Fans Behave Differently at Every Festival — And Brands Should Too

Brand teams are being asked to show what live experiences deliver. We can now answer that clearly.

Across nearly 100 festivals in 15 countries last year, we analyzed how fans choose festivals, what they do while they’re there, and what stays with them long after. The insights are built from nearly 300K fan responses and over 27 million behavioral data points, giving us one of the most comprehensive views into how fans show up, engage, and connect through live music. 

What stands out is how much this changes from one festival to the next.

At some festivals, the decision to attend builds through conversation months in advance. At others, fans arrive ready to discover what they will listen to next. Some bring families together. Some move through experiences and interact. Some carry the weekend into what they share. Some are pulled in long before the event begins.

Each of these patterns leads to a different kind of return.

The festivals below demonstrate where this shows up most clearly.

Where Demand Is Driven by the Crowd 

Set on vineyards on the east coast of New Zealand, Rhythm and Vines is a New Year’s festival built around hip-hop, electronic, and local artists, with a strong camping culture that turns it into a shared weekend.

For many fans, it starts long before they arrive. Groups plan it together, talk about it for months, and treat it as something they do as a unit.

Compared to the average festival, fans are 90% more likely to attend because everyone is talking about it. The decision builds through conversation as much as it does through the lineup.

What builds around Rhythm and Vines reflects a broader truth about festivals globally. Eight in ten festivalgoers agree culture is created at music festivals, making events like this feel bigger than just the weekend itself.

Where Fans Come to Find What’s Next 

Graspop is one of Europe’s premier metal festivals, known for blending global headliners with emerging talent across multiple stages while attracting one of the most international audiences in the world.

Fans come for the names they know, but they stay to find what is next. The schedule is packed with some of the best names in metal, and the crowd moves from set to set looking for their new favorite artist.

Compared to the average festival, fans are 111% more likely to attend to discover new music. They are there to explore, not just to see what they already like.

“The lineup was really good. I found it hard to take breaks because every artist was great.” – Male, 25–34

This is an environment where attention is active and directed toward discovery. That mindset is also helping fuel the future of the genre, with 89% of EMEA fans saying rock music continues to inspire new generations of fans.

Where Fans Capture the Moment as It Happens 

Lakes Festival combines electronic and hip-hop acts with a strong visual identity, like the bold colors associated with the festival and the dancing icons that flood Lakes social media feed.

Nearly all attendees engage with the festival on social media during the event (93%), making them 28% more likely than the average festival crowd to interact with and share the experience online. 

“The promotion and social media was on point.” – Fan

The experience is built to be picked up and shared as it happens. That behavior reflects a broader fan habit globally, with 3 in 4 festivalgoers saying they posted a photo dump or recap video after the last festival they attended.

Where Live Music Becomes Family Tradition 

Remind GNP is built around legacy artists from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, bringing together acts like Earth, Wind and Fire, the Beach Boys, and KC and the Sunshine in a setting that draws a multi-generational crowd.

Families attend the festival together. Parents, siblings, and extended groups treat the weekend as something shared rather than individual.

Nearly half of attendees attend with extended family, and fans are 188% more likely than the average festivalgoer to attend across generations. 

For many, this festival creates a tradition that families come back to together. What happens at Remind GNP reflects a broader truth about live music culture in Mexico. Among Mexican live music fans, 81% say attending live events together helps bridge generational gaps within their family. 

Where Brands Feel Part of the Experience

EDC Las Vegas is known for its scale, immersive design, and nonstop programming.

Fans do not stay in one place. They move through installations, stages, and brand activations as part of the night.

In 2025, 7 in 10 fans say brands onsite fit naturally into the experience — the highest level we see globally across festivals. More broadly, 85% of fans are open to seeing and engaging with brand sponsorships at dance live music events.

Experiences like DJs at Casa Bacardí or neon filled spaces give fans something to do, not just something to see.

Where Brands Become Part of the Culture 

Splash! is Germany’s largest hip-hop festival, bringing together artists like Ken Carson, Gunna, and Bonez & Friendz with a crowd that is highly engaged both onsite and online.

Splash! creates one of the strongest environments globally for authentic brand engagement, with 85% of fans engaging with brands throughout the weekend. That connection carries emotional weight too, with 3 in 4 German live music fans saying they associate the feelings they had at a live event with the brands they experienced there.

Where the Decision Starts Before the Event

EDC Mexico brings a highly social audience and strong digital engagement leading up to the event.

For many fans, the experience starts before they arrive. Social content drives awareness and shapes the decision to attend.

Compared to the average festival, fans are 156% more likely to attend because they do not want to miss out. That behavior reflects a broader cultural mindset around festivals globally, with 3 in 4 festivalgoers agreeing that being able to say “I was there” for a legendary festival moment is a form of social currency. 

“I’m always talking on social media with my friends, recommending that they live the experience at least once.” – Male, 25–34

The momentum builds early and carries through the weekend.