I would always recommend traveling with some kind of device onto which you can download or stream new music. The sheer number of new people you meet in a day when backpacking means you are bound to find someone with similar taste as you, and a whole new library of tunes. When you are on one of those seven hour bus or train rides, make sure you are familiarizing yourself with the bands you are going to see, so that you can get the most out of their set (singalong, anyone?). Remember to do some research into the unknown bands who will be there as well, and listen to some of their latest stuff to get an idea of whether you want to catch their set. Some festivals will have their own Spotify playlist that you can stream or download - this is a great way to get into the mood of the festival.

Step 5: make a schedule.

Compare notes with the people you are traveling with, or meeting there, and decide on which acts you want to see together, and which acts you might check out on your own. Download the lineup when it comes out, and the official timetable a few days before, and get an idea of where you want to be for each day. Remember, you will stumble upon some unbelievably cool acts out of the blue, and end up staying for their whole set, and alternatively, you might only stay for one song by your favorite band. It's also possible that you will get so excited about the festival that you pre-game a little too enthusiastically, and miss an entire day of music (this totally didn't happen to me by the way). Be informed, but be flexible.

If all this sounds too complicated....

We totally understand that when you are traveling, there are sometimes more moving parts than you can keep track of whilst retaining your sanity, and its easier just to stick to hostels and pub crawls where you don't actually have to organize anything (been there, it's much less stressful). Luckily, there are people who are willing to drag your happy ass out of the dorm room and onto the road, and make sure you get the most out of your festival season. The folks at Stoke Travel, a Barcelona based company run by Australians, offer personalized, flexible festival and surfing tours, with as many stops as you can handle, cheap and free booze, transport, food, walking tours, tents, and a great party attitude! Check out their promo video from last year's festival season in Europe: