r/SonicTempleFestival

I invite all experienced festival goers to post their tips here as well. newbies feel free to ask questions.

1: FUCKING HYDRATE!!! this cannot be stressed enough, especially if you plan on getting drunk, just a couple weeks ago i saw a guy pass out in a 2 band show in a slightly warm building because he was drunk, dehydrated and overheating. Drinking water does not start the day before, it starts the week before, you should be drinking at least a half gallon of water every single day the week leading up, more if you are drinking caffeine. being well hydrated will prevent a solid 80%+ of issues with your body on long, hot strenuous days. if i find out one of the members of this community falls out due to being dehydrated i will find someone named kristoff to go shit on your lawn.

2: Do not be afraid of the crowd. i see so many people worried about getting to a stage early enough to get close for a certain band. if you wanna get close just kinda go. ive never had an issue getting within 10 feet of the rail at any band i wanted.

3: The rail is OVERRATED. if you are one of the rail campers, i am not sorry. every time ive been close to the rail ive had some pissed off asshole take a swing at me, ive seen men in their 40s take a swing at a 12 yr old girl, only assholes hang out on the rail. fuck em, the real party is in the pit.

4: if you see people ahead of you pointing up in your direction it means a surfer is coming up behind you, keep your head on a swivel

5: if you see crossed forearms in the air heading your way it means someone is injured and being carried out so make a hole to let them through

6: did i mention to fucking hydrate? cause you better fucking hydrate, kristoff will find you if you dont

7: if youre in a group take a moment to find a meeting point and make a plan on when you will all come back to that point, between sets, after a certain set etc. Cell service is pretty good in the venue but hope for the best, plan for the worst, make plans assuming that you wont have cell service

8: If youre a ginger or some other transparent skinned wierdo dont forget sunscreen, you WILL NOT be allowed to bring in aerosol sunscreen and if you dont want to bring in a big bottle get one of those small silicone camping bottles and fill it up, ive never had a problem getting mine in. if you somehow forget that your skin turns into a failing seafood chain and dont bring any, the medical tent has your back.

FOR THE CROWD SURFERS

a: before you surf, consider hydrating, then do it cause hydration is MANDATORY

b: be realistic about your height:weight ratio, if youre over 200 lbs dont fucking do it, this weight limit goes down the shorter you are. a person that is 5'4" and 180 lbs is just has hard to move as a 6' 220lb bastard.

c: DONT GO LIMP!!. when you go limp all your weight magically moves to your ass, so if someone tries to help by holding up your leg it wont matter cause all that weight gets transferred to your ass, keep your ankles crossed, stay stiff and push your pelvis forward like you are floating on your back in a pool, arms can either be crossed or t pose, just keep them as stiff as you can. if you stay stiff like this you have a better chance of staying facing the sky (which helps women with reducing the accidental/sometimes intentional groping)

d: yes women, if you surf be prepared to get hands all up in your buisness, mostly its unintentional especially if you get flipped over face down, but there will probably be some intentional ones too, unfortunately its just the price you pay for the experience. it would be nice if it didnt happen but shitheads dont care about societal rules, so expect shtiheads. that said if someone gropes you while you arent surfing SAY SOMETHING, happened to my niece on the edge of the pit in 2019, she screamed and pointed him out and he....got dealt with

e: dont surf with anything you arent willing to never see again, this means phones, wallets, bandannas, easy to slip off shoes etc. leave that shit with a friend before you go up

THE PIT:

the pit is not a violent and angry place. are you gonna get bruised up in the pit? absolutely. are you gonna maybe see some blood in the pit? also absolutely. but this pit is NOT the place for fighting. if you are one of those pricks who wants to try and start a fight you WILL get more than you bargained for. the pit is a happy place. come there be happy and embrace the family of moshers and the moshers will embrace back.

girls you are invited to the pit, but be resonable, yes we will ease up some and not intentionally single you out for big hits, but there are times when the pit just goes hard and you will get swept up in it.

EDIT: if youre a new mosher or even experienced, dont be afraid to wear a mouthgurad, plenty of us pit junkies wear them

RULES FOR THE PIT:

a: If they fall GET THEM UP. is you hear people screaming "UP" it means someone fell and stop moshing, people will also signal by putting up a flat "stop" hand to try and stop the flow, rememeber to keep an eye out for it

b: forearms crossed above someones head means someone got hurt, stop moshing put up the cross to alert more people. if you are in the crowd and see crossed arms coming towards you make a hole, it means someone is being carried out.

c: if its your first time on the wall (willing or not) do not leave your back to the pit and do NOT push moshers with the palm of your hand, keep your fingers closed and try to push with the back of your forearms. i have personally seen someone snap a finger because they pushed with an open palm and their pinky got caught. dude could point around corners.

d: NO FUCKING FIGHTING. thats not what we are here for, if you wanna try and start fights you will be limping the rest of the week.

