#festivalscene

Hey there. My name is Bailey Miller, a.k.a., The Happy Hippie. I’m 22 years young and have a strong ambition for adventure. I am currently a soon-to-be college graduate with my Bachelor’s in Business Marketing. Don’t let this business persona fool you though, I have always loved live music and concerts since I was a kid. My dad used to live out his rock days in a band, as well as a music producer so I was constantly in and out of the studio daily surrounded by music. You could say the old cliche “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” is definitely a reality in my life.

Around the age of 18 I began attending music festivals, and ever since then the relationship has been non-stoppable.  My first camping festival went by the name of “Counterpoint Music and Arts Festival” located in Rome, Georgia. I miraculously won the tickets from a radio contest, not really knowing at the time what I was about to be getting myself into. I mean… WOW. It was like a little kid walking into a candy factory! Live music everywhere I turned, amazing food, and best of all… FREEDOM. It was something I had never seen before. No adults, no rules, no homework, no school, I mean come on... What 18-year-old wouldn’t have been entranced by such a thing?

But going to festivals became something much more to me than the freedom and music. Over the past four years I have met the most genuine, loving people from these weekend events. The community has impacted my life in so many different ways. I now have friends all over the country in states like Colorado, New York, California, Alabama, Arizona… I could go on. I even met my current boyfriend of two years at a festival in Illinois! The connections I built strayed from intentions anything other than pure friendship and kindness, resulting in long lasting friendships.

Since Counterpoint in 2014, I have now attended probably over 150 festivals countrywide. I’ve been to bigger named festivals such as Bonnaroo (Manchester, TN), Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival (Okeechobee, FL), Electric Forest (Rothbury, MI), to smaller named festivals such as Tipper and Friends (Live Oak, FL), Summerdance (Garrettsville, OH), and Wonderland (Lakeland, FL).

Some may think of “music festivals” and think of two words: Dirty Hippies. And well, I really can’t argue with the common assumption, HA! But in the reality of it all, festival goers are just like everyone else. Most have adult jobs, real-world obligations, and even children. It’s why I love the scene so much, there are so many different types of people gathered in one space for one purpose: Music. It truly is a beautiful thing. If you are on the fence of considering attending an event, well, DO IT! Hopefully this guide will provide you newbies (and veterans) with some helpful tips and tricks of the trade. Welcome to my blog!