Entertainment
Best Festival Gear: What to Buy for Lollapalooza & Other Concerts This Summer
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If you love music, there’s a good chance that you’ll be heading to Coachella, Stagecoach, Lollapalooza or another music festival or concert this summer like Blackpink’s world tour. And you’ll need the right festival accessories or travel gear to pack for the trip.
There’s nothing worse than traveling to a music festival only to get stuck outside in the heat without necessities like proper sunglasses, a hat to keep your head cool, a portable phone charger just in case you’re low on juice, hand sanitizer, face masks, bandanas and other essentials such as sunscreen, portable fans, waterproof mascara and liquid eyeliners; and a bag to carry everything from your identification to water bottles.
To help you out, we rounded up a list of music festival necessities, some of which you can buy at Amazon and Walmart to ensure that they get delivered quickly.
First up, the Adidas Alliance Backpack is a comfy, convenient and great backpack for music festivals. It features a zipper pocket for valuables and two mesh slip pockets for water bottles. The back compartment is roomy enough to fit your wallet, Airpods and other small items, while the front pocket can be used for your ID, money, room key, etc.
Anker Portable Charger, Power Bank, 10,000 mAh Battery Pack with PowerIQ Charging Technology
A portable charger comes in handy regardless of whether you’re traveling to a music festival or not. Casely’s Here Comes the Sun Power Pod is an iPhone charging deck that fits in the palm of your hand. The power pod features MagSafe wireless charging and is available in tons of different colors and cool designs. Shop our favorite portable charger for iPhone and Android below.
Nike Apex Swoosh Bucket Hat
Looking for headgear? This simple bucket hat from Nike will keep you cool and block out the sun. The mid-depth design is made with soft woven twill and features an embroidered, color contrast Swoosh logo on the front panel for a clean, Nike finish.
KIRALUMI 8 PCS LED Glow Bracelets, Light Up Wristbands –
Get the glow! An LED wristband bracelet is a cool festival accessory if you’re traveling in a group. The bracelet set above comes with eight bracelets (batteries included) featuring three light modes: fast blink, slow blink and full glow.
Alo Yoga Explorer Fanny Pack
How about a fanny pack? Apart from being timeless and easy to find, if you’ve seen Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, then you know that fanny packs can be used for more than carrying personal belongings. Alo Yoga’s Explorer Fanny Pack is available in a limited-edition espresso color, black, white, limestone and fog. If you’re looking for a cheaper option, this Amazon fanny pack is available in 12 different colors.
USPECLARE Clear Purse/Messenger Bag Stadium Approved
Clear bags are required for entry into Lollapalooza (unless smaller than 6 x 9 inches to be clear bags are required it’s unless smaller than 6 x 9 inches) (no liquids). Bags must be made from vinyl or PVC and no larger than 12 x 12 x 6 inches, like the option pictured above. The clear purse is available in 14 colors including black, blue, green, purple, red and pink. Walmart has a clear bag on sale for $6.98. Click here to shop clear backpacks.
Coleman Broadband Mesh Quad Camping Chair
Plan on standing in line? Get a portable lawn chair! If you’re looking for a basic option, the Coleman Broadband Mesh Chair pictured above is on sale for $20 at Amazon. The chair has cup holder with a mesh back, supports up to 250 pounds and fits into a carry bag. This Alpha Mart camping chair ($43.98) is another good option (that we’ve personally used) for long days in the sun. Click here for more portable, camping chairs.
Stanley IceFlow Flip Straw Tumbler
Staying hydrated is the healthiest way to endure long days in the festival sun. Stanley released a summer-ready collection of vibrant colors for its bestselling IceFlow Flip Straw Tumbler. The collection is available in pink messa, pistachio and dew drop. Click here for more tumbler cups.
Jiyugala Hats Men Women Cowboy Hat Western Cap Wide Brim Sunhat
You can expect to see a lot of Cowboy hats this summer thanks to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. Hop on the cowboy hat trend with this Walmart hat, currently on sale for less than $2. The hat is available in black, red and brown.
