Your ultimate guide to Hangout Fest—including tips + tricks for a perfect visit
ByLiv George
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In a little under two short months, the Gulf Coast’s largest music festival, Hangout Fest, will be back & better than ever. Loyal Hangout-goers are more than excited, since this is the first Hangout Fest in three years.
So if you haven’t been planning your next Hangout trip since the cancellation of Hangout Fest 2020, keep reading to get all the details on who’s going to be playing, what the experience is like, where to stay and some health & safety tips.
About Hangout Fest
Hangout Music Fest, also known as Hangout Fest, or just simply Hangout, is the Gulf Coast’s own yearly music festival. It’s a three-day musical fun fair on Gulf Shores/Orange Beach in the latter half of May.
Hangout started in 2010, with artists like Zac Brown Band and Moon Taxi as headliners. Since then, the festival has grown every year, now having around 40,000 attendees every year.
Hangout’s tenth anniversary show in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19, as was the 2021 show. This makes the 2022 Hangout the first Hangout Music Fest in three years. The A-list, star-studded lineup is indicative of everyone’s excitement that Hangout is back this year.
This year’s Hangout Music Fest is Friday, May 20 through Sunday May 22.
The lineup & ticket information
Hangout typically has the big A-list headliners, some mid-size pop & rock groups, smaller indie/alternative groups and no music festival is complete without some EDM in there, too.
This year, Hangout went all out and scored some of the biggest names in music as headliners. 11-time Grammy nominee and two-time American Music Award winner, Doja Cat, is slated as a headliner on Saturday alongside popular artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Still Woozy, and Mobile-born Flo Milli.
You can also catch performances by Fall Out Boy, Sublime with Rome, Leon Bridges, Halsey, Tame Impala and Megan Thee Stallion.
Let’s take a look at those ticket prices. Note that all tickets are 3-day passes and no single-day passes are available for purchase. These tickets are almost fully sold out and going fast, so buy them while you can!
- General Admission: $339 + taxes & fees
- General Admission Plus: $509 + taxes & fees
- VIP: $1219 + taxes & fees
- Super VIP: SOLD OUT
Visit the Hangout Music Fest Website for more information on ticket packages, payment plan and more.
The experience
Believe it nor not, the music is not the only reason people flock by the thousands to Hangout Music Fest. The music is, of course, central, but the experience is what keeps people coming back year-after-year.
One thing that makes Hangout so unique is that it’s on the beach. You can take a break from roasting in the sun and take a dip in the ocean. You can also relax and unwind from the festival excitement either with some yoga or a trip over to the tropical spa.
There’s, of course, a little bit of shopping, whether you visit the official Hangout march store or artist-run vendor booths.
Want to get married at Hangout? No, seriously, you can get 100% legally married, Vegas-style, at Hangout Music Fest. So if you’re feeling spontaneous, or just want to elope after COVID-19 cancelled your wedding plans, check out the Wedding Chapel!
This is just a sneak-peek of the Hangout experience, check out their website for all the details.
Lodging & Parking
Lodging
Hangout Fest has partnered with a few different vacation rental companies to get you as close to the festival as possible, for the best price. Most of these condos sleep anywhere from 2-10 people, so you can gather a big group to help break up the price of your stay.
Renting through these partners pretty much guarantees you a place along the shuttle route, making transportation to-and-from the festival very easy.
To learn more about partnered condos, pricing and more, see the Hangout website.
Given that Hangout Music fest is on this narrow little strip of beach, parking is going to be hard to find, if you can even find it. Festival organizers factored this into the event, offering a shuttle pass program. It’s a separate fee from your admission price, but the shuttles are air conditioned charter buses that can get you safely to and from your condo/house/etc. and the festival with no traffic worries at all.
Even if you opt to stay in an AirBnb and commute to the festival, the shuttle pass may be helpful, as the shuttle line runs along parking lots and can deliver you to and from your car that’s otherwise parked a good hike away.
Shuttle packages start at $65 + taxes and fees. For more information on the shuttle program, visit the Hangout Music Fest Website.
AirBnb tips
AirBnbs are a great way to save some cash on lodging. Here are a few tips to book the best AirBnb for your stay:
- The address for the festival is: 101 E Beach Blvd, Gulf Shores, AL 36542. Use a navigation app to determine how far away your BnB is from the festival to determine your driving/parking situation each day
- Many available AirBnbs in Orange Beach/Gulf Shores are condos. If you want a full house, you’ll have to go outside the immediate area.
- The lack-of-parking is no joke. Consider using a ride-share service to a shuttle stop or the festival itself to avoid ticketing and towing.
What to bring & what not to bring
Bring it with:
- Bags & Totes
- Small clutch (with or without strap)
- Fanny pack
- Clear, plastic bags or backpacks (no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″)
- Hydration
- Water bottle (empty, no glass, up to 2L)
- Hydration backpack (empty water pouch, no more than one pocket aside from water pouch)
- Liquid IV, Gatorade or electrolyte drink powders (sealed, unopened)
- Sun protection & beach stuff:
- Liquid sunscreen (non-aerosol, 3 oz. or less)
- Hats, sunglasses, sun shirts
- Beach towel or blanket
- First Aid:
- Over-the-counter painkillers and allergy medicines like Tylenol & Benadryl (subject to approval, must be sealed & unopened)
- Bug spray (non-aerosol, 3 oz. or less)
- Chapstick (sealed, unopened)
- Strollers permitted when applicable
Leave it at home:
- Any glass
- Outside food or drink, including alcohol
- Air horns, megaphones, bluetooth speakers
- Glow sticks, flashlights, laser pointers
- Any kind of audio/visual recording equipment, including but not limited to: drones, GoPro cameras, selfie sticks, personal camcorders and SLR/DSLR cameras
- E-cigarettes or vapes of any kind
- Flags, flagpoles, tents, hammocks, umbrellas, chairs, coolers
- Skateboards, roller blades, hover boards, scooters, bicycles, wagons and/or motorized carts
- Note: there is bicycle parking outside the festival grounds
- Illegal drugs or paraphernalia
- Permanent markers & spray paint
Check the full list of permitted & prohibited items here.
Health & safety tips to have a rockin’ time
Stay hydrated, folks: There will be free water stations around the festival grounds, so make sure you bring a water bottle or camelback and drink up.
Prevent heat stroke: High temps, high excitement and dancing can get you overheated fast. Check out this advice on how to avoid heat stroke.
Sun protection: Experts recommend sunscreen is reapplied every two hours, especially when swimming and sweating are involved. Make sure you bring a hat, sunglasses and maybe even a sun shirt to keep you protected from the sun.
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