Fests for Less: An all-access pass when strapped for cash

by Brenda Evans

Every year, thousands of students make the musical pilgrimage to reach the oasis that is the summer festival. Those few precious days, when inhibitions take the back seat and music is everything, are the highlights of many a music lover’s year.

However, broke college students can’t just throw down hundreds of dollars for three days of revelry. When ticket prices alone reach $300, aspiring festival-goers can lose all hope. The general admission tickets for Bonnaroo cost $250, All Points West $199, Lollapalooza $190, Rothbury $250. Most of these prices will continue to rise. All will add on at least another $25 for fees, and some don’t include camping or hotel and parking expenses. Not to mention the costs of food, beer and water. Even showers have a price at some fests.

Through this discouraging profusion of dollar signs is a light at the end of the musically starved tunnel. There is, in fact, a way to avoid handing out the Benjamins and still experience those can’t-miss shows. Work exchange programs are the silver lining of a poor man’s summer — a solution for those willing to scrape gum with the sanitation crew for a chance to crowd surf to their favorite crooners. There are a few programs out there that actually trade free festival passes for odd jobs around the grounds.

Clean Vibes, a 10-year-old company, looks for both paid employees and volunteers to work at summer fests such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Treasure Island, All Good Music Festival, Mountain Jam and many more. Volunteers can work during the festival or a few days following in exchange for free admission. Volunteers are required to make a deposit of the ticket price as collateral. If they skip out on their shifts, the company will give the money to the fest. But if shift commitments are honored, the deposit is paid back in full.

Paid positions are a completely different story. Travel expenses, hotel/camping (including showers) and meals are covered by Clean Vibes, and no deposit is required. Workers put in 10 hours a day at $10 an hour. Oh, and of course the admission is free. But don’t get too excited yet, Sparky. Paid positions work a few days before and during the fest, and stay until every last cigarette butt is picked off the ground.

Junior Annie Semenczuk worked as a paid staffer for Clean Vibes at Lollapalooza 2008. “It definitely wasn’t easy but it wasn’t that bad because we were surrounded by good music,” Annie said. She plans on working for Clean Vibes again this summer. Apparently, the power of music can make even the least glamorous jobs worthwhile; or maybe it’s the perks, like backstage access during some of the headliner shows. These perks must have made Annie forget that by the end of the night she was covered head to toe with “trash water, dirt, probably some vomit and God knows what else.”

If smelling like stale beer and looking like Pig Pen isn’t for you, try the Atlanta-based company, Shimon Presents: Work Exchange Team. They assist in 11 different jobs at festivals such as All Good, Coachella, Wakarusa, Rothbury, Camp Bisco and Gathering of the Vibes, only one of which includes trash duty. Jobs range from front gate ticketing to catering to artist check-in. Yes, you read that correctly: artist check-in. This job entails checking the artists playing at the fest either into the backstage area or into the artist camping area.
Most workers like Caroline Hosey — former volunteer and current intern for Shimon Presents: WET program — work regular positions like catering, parking, trash pickup and the street team.

“The best part is meeting people from all over the country who work with you,” she said. “My favorite experiences have been where I’ve gotten to meet important people that ran the festival, or even the musicians. It made me see the festival from a different angle, and it was such a cool experience to be a part of it.”

WET takes the time to ask every volunteer to list around three shows they absolutely do not want to miss and the team does its best to schedule volunteers accordingly. The average workday lasts four to five hours and the rest of the time is left for volunteers to revel in their relatively free admission. Volunteers are asked to make a deposit as well as a $10 application fee to cover the WET T-shirts and keep the program going. After the fest is over, the deposit is returned to the volunteer in full. Another perk of working with WET is free camping at premium camping sites, if volunteers arrive early enough.

If the thought of missing your favorite summer fests on the account of your funds is unbearable, you now have options. If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves in the name of music, the work exchange programs are a safe way to gain access to the best fests. While these programs may not compare to the freedom of going to a fest to enjoy every last act, it’s worth looking into for an alternative that will feed your festival need for the right price. Free, sort of.