This will be my husband and I's first Fest experience and would like to know what the situation is regarding backpacks at the venues. Are they banned, searched at the very least, etc.? We're thinking of putting merch, jackets, maybe a snack or two inside of them to have with us so we aren't holding this nonsense all night until we get back to our hotel. Any prior experiences or current tips would be much appreciated!

I heard lotsa people complaining about common grounds ( now double down live) bag check policy, and maybe a fee for holding it, also the venue (florida theatre of gainesville) were real dicks last year about bringing much of anything in with you, other than that i dont really know, cargo pants worked ok for me last year everywhere else. im kind of curious myself as i actually plan to bring a pack some places this year

i understand the no backpack rule in some of the smaller places, mostly because of space, everyone is packed into those venues like sardines and if you strap a bag to every fourth person you are taking up that much more space. it sucks for people that want to buy some vinyl and stay for the show, but when you are trying to fit 1000 punks into 200sq ft it makes sense.

Good to know!

this is where staying somewhere like the hampton really makes for a stress free experience, venue security guards pretty much violated me every time i went in and out last year! Fest def feels like a 'no bag' festival to me. not neccesarily a bad thing though cos as has been said some venues get so rammed that it isn't really fair on others to be backpacked up.

A couple of years ago, they had a big truck in the CG parking lot, and you could rent storage space there. They didn't have it last year, so I guess it didn't work out too great.

Seems like a good idea, maybe just needs some better planning?

But yeah, I think most venues don't like backpacks.

Last year they wouldn't let me bring my backpack into Common Grounds or 1982. That was on Friday so I just left it at our room the rest of the weekend. I didn't have any problems at the Venue though it was more than half way thru the last set of the night.