Sun Hats for Men Women Fishing Hat UPF 50+ Breathable Wide Brim Summer UV Protection Hat
The proper hat will help keep you cool in the desert heat, which is especially useful if you plan on hitting up Lollapalooza. The sun hat pictured above offers UPF 50+ protection and has been tested to ensure safety from harsh UVA and UVB rays. The mesh fabric allows for moisture and heat to easily escape to keep your head cool and reduce sweating.
Achiou Neck Gaiter Face Mask Scarf Dust Sun Protection Cool Lightweight Windproof, Breathable Fishing Hiking Running Cycling
You’re probably tired of wearing face masks, but it can get dusty outside, so you might need some form of face protection at festivals like Coachella. If you don’t want a cloth face mask or the more durable N95 mask, the reusable cloth face covering pictured above is perfect for the dessert and other dusty destinations. The washable face mask features four-way stretch and fits snugly on all size heads and faces, and it’ll stay in place, even if you’re running or doing other vigorous exercises. Find disposable face masks here.
SOJOS Retro Oval Sunglasses for Women & Men Trendy Sun Glasses
Finding the perfect music festival sunnies depends on your style preference and budget, but there are a bunch of affordable sunglasses online like these Sojo oval sunglasses. Another festival options, these polarized glasses pictured above have a chain attached, so you won’t have to worry about misplacing them while you’re out. And they’re available in seven different lens frames including red, black, green, grey, blue, gold and red. Click here for more festival shades.
FEISEDY Retro Square Aviator Sunglasses
The sunglasses pictured above offer up a classic aviator style in nine different colors, including mirrored pink, brown and black.
Princess Polly Mora Sunglasses
Another trendy option, these ’90s inspired sunglasses feature a wraparound design and UV protection.
Festival Blanket: Stripes Retro
This portable picnic blanket folds up into a purse, so you can store your keys and other belongings. The waterproof blanket is available in different sizes including 60 x 79, 53 x 58 and 60 x 75 inches.
This fan-favorite, striped blanket from Nomadix is perfect for festivals, is another options for camping, picnics and other activities. Featuring a soft, microsuede top, the water resistant, sand-resistant and pet-hair resistant blanket measures 60 inches x 70 inches and is made from recycled polyester. Not into stripes? Find more Nomadix blankets here.
What to Wear to Music Festivals
Not sure what to wear to a music festival? Shorts, tees and comfortable shoes are a few fashion staples that you might already have in your closet, but if you’re looking for something more curated, you can find festival gear online at retailers such as Revolve, Nasty Gal, ASOS, StockX, Amazon, Walmart, and Farfetch.
See below for a few examples of clothes to wear to a music festival.
Breathable Boxers
Pair of Thieves Superiair Boxer Briefs (3Pack)
After selling out, the super light and breezy Superiair boxer briefs are available again right in time for Lollapalooza. Grab yourself a pair or a three pack to keep your private parts feeling breathable and cool all festival-long.
Cargo Pants
Uniqlo Ultra-Wide Cargo Pants
These Uniqlo ultra-wide cargo pants Aeropostale cargo shorts offer a comfortable fit and plenty of pockets, making them great for a music festival or concert. They are baggy, light and very on trend for summer fits. Grab these cargo bottoms in brown, black or green for only $40.
Short-Sleeve Shirts, Tees and Tank Tops
Abercrombie Camp Collar Summer Linen-Blend Shirt
When it comes to festival clothing, T-shirts and tank tops and linen short-sleeve shirts like the one pictured below will keep you cool in the festival heat, but you’re clothing choice will probably be depend on the weather. If you want to stay cool but don’t want to sacrifice style, this Abercrombie linen camp shirt is perfect for you. It’s available in a wide variety of colors and striped patterns for $60.
Lovers and Friends Meaux Scarf Top
Add some flower power to festival season with the Lovers and Friends Meaux Scarf Top. This scarf top and matching skirt would be perfect for Lollapalooza and other music festivals. You can wear it with a bikini underneath and the pieces are sold separately, so you can mix and match.
Denim Shorts
Denim Jean Shorts
These denim festival shorts are on clearance at Garage Clothing and only available in select sizes. Denim shorts aren’t very hard to find but the price can vary depending on the brand. Wrangler, Walmart, Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revolve, Anthropologie and Gap has a bunch of denim shorts on sale.
