Festivals Aren’t Like They Used to Be — Here Are 30+ Then & Now Photos to Prove It

Part of what makes Coachella so famous is its fun, carefree vibe. There’s a type of music for everyone, and it’s just a place to relax and enjoy yourself. But is that image totally authentic?

In the past, it looked like it was, but attending Coachella nowadays is an “experience” that requires months of planning outfits and very cultivated vibes. Maybe that’s only the case for some Coachella goers, though, and others still keep that carefree feel.

Woodstock is one of those music festivals that almost everyone’s heard of. The idea behind Woodstock was probably one of the most wholesome. It was to spread unity and peace in a time of great historical turbulence.

These Woodstock festival goers in the ‘70s just spread calm and relaxation, and those in the photo from the ‘90s embrace the free lifestyle that is commonly associated with Woodstock. Sometimes it’s good for things not to change!

Whether you’re a jazz fan or not, you’ve probably heard of Montreux Jazz Festival. Having started in 1967, this is one of the oldest music festivals in the world, and it’s still going strong today.

Whether outdoors or indoors, the festival hosts a wide variety of artists, like Muse, the British alternative rock band who’ve graced the festival’s stage in both 2002 and 2016. The festival takes place in Switzerland and is the second-largest annual jazz festival in the world!

In 1980, The Montreux Jazz Festival was lucky enough to have a big star on the stage — Marvin Gaye. You can even watch his performance, which was recorded and dubbed Marvin Gaye: Live in Montreux 1980.

Marvin Gaye isn’t the only big name the festival has seen, though. Singer-songwriter David Bowie performed at the festival in 2002, much to the delight of fans in attendance. Let’s just say no one felt “Under Pressure” to have a good time that year.

Like any other festival, Montreux Jazz Festival has steadily grown in size throughout the years. From music lovers in the ‘80s watching performances to fans roaming around, you can see how vast the festival has always been.

Over the years, if you’ve felt like attending, you’d make your way to Switzerland for two weeks in the summer on the shores of Lake Geneva. You could see the likes of Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Prince, and Stevie Wonder, all in a beautiful setting.

Only a year later, in 1968, the Guinness World Record holder for “Largest Music Festival” was born, and its name is Summerfest. In the first picture, you can see how low-key yet successful it was in the beginning.

Now it’s much larger, with between 800,000 to a million people flocking to its stages each year! These photos clearly show how much this summer festival has grown and will continue to grow.

Summerfest started when the mayor of Milwaukee, Henry W. Maier, felt inspired by Oktoberfest in Germany and wanted to create a similar atmosphere in the United States. He had a vision, and that vision clearly paid off.

Summerfest has seen some massive names performing on its stages, from Paul McCartney to the Rolling Stones, Metallica, and even Lady Gaga. There’s nothing better than enjoying great artists with other like-minded fans in the Wisconsin summer.

The unique thing about Summerfest is that, unlike some other festivals, it doesn’t limit itself to one genre. From country to rock, R&B, and even reggae, you can find a little bit of everything at Henry Maier Festival Park.

You can even catch a ride on the Summerfest Skyglider, which is a ride much like a ski lift that takes you around the festival grounds and above the stages. There’s nothing quite like a birds-eye view of your favorite bands!

If you haven’t heard of Glastonbury, then the odds are that you’ve never attended a music festival. Glastonbury is one of the most recognized festivals in the world, and it all started as a free peace-and-love festival in 1970.

These pictures are really cool because you can see how today’s stages take inspiration from the old days and have kept the unique pyramid shape. If anything has changed, though, it’s definitely the size of the crowd!

Glastonbury started out a lot like Woodstock. It was a place for people to freely express themselves and share ideas. Camping was a big part of it, as you can see in the photo from the 1970s of two attendees cooking over a makeshift campfire.

Things have become a bit more official since then, with guests camping in massive campgrounds with nice tents and colorful flags to help them find their tent’s location when returning after a long day of dancing and singing.

One thing that’s changed a lot for many music festivals, including Glastonbury, is the fashion. In the photo from the 1990s, you can see two guys dressed very casually, as is most of the crowd.

Nowadays, people take “festival fashion” much more seriously, with many people spending months planning out their outfits to be photo ready when the festival rolls around. Some people still opt for the more casual look, though.

