NPR

Music festivals can be overwhelming, but they remind me that I'm not alone

Music festivals like Coachella are a spectrum of taste and discovery, allowing fans to experience their favorite artists and introducing them to new ones.
A view of the crowd at Coachella.

In the California desert, under heavy heat and against a hazy horizon, I fell for music festivals. 2013 was my first year as a teenager, the year I began to flex into my own agency and find my place in the Gen Z zeitgeist. It was the year I convinced my father to take me to Coachella, under the guise of a "growth opportunity."

There is a feeling of complete bliss when the bass reverberates in your chest — you float

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