Comfortable Shoes
1906 Utility Sneaker
Shoes can make or break an outfit, and if you’re trekking through a festival in the wrong shoes, you’ll definitely be sorry. There’s actually a science to picking the perfect shoe but if you don’t have the time to test out different styles, go for comfortable platform boots, walking shoes or running shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty such as Nikes, Pumas, Adidas, Salomon, New Balance, Cariuma, Vans or Converse Chuck Taylors. Other good options: Dr Marten, Burkenstocks, platforms and cowboy boots.
For more festival-related gear, see our recommendations for the best ear plugs for concerts, best travel backpacks and tote bags, and venue-approved bags.
Entertainment
Spotify’s Stock Tumbled After Its Mixed Q2 Earnings — But Analysts See the Bigger Picture
Some earnings results are more difficult to interpret than others, and Spotify’s were no exception. Like Universal Music Group’s Q2 earnings, which contained a jumble of metrics headed in opposite directions, the streaming giant’s results were a mixed bag of wins and losses — a contrast to previous quarters when the metrics were in much better alignment.
The market seemed to take the Spotify results poorly, as the company’s share price dropped more than 11% following Tuesday’s earnings release. (Importantly, a pullback of that scope isn’t a surprise given Spotify’s share price was up 112% over the last year through Monday, July 28.) Analysts, however, were more sanguine and focused on the company’s long-term prospects rather than the quarter-to-quarter bumpiness.
Some of the factors that influenced Spotify’s mixed quarter were under its control (subscriber growth, lower-than-expected advertising performance). But some factors were out of its control (foreign exchange losses) while others were a combination of external and internal forces (higher stock-based compensation expense related to Spotify’s soaring share price). That’s a lot to digest.
Spotify’s earnings results highlighted the tension between investors’ desire for neat, linear growth and the untidy realities for companies that report earnings every three months. For a variety of reasons, some quarters will be better than others, and CEO Daniel Ek encouraged investors “to be prepared” for those instances where Spotify spends more money to grow the business over the long term.
A drop in advertising prices, for example, might spur Spotify to “double or triple” its marketing expense, Ek explained. “We generally expect to see more efficiencies as we’re leveraging better and better tools,” he said, “but sometimes that efficiency may mean that the right thing is to actually spend more in the short term to then get it back in the long term.” Translation: The path to success isn’t a straight line.
Equity analysts, who love a clean narrative as much as anybody, tried to make sense of the contrasting indicators. J.P. Morgan analysts called it a “messy” quarter for its mix of positives and negatives. Some analysts slightly lowered their forecasts for revenue and operating income. Everybody pointed to the fact that Spotify will encounter some bumps in the road as it makes investments (which are a drag on earnings) in pursuit of long-term growth (which, to Ek’s point, could help earnings down the road).
But there was nothing in Spotify’s results and executives’ comments that changed analysts’ overall theses. Investors want to see year-over-year growth every quarter, but analysts know that isn’t realistic. In their notes to investors, analysts focused on long-term opportunities to attract subscribers, benefits from current investments and Spotify’s ability to generate additional revenue.
Analysts believe that Spotify will continue to succeed if it makes the platform more engaging. Some of them homed in on two statistics that Spotify mentioned during the earnings call: 350 million users have streamed a video podcast, and video consumption is growing 20 times faster than audio-only consumption. Spotify’s investments in AI could also lead to better engagement. Spotify now has AI playlists in 40 countries, and user engagement with its AI DJ has “nearly doubled” in the last year, Gustav Söderström said during Tuesday’s earnings call.
Another factor in long-term growth is Spotify’s ability to generate revenue in different ways. For most of its history, Spotify has made money selling ads and subscriptions based on music listening. That has changed in recent years, and J.P. Morgan analysts believe the company has the ability to improve monetization outside of the record label/music publisher royalty structure. In other words, podcasts and audiobooks have the potential to help drive revenue without giving 70% of that revenue to music rights holders.
