Thursday, July 21

    7 Weekends. 7 Festivals. 7 Countries

    Your History Lesson on Banffy Castle

    Bánffy Castle is an architectonic Baroque monument situated in Bonţida… In 1437, during the unrest in northern Transylvania caused by peasant uprisings, Albert II of Germany granted Bánffy family the right to build a fortress…In 1944, the castle was transformed into a field hospital…During the communist regime, the whole building was used as a driving school, cooperative farm and hospital for children…In 1990, the castle was declared a historic monument. — from Wikipedia

    Festival Trend: Cashless Payment on Your Wristband

    Cashless is showing up everywhere. From food to drink to merchandise, Electric Castle used your wristband for every purchase.

    #FestivalForever

    I saw this crew of older festival veterans all weekend drinking, dancing, and playing in the mud. They were being sponsored by a Romanian life insurance company.

    How To Keep a German Busy at a Music Festival

    Summer 2016 Sigur Ros Count: 4
    Friday, July 15

    Welcome to the Chill Out Zone

    Electric Castle has plenty of places to relax scattered all over the grounds. Just a bunch of shady spots filled with chairs, hammocks, and the legendary beanbag chairs. Typically during the day we would head in early to grab a prime spot.

    Festival Fashion: Electric Castle Gear

    Coma at the Castle

    Not knowing many Romanian bands, I thought Coma would be some super chill post-rock band. I was wrong, as these headbanging fans in the front row clearly let me know.

    Hangover Soup

    I don’t know his name. I don’t know his history. But I know that Goulash Man in Bontida hooked me up every day with a bowl of stew so tasty that I kept burning my mouth because I just couldn’t wait for it to cool.

    Language Lesson of the Week

    “Între două nu te plouă.”

    -Romanian phrase for “between two girls you won’t feel the rain.”

    Festival Trend: Old School Film Cameras

    I have been seeing this quite a bit this summer — oldie time cameras with film. In an age where filters and over-editing can create photos so crisp that they don’t look real, these retro cameras with their imperfect shots are going to become even more popular.Favorite Festival Set: Dilated Peoples

    Saturday, July 16

    Hope for sunshine. Plan for Rain.

    Those words are never more true than at Electric Castle which has been cursed with massive downpours during the last two years. If I’ve learned anything as a music festival reporter, torrential rain, and giant mud pits don’t even come close to stopping festies from having fun.

    Festival Fashion: Romanians in the Rain

    A brief sampler on Romanian rain wear.

    Meet a Festival Fan: Alice and Monica from Timasora

    Everyone in Europe wears Yankee gear, so I’m always surprised when I see a Boston Red Sox cap (Music Festival Wizard is based out of New England). Like a lot of Romanians, Monica (on the right) had participated in a work and travel program to the US and spent time working at Old Orchard Beach in Maine.

    Sunday, July 17

    The Morning of Mud

    Meet a Festival Fan: Gabriel from Isia

    I met Gabriel on the last piece of dry ground near the main stage. His girlfriend and him had traveled out from the Eastern border of Romania for Electric Castle. Gabriel’s pick of the day: “You need to check out God is an Astronaut.”

    Meet a Festival Fan: Krystyn from Brasov

    The red blur is Krystyn who works at the front desk of the excellent Transylvania Hostel. If I had to guess, she probably sees more live music in a year than I do. During this set from Alternosfera, she never stopped headbanging.

    Meet a Festival Fan: Tom from the UK or Australia

    My friend Tom turned to me on the last day and said, “I look like a fifty year old homeless person.” It was hard for me to disagree.

    Bastille On the Main Stage

    It’s raining, it’s dark, and the main stage is too high for me to get good photos, so instead I head out into the crowd. Here’s my camping neighbor Veronica fully enjoying every second of Bastille.