Have you ever been aimlessly scrolling through Instagram and found yourself in a deep hole of influencers who seem to live beautiful lives, as beautiful people, with an endless stream of money and lip fillers? Well, I have. Every time I’m looking through these accounts I wonder what life is like as an influencer and find myself oddly jealous while totally turned off from the lifestyle. 

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As a 21-year-old, college student, living in Eugene, my life is far from that of a young LA influencer who gets all their clothes shipped to them and spends their days creating content for Insta. The most recent news in the influencer world is all about #RevolveFestival which is like the mecca for these 18-25 year olds. 

Revolve Festival coincides with the highly-anticipated Coachella festival and allows celebrities and influencers alike to have a place to luxuriously “hang out” before actually attending the festival. Stocked with food, drinks and activities, Revolve Fest has me questioning why anyone would ever leave. In an interview with InStyle, Raissa Gerona, the Chief Brand Officer of the festival, gave details about how they curate this event to make it everything that Fyre Fest wasn’t. 

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The event starts with the guest list; without the celebrities and influencers, Gerona knows the hype of the festival would be much lower. As a Chief Brand Officer, a relatively new title in the corporate world, Gerona knows everythingabout how to build the Revolve brand and the idea of exclusivity surrounding this event is exactly what they are going for. Another strategic move by Revolve was allowing for fans of the brand to enter a contest for tickets which flooded their social media channels with engagement. 

Most importantly, the festival gives consumers what they’re sold, endless In-n-Out Burger, an open bar and carnival rides, which was obviously the fatal flaw of the Fyre Fest. For those unfamiliar with the event, it was an influencers worst nightmare coming to life and an absolute branding disaster. The recently release of the Netflix documentary “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened” details everywhere that the Fyre Fest promoters went wrong. 

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The comparison between these two festivals epitomizes how much impact social media and influencers have on the rest of societies perceptions. Another article posted by InStyle, makes the claim that Revolve festival could eventually become bigger than Coachella itself (one of the biggest music festivals in the country). Not to mention, Revolve carries out all of its commerce without having any brink and mortar stores which proves the deep brand awareness that Gerona has worked so tirelessly to create which truly lives up to the hype. 

The queen has done it again. No, it’s not Elizabeth… its Queen Bey of course. Within the music industry, Beyoncé has worked to craft her brand better than almost anyone else. There are very few artists in our generation that are regarded in the same way that young adults view Beyoncé. With her sense of secrecy, sheer talent and somehow “wholesome” lifestyle she truly is an intriguing figure. 

Most recently, Beyoncé released a documentary with Netflix titled “Homecoming” which CNN is calling a doc on black excellence. Not only does her movie effectively allow people to experience her 2018 Coachella performance, it brings her name right back into the ring one year later as Coachella 2019 wraps up. 

With stars like Beyoncé, we have to assume that each public move she makes is highly calculated and clearly strategic. I recently stumbled upon a video of her first pregnancy announcement of Blue Ivy, where she carried out a flawless performance at the 2011 VMA’s and her final move was dropping the mic and showing her baby bump. Unlike celebrities like the Kardashians, Beyoncé has managed to keep most of her life private which keeps the rest of us guessing. 

The creation of Homecoming was the perfect next step in developing her brand: a strong black female in the music industry. This image cannot only be attributed to Beyoncé, herself but also her publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure or as Elle Magazine so cleverly said, “The Bey Keeper.” Although her path is also slightly concealed, Noel-Schure has recently been recognized for her success by the Berklee College of Music when she received Master of Global Entertainment Award. As another strong black female, Neol-Schure has been the perfect curator to Beyoncé’s brand development.  

Photo from Elle Magazine https://www.elle.com/culture/a26445867/yvette-noel-schure-beyonce-publicist/

One of the most dominant and important parts of Beyonce’s brand is how strongly in tune she is with her identity and how she has been able to explore that topic with her fans. Her Homecoming documentary not only allows fans to experience “Beychella” but is also full of quotes from black intellectuals, not to mention her feature from an array of students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) throughout her Chella performance. 

Throughout her career, Beyonce’s brand has centered around black power and feminism which is shown not only through “Homecoming” but also through her Lemonade album and countless other instances. With her never-before-seen twins and awe inspiring performances, Beyoncé will continue to be a brand icon of our generation.  

As a native San Franciscan, I have developed a strong interest in all things music and especially music festivals. Although I don’t pride myself in having the widest range of music taste, I have been exposed to many different genres of music by attending various concerts around the city and learning from friends. As Coachella weekend one begins, the season of endless snapchats, thoughtfully crafted outfits and gourmet food pics is upon us. No, it’s not college spring break, its music festival season. From Indio to Watkins Glen millions of music fans will flock to see their favorite artists all in one place.

But, as all millennials know, music festivals are so much more than just music, they are a time to spend with friends and family, possibly go camping and indulge in some of the best food and wine various cities have to offer. My blog will serve, not only, as an update on all the in’s and outs of festival season but also as a reflection of what’s #trending, how different bands are branding themselves and the processes of crafting the bests festivals. Within the coming months, we can expect to hear details about Coachella (weekend one and two), BottleRock, High Water Festival, Hangout Music Fest, Bonnaroo, Stagecoach and many more.

Each lineup, although individually different, show trends of popular artists who are ready to show off their latest albums. Along with the music, I want to closely follow the extra highlights that each of these festivals has to offer. Coachella, with their art installations, BottleRock with their wine vendors and the backlash of Outside Lands being the first festival with a “curated cannabis experience,” not to mention all the amazing food vendors each weekend will bring. As for now, I will wait to hear the aftermath of the first days of Coachella and High Water while eagerly anticipating Kanye’s Sunday service. Throughout the season, I will be doing my best to keep myself just within earshot of all the excitement. 

Bodacious Times At BottleRock Napa Valley 2016