rather big problem in the age of COVID-19. That’s because each table goes through so many people, they need to be cleaned both quickly and efficiently after each sitting. Restaurants are managing the risks by using digitized menus, mask-wearing while walking around the venue, and the closure of buffets.
Considerations like these are necessary to find a balance between patron and staff safety and keeping Vegas’s economy humming.
In Conclusion
If you’re a regular on the Las Vegas music festival circuit, you will surely notice some stark differences in the 2021 events. An emphasis on social distancing, cleaning, sanitation, capacity limits, and a broadening of the responsibilities of workers at the events will characterize your experience.
References
- “How Music Festivals Became a Massive Business in the 50 Years Since Woodstock,†Source: https://time.com/5651255/business-of-music-festivals/Â
- “Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World,†Source: https://london-post.co.uk/las-vegas-the-entertainment-capital-of-the-world/Â
- “The 25 most popular travel destinations in the US,†Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-us-travel-destinations-2017-3?r=AU&IR=TÂ
“What It’s Like to Visit Vegas in the Coronavirus Era,†Source: https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/safety/info-2020/visiting-las-vegas-during-coronavirus-pandemic.html