e: SLOW SONGS ARE FOR HYDRATING

f: for the love of fuck if you are near the pit and you arent a mosher, when the pit slows down and/or stops that is NOT a damn invitation to go stand in the open spaces, the pit WILL start again with or without you in it. and congrats, you are now a mosher, wether you wanted to be or not

g: if a surfer comes to the edge of the pit help carry them across or around. this isnt usually a problem with the columbus group, down in louisville the crowd just fucking tosses people into the pit, saw a girl break her wrist in 2019

h: IF THEY FALL GET THEM UP

And finally: EAT THE FUCKING NOODLES THEY GO WELL WITH WATER

seriously Island Noodles do be fucking tasty and good amount for your dollar (i also suggest Mac Attack if they are still there)

and FINALLY finally

FUCKING HYDRATE unless you are a stand way in the back and dont move much kinda person you should be drinking water all day, if you spend time deep in the crowd/moshing i wanna see you chugging at least 20 oz every other set. preferably more. kristoff is watching

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to update y'all, I've been keeping an eye on the weather here in Cbus. It's been a pretty wet week so far, and the forecast is calling for it to stay that way for the next two weeks.

Thunderstorms or showers are currently showing for Thursday, May 14th. High of 68°F, with a low of 54°F. This will be much cooler and wetter than last year.

With that being said, everyone should stay vigilant on weather updates to know what to expect. Know what to wear, know what to pack. 14 days Temple goers!

ETA: I live here in Ohio, just outside Cbus! Have my whole life! I know weather CAN be unpredictable, but this is to show what we COULD get. It would be best, especially for those coming from out of state, to pack and be prepared for ANY weather event here in Ohio! Could you get sunburnt during the day and freeze at night? Yes! I am aware of this. I think it would be best for people to stay on their toes, as is the intention behind this post. Thank you!

I’m saying this as a 5’7 270 dude. You not only putting yourself in danger, but the people having to carry you in danger if you crowd surf. Seriously have some respect for the people having to carry you. 5’5 180 is very different from 6’0 180.

How do I take this thing off so I dont have the wear it for the next two weeks?

This is my first festival and I've learned a valuable lesson hahaha.

Ive tried the straw trick and the twist and pull but nothings working. Not sure if I am just doing it wrong or what, but id someone would post a helpful video or something, id be eternally grateful and ill buy you a beer at the fest lol

Anyone else getting worried about how cool/cold it might be? I know we’re 12 days out and the forecast isn’t reliable that far ahead, but I’m officially looking into how to layer my outfits just in case. I was planning on wearing mostly nothing and now idk how well that’s going to go.

How difficult is it to get into/up to the pits? This is my first Sonic Temple, and I'm pretty much only here for the moshing. Is it a hell of a push, or can you generally get up to them pretty easy? I'll be at the Altar Stage and then later the Sanctuary stage if that helps.

I see a lot of people saying it's going to be hot. Looking at the forecast for 14th and 15th is 48-67. Now coming from south Texas, this is far from what I would consider hot. Is this actually considered hot for you northerners?

To me seems like it's gonna be perfect.

So odd question mainly for the people who have been in the past, how realistic is it to go to both staind and sevendust, they are both some of my all time favorite bands so It would feel wrong if I didnt even try to see both, any tips or suggestions would be appreciated

Both bands have done a song featuring one or the other, what does everyone think the odds are we see either band bring out the other to perform one of those songs?

For reference:
Bring Me The Horizon: This Sadness Will Never End Ft. Sam Carter
Architects: Even If You Win, You’re Still A Rat Ft. Oli Sykes

I know it’s a long shot as these are much older songs for both bands, but I’m hopeful. I feel like it would be a huge miss on DWPs part to not make this happen.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Avenged or Green Day, Iron Maiden would also be sick

For the undercard Get Scared and Pretty Reckless would be cool

I have attended every ROTR and Sonic Temple going back to 2008. Me and my college friends buy our tickets every year for our guy's trip without seeing the lineup. But that may have to change. After the second year we realized how terrible it was to try and get on 71 we changed our accommodations we have entered and exited in through 17th street through town on the east. We'd be out in 20 minutes. Two years ago they closed that exit and it took an hour to leave. NOW parking is sold out... NOW we get to wait on a shuttle and pay $75 a PERSON just to ride a shuttle... so it would cost $450 for a group of 5 ($150 + 3*75) just to park at the festival... this is unacceptable. It does not cost $25 per day to ride a shuttle a few blocks, and thank you so much for giving me a buy 3 get one free on the 4 day shuttle pass. I refuse to pay that. If it cost $75 a day and everyone in the car got to ride I probably would have done it. The shuttle is required because they don't have the parking to cover the tickets they sold. They don't get to extract huge profits because of it. I don't know what i am going to do but i guess I'll figure it out. Great way to figure out they were going to sell out of parking for the first time every a week before the concert starts. Someone at DWP is killing the concert experience in the name of maximizing market actualization for car storage resources and it sucks.

So I originally planned on going with a friend, but due to unforeseen circumstances, that person can no longer attend and I’ll be attending solo

Excited still but way more nervous than before as it’d be my first time traveling anywhere at all solo (driving from Buffalo area, have a hotel and plan on renting a car)

Any sort of advice at all about traveling solo? Just nervous about the whole thing in general lol. Would also love to meet some new people there! (I will have plenty of weed and will gladly share😂)

Now that it is fully legal what are their policies around it? Do we sell the sneak it in or is it kind of trees like cigarettes at this point?