Festival Fails Often Make The Best Festival Stories

This weekend, Yatala Drive-In (situated between Brisbane and the Gold Coast) will screen 2018 UK comedy 'The Festival' – from the people behind 'The Inbetweeners' and starring Joe Thomas – on Friday and Saturday night (22-23 February).

After his girlfriend dumps him at graduation, Nick thinks his life is over. His best friend has the perfect solution: three days at a giant music festival. What could go wrong, seriously?


We've all been (or known someone like) Nick at some stage; festival newbie with no idea how much gross, dirty fun can be had hanging with a few thousand punters aka new-found friends in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere. From tents flying away to dancing in vomit, it all happens at music festivals.

In between drunken laughs and catching your favourite bands back to back, there’s bound to be a few music festival fails in the mix that sometimes end up being the funniest stories and best memories.

To get you in the mood ahead of 'The Festival' screenings this weekend, we have complied some funny, but true festival stories from our team of contributors that will make you giggle (at least a little).

Vomit Coffin

“I was watching King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard at Splendour In The Grass 2017 and some dude was tripping, so I went up to him in the crowd because I could tell he was in another dimension. He assured me that he was fine, until King Gizzard performed 'Vomit Coffin’ when he vomited and then danced in his own vomit.” - Zoe

Food Fail

“I was at Falls Festival 2017/ 18 and our ten-person tent fell over completely, so a group of PhD students had to help us put it back up. At the same festival we put all of our food into a two-man tent beside our crappier, bigger tent and called it the 'food tent'. By the end of the weekend it ended up smelling like a dead rat. Oh the choices you make when you’re drunk.” - Kendra

Port-a-no

“At Splendour 2017 I tried to outsmart the temperamental weather. It was hot during the day and freezing at night, so I thought it would be smart to change from my lace crop-top that I wore with jeans throughout the day into a warmer jumpsuit at night.

"When the time came I lined up at the nasty port-a-loos to change into the jumpsuit. Get in there and my drunk self realised a little too late that to change I would have to remove my shirt, Dr. Martins and my jeans to put on the jumpsuit. So I’m freezing cold and in my underwear in this port-a-loo trying to hold all my clothes to avoid them touching the nasties of festival toilets. This required a steady hand and some serious balance after living off vodka and Red Bull for the last three days.

"Meanwhile everyone in the line is banging on the door asking if I’m okay and telling me to hurry up. I finally managed to get changed and when I got out it was an endless line of embarrassment because everyone thought I had done the biggest poo ever and I ended up missing the only song from Catfish and the Bottleman that I like." - Kahlin

But festivals aren't just festering mud trails and tents filled with rotting food. Often you'll stumble across the sweetest of moments that will stay with you forever.

Happy Birthday

"Under the bamboo spire sculpture at Wooford Folk Festival 18/19, I found myself in the middle of a circle of friends clutching a pineapple decorated with a single candle. The group had formed a surprise birthday party for a friend who, not knowing of the gathering (as per the definition of surprise), had gone to see a set. A birthday party with no birthday person, they were preparing to disband when a mother led her daughter, who had turned 11 moments ago, into the hut to share her good news.

"The following rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ was to be the most heartfelt set of the whole festival, the flaming pineapple passed hand to hand until it reached the bewildered girl. Thanks to the fateful forces of WFF, there is now a child out there that will live the rest of their life believing that somewhere, hiding in tall bamboo spires with pineapples waiting to be set alight, magic really does exist." - Cassidy

Festivals are also events to secure life-long friendships and often one of the first stepping stones for a real-world education.

A Livid Adventure

"We booked our seats in the mini bus down to Livid from Toowoomba. The year was 1998, it was our first festival and I was absolutely there to see The Dandy Warhols. "We were in for an education – even just on the bus ride there. Girls changed out of their parents'-approved outfits, hair was twisted into multiple tiny knots and secret piercings were revealed, with septum barbells untucked from nostrils and t-shirts tied high to show off belly buttons." - Colleen

'The Festival' screens at Yatala Drive-In (situated between Brisbane and the Gold Coast) on Friday and Saturday night (22-23 February).