Whoever said that the Danish don’t know how to have fun? Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark, has been going strong since 1970 — when it was started by two high school students, believe it or not.

Unfortunately for the Danish, you couldn’t get out of waiting in line for entry, even back in the 1970s. You can have fun while camping at the festival, though, like these wrestlers in the early 2000s.

If there’s one thing that the acts at Roskilde Festival know how to do right, it’s rocking out. This act in the ‘80s drew a massive crowd as their singer and guitarist had a blast.

That didn’t stop in the early 2000s, either, with more modern-day rock groups bringing a great gig to Roskilde like those who came before them. There’s nothing quite like headbanging in a crowd full of rock fans.

Whether you’re at a festival in Denmark or Milwaukee, you’ve got to take time to stop and eat between enjoying acts. Hunger, unfortunately, waits for no one, even cheerful festival-goers.

Whether you’re a long-haired hippie in the ‘70s or a group of young friends in the 2000s, you’ve got to stop and have a seat and a bite to eat. At least the ‘70s festivalgoers had better weather than their more modern counterparts. They don’t seem to mind, though.

The Isle of Wight Festival takes place in England and started in 1968. It stopped in 1970 and was only revived 32 years later in 2002. It’s generally known as a pop festival.

Back in the early days, fans spent a lot of time catching naps in packed crowds between acts, and while fans nowadays probably do the same thing, you’re more likely to see them jumping up and down with excitement, like in the second photo from the 2000s.

Europe is home to tons of great music festivals, and the Netherlands is no exception. It hosts the longest-running pop music festival ever — Pinkpop, which started in 1970. The festival has seen lots of great artists.

They may not be flinging themselves off the stage and into the crowd like in this photo from the ‘90s, but they’re still putting on great shows and helping the festival sell out year after year.

The interesting thing about the Pinkpop festival is that in order to prevent overcrowding, they only sell tickets for 60,000 people each day. This makes the festival feel more exclusive.

Whether you’re watching artists on this cute little stage from the past or watching the likes of Kings of Leon and Biffy Clyro on the more modern stage, one thing is for sure; Pinkpop is never boring. We kind of miss the ‘80s vibe of the first stage, though.

Over in England, the Reading and Leeds Festivals weren’t always in Reading and Leeds. They actually started out as the Beaulieu Jazz Festival, and didn’t even settle in Reading until 1971, with Leeds joining the mix in 1999.

In the older pic, you can see how the festival was a lot more low-key with smaller stages. It’s cool to see fans relaxing on the grass in both past and present, though. Some things never change.

Even though it started out as a jazz festival, it took a much different path once it moved to Reading. Now, the line-up is mostly various types of rock, from hard rock to punk rock to new wave.

Nirvana graced the stages of the past, and the Foo Fighters grace the stages of the present, along with other big names and even hip-hop artists like Jay-Z and Eminem. What this proves is that it would be hard to go to the Reading and Leeds Festivals and not have a good time.

You may have never heard of Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival, but you’ll be wanting to go once we’re done here. It’s unique in that it’s not only about music; it also celebrates the art and culture of the Seattle area.

The top photo from the ‘90s shows a “limbo artist,” and our back hurts just from looking at him! 2000s performers have kept up with the creativity, like this performer crowd surfing on an innertube.

When you’re in the crowd at Bumbershoot, one thing is for certain: you’re never going to get bored. Between music acts, you can catch all sorts of performers, like these Japanese dancers in the ‘70s.

Nowadays, some of the performers have moved into the crowd, like this dancer on stilts. She’s sure to have a great view of the concerts, but what about the poor people standing behind her?!

If you’re tired of American music festivals, head on over to Bourges, France, where you can attend Le Printemps de Bourges every spring. The festival was lucky enough to see one of Johnny Cash’s last European performances in 1997.

Now the festival hosts all sorts of artists, like France’s own Christine and the Queens, a pop singer-songwriter. She may not have Johnny Cash’s unique voice, but she lights up the crowd in much the same way.

Rock in Rio is a music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that takes place every two years. The first one was in 1985, and the fans were lucky enough to see one of the greatest rock bands of all time — Queen.

People nowadays can’t have the same experience due to the loss of Freddie Mercury, but it doesn’t mean they don’t get a great show, because now they have acts like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who will “Make You Feel Better” while you “Can’t Stop” dancing, puns intended.