In the end, analysts’ valuation models didn’t change much, if at all. Guggenheim lowered its price target to $800 from $840 and maintained its buy rating. J.P. Morgan maintained its $740 price target. Cantor Fitzgerald left its $640 price target unchanged and reiterated its neutral rating. Bernstein kept its $840 price target and outperform rating. There’s a $200 variance in price targets within those four examples. But considering Spotify closed Friday at $627.15, it’s clear all the analysts feel there is upside for investors willing to hold on through occasional rough terrain.
Entertainment
Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page Settles Lawsuit Over Decades-Old ‘Dazed and Confused’ Credits Dispute
Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page and a songwriter have reached a settlement to resolve the latest lawsuit over the disputed credits to the band’s iconic song “Dazed and Confused,” according to new court filings.
The agreement, filed in court Friday (Aug. 1), will quickly end a copyright case filed this spring by Jake Holmes, a songwriter who has claimed for years that he actually wrote “Dazed and Confused” and that Page simply performed it without credit or payment.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed in public filings, other than to say that it “resolves the entire case” and will be formalized in the weeks ahead. Notice of the settlement was filed by attorneys for Holmes and was not signed by lawyers for Page or other defendants.
Reps for Page did not return a request for comment. An attorney for Holmes declined to comment.
Holmes wrote and recorded “Dazed and Confused” in 1967; Page later reworked it into a song for his band The Yardbirds, then into the famed 1969 Zeppelin track. Decades later, in 2010, Holmes filed a copyright lawsuit against Page. That case quickly settled, and the credits for Zeppelin’s track now say it was “written Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes.”
But in May, Holmes sued Page again, accusing the legendary rocker of flouting that earlier agreement and violating his rights. The case centered on newly released recordings of Yardbirds performances and the recent documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin.
“By falsely claiming that the Holmes composition is the Page composition, … Page [and others] have willfully infringed the Holmes composition,” Holmes’ lawyers write. “Defendants…have ignored plaintiff’s cease and desist demand and continue to infringe.”
The case against Page was still in the earliest stages, and he and the various other defendants (which also included music publisher Warner Chappell and film studio Sony Pictures) had not yet formally responded to the accusations with court filings of their own.
Entertainment
Justin Timberlake’s *NSYNC Bandmate Shows Support After Lyme Disease Reveal: ‘That’s Superhero Status’
Chris Kirkpatrick says his *NSYNC bandmate Justin Timberlake “showed me a whole new level of strength” in the wake of Timberlake’s announcement that he has Lyme disease on Thursday (July 31).
Kirkpatrick took to Instagram to show support for Timberlake, who struggled with Lyme disease on his recent Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which closed out last night.
“Watching him battle Lyme disease day in and day out, while still getting on that stage night after night, was something I’ll never forget,” Kirkpatrick wrote under a photo of himself, Timberlake and fellow *NSYNC members Lance Bass and JC Chasez. “The long days, the travel, the exhaustion — and yet, he never gave up. No complaints, no excuses — just heart, grit, and pure determination.”
Kirkpatrick added about Timberlake, “That kind of resilience is rare.”
In a vulnerable Instagram post Thursday (July 31), Timberlake shared photos from his time on the road and wrote, “As I’m reflecting on the tour and festival tour — I want to tell you a little bit about what’s going on with me.”
Timberlake went on to announce, “Among other things, I’ve been battling some health issues, and was diagnosed with Lyme disease — which I don’t say so you feel bad for me — but to shed some light on what I’ve been up against behind the scenes.”
“If you’ve experienced this disease or know someone who has — then you’re aware: living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically,” he continued. “When I first got the diagnosis I was shocked for sure. But, at least I could understand why I would be onstage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness. I was faced with a personal decision. Stop touring? Or, keep going and figure it out. I decided the joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling. I’m so glad I kept going.”
Continuing his support, Kirkpatrick wrote: “I couldn’t be more proud to call him my friend. Tour life is already a grind, but doing it while fighting Lyme disease? That’s superhero status.”
Kirkpatrick concluded his post with, “Here’s to strength, perseverance, and one hell of a tour. Love you little bro.”
Timberlake isn’t the first musician who’s publicly shared his Lyme diagnosis, with Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber and more stars also previously speaking about their struggles with the illness.
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