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I improved on location this year – my condo was just a five-minute walk from the festival grounds which made it very easy to go back and forth. As I walked into the festival on day one, I noticed security is a bit more strict than last year, using metal detectors for the first time. My goal for the first day was to visit the wedding chapel. My partner and I ran to wedding chapel check-in and filled out a Hangout Fest marriage license with our new friend Taylor as a witness. They allowed us to choose from a few themes such as Alabama preacher, Reggae Rasta, Game of Thrones, but we went for the Star Wars theme. There was a 15-minute wait in line while we watched other festival goers ahead of us and listened to the different themes. Instead of using the ring pops that were given to us, I pulled out two special unicorn horns. The preacher read a hilarious script and people cheered us on as we said: “I do”.
One of my favorite stages at Hangout is the Malibu Rum beach tent, always bumping dance music on the sand, serving up some delicious frozen cocktails nearby. Every day at 2:30 Hotel Garuda had the crowd jumping in unison. What a treat for attendees.
[irp posts=”16682″ name=”Northern Nights Music Festival | Oh…We are so in love with You”]
The next stop for me was the Hangout Stage to see Portugal.The Man. This was my chance to visit the VIP viewing area of the stage, and I was impressed. To my right, there are two levels of super VIP cabanas with built-in hot tubs, and to my left swimming pools with a great view of the stage. As I’m taking this all in, “feel it still” plays and the music is taking over everyone around me. Being able to visit the media center was such an advantage. There were comfortable couches, pong, and foosball tables, and a refrigerator stocked with water and soft drinks. After checking out Zedd at the Surf stage I began to head back to the Hangout Stage to see The Killers, and on my way found the roller rink. The Roller disco at Hangout was actually the best part of the festival for me! Every night at 7:30 there was a lively hip-hop party with around 4-5 dance circles of wild festival goers showing off their moves.
While waiting for the Killers to appear on stage, the crowd around me cheered in anticipation of their performance. Most bands usually wouldn’t open with one of their main hit songs, but to my surprise they opened with a bang, performing Mr. Brightside. From just this one song the entire audience became extremely energetic. The best party of their performance was the tribute to Tom Petty – American Girl.
Day two went by so fast, and I was able to see San Holo, who I was waiting for since I began this trip. Of course, he laid down his guitar skills during his set leaving me in this emotional state. Once again I went to the roller rink when the sun went down to dance with all the skaters before watching the closing set of the day – The Chainsmokers. When I see The Chainsmokers live in concert, I’m always amazed by their performance. With every show, they are able to draw the most attention from the crowd leaving everyone in adoration. I was most impressed during their performance when Matt McGuire began to play the drums with flaming drumsticks.
Exploring the festival every day was a refreshing feeling. The perks of attending Hangout Fest is all the freebies. Walking around I was able to grab a variety of Clif bars at their photo booth, a booth handing out handfuls of sour punch straw in flavors I haven’t heard of, and some merch from Barefoot wine. JBL offered festival goers a chance to win portable speakers and headphones by aiming at a target. For people looking for physical activity, beach volleyball was available on the sand, and Camp Hangout offered kickball and s’mores for everyone. A popular attraction at Hangout was the puppy kissing booth, where everyone was able to hop in a photo booth with an assortment of puppies to promote adoption.
[irp posts=”16562″ name=”Spring Awakening Announces After Parties | FMF Curated Playlist”]
On day three I took advantage of the VIP standing area to see Odesza, who had me in shock. An incredible intro to their set began with the Odesza drum line putting on a riveting show. Before I walked to the Hangout Stage to see the closing performance I had to take one last trip around the entire festival grounds to take it all in. Kendrick Lamar is one of the most lively shows I have seen in a while. It is easy to see how much respect everyone has for his music, especially when the beat stops and thousands of people are chanting his lyrics together. Being that it was Kendrick’s first time performing in Alabama, he invited fans on stage to rap one of his popular songs “m.A.A.d city”. It felt great to see this legend perform after so long, and I walked away completely satisfied.
Experiencing Hangout for the second time, I felt more knowledgeable about the festival. I was able to use my experience from last year and take advantage of so much more. Being able to enter and exit the festival as much as I wanted to was extremely useful. I definitely believe in southern hospitality as everyone I met instantly treated me as a close friend, which is the reason I enjoy attending festivals. There’s no other experience like being able to rock out on the sand all day with close friends and your favorite artists. After having such an exciting weekend at Gulf Shores, I’m more than ready for Hangout Fest 2019.
Returning from the gulf shore, I can’t stop thinking about the 3 days of non-stop dancing on the beach this past weekend. Somehow my second trip to Hangout Fest was even better than the first. The weather forecast of thunderstorms all weekend suddenly turned around to bring us continuous sun beating down on our backs, just as we hoped for. Picking up my wristband from the Media Box office was easier than expected as I was in and out within 5 minutes.