Many people know Lollapalooza for the great techno bands and fashion, but before it was based in Chicago, it was actually a touring event. It’s only been a fixture in Chicago since 2005.

These crowds may not seem that different at first, but the one big difference is that the modern-day crowd is much more low-key than the crowd from the ‘90s! Crowd surfing is also generally frowned upon nowadays, as people can get easily hurt.

Yet another music festival that takes place in the Netherlands is Mysteryland, which is an electronic dance music (EDM) festival at the end of August. If you look at the then and now photos, there’s one big notable difference.

Most EDM festivals nowadays have added something they didn’t have in the past: tons of colorful lights and elaborate stages, which has really changed the atmosphere. Mysteryland isn’t the only EDM festival that has embraced this change, either.

The Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada, has really embraced the colorful, strobe-light atmosphere as well, but before it was a festival, it was actually just a warehouse party in Los Angeles, California!

Like many other festivals, the fashion is a huge part of the experience, but we’ve got to say that we’re kind of glad the baggy overall look has stayed in the ‘90s. Festival goers nowadays usually opt for neon and glow sticks, which are much more fun.

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival takes both the music and heritage sides of the festival very seriously. They even have a “no carnival food” policy, so food vendors have to sell meals inspired by Louisiana cuisine.

As far as music, people of the past got to enjoy Joni Mitchell, and more recently, Stevie Nicks made an appearance. Who wouldn’t want to go to a festival where they can eat gumbo or beignets while listening to powerful female musicians?

The festival, commonly called “Jazz Fest,” takes place at the end of April and involves all sorts of music styles associated with Louisiana, from blues to bluegrass to jazz.

Whether fans are listening to a commentator or a brass band, they get to spend time before it gets too hot in Louisiana, enjoying all the great things that the state has to offer. No wonder the festival has been a hit since 1970!

Jazz Fest isn’t the only hit festival that New Orleans is home to. In 1995, Essence Fest started to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine, but one year just wasn’t enough.

To this day, Essence is the biggest African-American cultural and music event in the US, with attendees in the first year being lucky enough to see Aaliyah, and attendees in the mid-2000s getting to groove to Mary J. Blige. Talk about great music.

Sziget is another European festival that started out in 1993 in Hungary as a low-key student festival. Now it’s a well-known rock festival, having seen bands like The Kooks and The Killers grace the stage.

If anything has changed about Sziget, it’s the colors! The bottom photo from the 2000s looks like a rainbow threw up on the crowd, but in a good way. It just goes to show how much festival fashion has changed.

If you haven’t heard of Coachella, you’re probably living under a rock. It’s arguably one of the most famous music festivals in the world, having started in 1999 by two promoters to focus on art rather than radio popularity.

What these then-and-now photos show us is that the crowds of the past had fun by screaming their heads off, while the crowds now entertain themselves by tossing around blow-up balls. Both are pretty great parts of attending music festivals.

One negative thing that hasn’t changed between the ‘70s and now is the amount of trash we produce. But what has changed is festival goers’ willingness to help clean up the mess that they leave behind.

This photo from the ‘70s shows people at Woodstock helping clean up their mess, making life easier for everyone and helping the environment. Meanwhile, the photo from the ‘90s shows trash cans bursting with trash and no one cleaning it up.

The Newport Folk Festival was one of the earliest modern-style music festivals in the United States, starting out in 1959. It became more official in 1985, and some huge artists have performed there since.

Whether you’re fans of Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton or not, you can’t deny that any fan who got to see them was pretty lucky. It’s a pretty iconic festival for fans of folk music, and it won’t be ending anytime soon!

The cool thing about the Newport Folk Festival is that its fans have found a very unique way of listening to the shows. Sure, you can go old school and join the crowds on the shore, like in the photo from the 1970s.

But the cooler option is to bring your boat to the harbor and join a flotilla, where boats will tether together and enjoy the cool breezes of the bay while still getting to enjoy the music.

Perhaps the biggest change to music festival life is the way in which we participate. In the past, there was little to distract us, so fans were fully immersed in the vibe.

Nowadays, unfortunately, fans get so absorbed in their phones that they spend the whole concert recording and watching through their tiny screen instead of actually watching the band, and others get to enjoy a sea of phones blocking their view.