Hangout Fest 2018 Photo: Fresh Music Freaks | Alexander Leandry
I improved on location this year – my condo was just a five-minute walk from the festival grounds which made it very easy to go back and forth. As I walked into the festival on day one, I noticed security is a bit more strict than last year, using metal detectors for the first time. My goal for the first day was to visit the wedding chapel. My partner and I ran to wedding chapel check-in and filled out a Hangout Fest marriage license with our new friend Taylor as a witness. They allowed us to choose from a few themes such as Alabama preacher, Reggae Rasta, Game of Thrones, but we went for the Star Wars theme. There was a 15-minute wait in line while we watched other festival goers ahead of us and listened to the different themes. Instead of using the ring pops that were given to us, I pulled out two special unicorn horns. The preacher read a hilarious script and people cheered us on as we said: “I do”.
One of my favorite stages at Hangout is the Malibu Rum beach tent, always bumping dance music on the sand, serving up some delicious frozen cocktails nearby. Every day at 2:30 Hotel Garuda had the crowd jumping in unison. What a treat for attendees.
[irp posts=”16682″ name=”Northern Nights Music Festival | Oh…We are so in love with You”]
The next stop for me was the Hangout Stage to see Portugal.The Man. This was my chance to visit the VIP viewing area of the stage, and I was impressed. To my right, there are two levels of super VIP cabanas with built-in hot tubs, and to my left swimming pools with a great view of the stage. As I’m taking this all in, “feel it still” plays and the music is taking over everyone around me. Being able to visit the media center was such an advantage. There were comfortable couches, pong, and foosball tables, and a refrigerator stocked with water and soft drinks. After checking out Zedd at the Surf stage I began to head back to the Hangout Stage to see The Killers, and on my way found the roller rink. The Roller disco at Hangout was actually the best part of the festival for me! Every night at 7:30 there was a lively hip-hop party with around 4-5 dance circles of wild festival goers showing off their moves.
While waiting for the Killers to appear on stage, the crowd around me cheered in anticipation of their performance. Most bands usually wouldn’t open with one of their main hit songs, but to my surprise they opened with a bang, performing Mr. Brightside. From just this one song the entire audience became extremely energetic. The best party of their performance was the tribute to Tom Petty – American Girl.
Hangout Fest 2018 Photo: Fresh Music Freaks | Alexander Leandry
Day two went by so fast, and I was able to see San Holo, who I was waiting for since I began this trip. Of course, he laid down his guitar skills during his set leaving me in this emotional state. Once again I went to the roller rink when the sun went down to dance with all the skaters before watching the closing set of the day – The Chainsmokers. When I see The Chainsmokers live in concert, I’m always amazed by their performance. With every show, they are able to draw the most attention from the crowd leaving everyone in adoration. I was most impressed during their performance when Matt McGuire began to play the drums with flaming drumsticks.
Exploring the festival every day was a refreshing feeling. The perks of attending Hangout Fest is all the freebies. Walking around I was able to grab a variety of Clif bars at their photo booth, a booth handing out handfuls of sour punch straw in flavors I haven’t heard of, and some merch from Barefoot wine. JBL offered festival goers a chance to win portable speakers and headphones by aiming at a target. For people looking for physical activity, beach volleyball was available on the sand, and Camp Hangout offered kickball and s’mores for everyone. A popular attraction at Hangout was the puppy kissing booth, where everyone was able to hop in a photo booth with an assortment of puppies to promote adoption.
[irp posts=”16562″ name=”Spring Awakening Announces After Parties | FMF Curated Playlist”]
On day three I took advantage of the VIP standing area to see Odesza, who had me in shock. An incredible intro to their set began with the Odesza drum line putting on a riveting show. Before I walked to the Hangout Stage to see the closing performance I had to take one last trip around the entire festival grounds to take it all in. Kendrick Lamar is one of the most lively shows I have seen in a while. It is easy to see how much respect everyone has for his music, especially when the beat stops and thousands of people are chanting his lyrics together. Being that it was Kendrick’s first time performing in Alabama, he invited fans on stage to rap one of his popular songs “m.A.A.d city”. It felt great to see this legend perform after so long, and I walked away completely satisfied.
Hangout Fest 2018: Photo Fresh Music Freaks | Alexander Leandry
Experiencing Hangout for the second time, I felt more knowledgeable about the festival. I was able to use my experience from last year and take advantage of so much more. Being able to enter and exit the festival as much as I wanted to was extremely useful. I definitely believe in southern hospitality as everyone I met instantly treated me as a close friend, which is the reason I enjoy attending festivals. There’s no other experience like being able to rock out on the sand all day with close friends and your favorite artists. After having such an exciting weekend at Gulf Shores, I’m more than ready for Hangout Fest 2019.
