Music festivals have a reputation and aspect of freedom attached – a span of time where someone escapes from reality to embrace happiness, friends, great music and unforgettable memories – 
some for the better and some for the worse. In the end, you learn the do’s and don’ts of festivals quicker than you may think.
Pemberton Music Festival takes place in the blazing summer heat in Pemberton, B.C. The west coast festival is situated within the valley surrounded by Mount Currie and numerous other coastal 
mountains. The 4-day festival is a massive party where people gather from all over the world to enjoy the culture, some drinks and most of all the infamous bands. Unlike other Canadian music festivals, Pemberton offers stunning settings which give Coachella, Tomorrow Land and other immense festivals a fun for their money.
Pemberton brought a wide age demographic to the grounds, 16-25 year-olds most whom which lived at “Bass Camp”, the techno and rap stage which was larger and louder and ready for anyone who wanted to jump for a few hours (Tiësto) or engage in a mosh-pit (A$AP Ferg) and the 25 and up crowd including the die-hard Alice Cooper fan base.
The Experience
With campsites divided into Province names, I traded in my showers and mirrors to become a “Newfoundlander”, the furthest campsite away from the festival grounds. Despite the lengthily walk down the chip-trail to the grounds, the further away you 
camped – the cleaner the air seemed to be. A total of 29,000 people including NICHE decided to experience the festival at full and camp on the grounds and by day 2, everyone quickly learnt the do’s and don’ts to survive the 4 days under the extreme heat.
Water stations had extreme lines, showers even bigger lines, and of course for all of the social media fanatics – cell phone charging stations were constantly crowded with attendees, even site generators with outlets had people hanging off the posts trying to 
get their phones from red to green. The trail down the center of the campgrounds was one linear path covered in woodchips – everyone quickly learnt why. Like a zoo, people jumped on others, tackled from behind, dumped water on strangers and the most known, the animal call of the trip echoed from one to another…”Steve?…Alan?”. As soon as your eyes open in the morning, it was a battle to escape the sauna effect in the tent and stumble in search of shade and preparation for the day filled with music.
A waterslide, ball-pit, multiple bars, shaded tents and copious amounts of food trucks were all accessible once entering the grounds. Pemberton had set up the stages in a way that aloud 
attendees to stroll from one to another without getting stuck in the “zombie walk” of people. A sea of people constantly covered the grounds, but it was not until the later shows and when the sun started to set that people would crawl from campsite shade crevasses and join for the music.
When it became time to grab some grub, the food trucks were waiting in the grounds with line-ups of hung-over campers. Our top pick was by far DougieDog. As seen on Dragon’s Den, DougieDog was a quick and easy answer to hunger – Charlie Mac Dog featured bacon, mac & cheese and melted cheddar all on a hot dog!
The earlier shows are ones that we recommend checking out next year, as the festival pamphlet said “GO see that one band you don’t know”. The earlier sets drew in a smaller audience as campers were still hiding for shade and fans had the space to frolic and groove.
MUSIC
DAY 1
CHECK THEM OUT – The first day we checked out Lovecoast, a band with clear personality and drive grown from Vancouver. Not knowing exactly what to expect – sitting was not an option as the 
old soul and upbeat nature kept the crowd moving. The band consists of four B.C. locals – Scott and Danielle from Squamish started Lovecoast in 2013 and soon after Andrew and Jesse completed their band.
OUR FAVOURITE – Infused with the sounds of travel and experiences, Beirut mixes the sounds of piano and ukulele with band contributions that drifted throughout the festival grounds.
DAY 2
CHECK THEM OUT – BANKS surprised all with her angelic voice, hip-hop feel and incredible vocal range. This L.A. based artist is one to check out as her lyrics and stage presence were unforgettable.
OUR FAVOURITE – By day two Kid Cudi was the perfect set to sing-along to yet also relax and take a breather. The sun set over the festival and Kid Cudi played a range of hits that the crowd sang back – Pursuit of Happiness being the favourite.
DAY 3
CHECK THEM OUT – Chet Faker was a set that everyone should have been at on Saturday. Mixing it up with a few lesser known songs with hits that the crowd could sing along with was a perfect way to capture his audience. If you saw him for the first time at Pemberton you should check out his music videos… talk about a creativity!
OUR FAVOURITE – Rock legend Alice Cooper was hands-down our favourite show on Saturday. As the backdrop dropped from the top of the stage it revealed Cooper and his band members 
standing on one of Coopers infamous stage sets. As if put in a time capsule – Cooper rocked the stage and jumped around engaging the audience as if no time had passed…also rocking the black and red pinstriped fashion we might add!
DAY 4
CHECK THEM OUT – The Suffers. This 10-piece Gulf Coast soul band from Houston blew us away with a combination of classic American Soul with a rock and roll funk. Using guitars, horns,
keys, percussion and vocals – The Suffers tie it all together with lead vocalist Kam Franklin and her powerhouse soulful voice.
OUR FAVOURITE – Missy Elliot was by far one of the best artists announced to the Pemberton line-up. With her recent comeback performance at the Super Bowl and gossip about her new album coming out soon with help from our ICON, Pharrell Williams – Missy was a clear hit for any age. Her set included multiple costume changes, famous back-up dancers and a range of playing her top hits to her first song ever released.
Follow us on Instagram to see more photos of our trip!
Products I loved for #PembyFest2015 :
John Frieda Beach Blonde Salt Spray – Perfect for those days 
where the line-up was 4 hours to shower. Simply spray a few times and scrunch hair to create refreshed beach waves perfect for Pemberton. (Stay tuned for this product in our summer issue of NICHE)
Clarins Sun Care Oil Spray SPF 30 – I used this product three times a day…or more! This sun oil works for body and hair and also doesn’t sting 
when applying to skin in hot temperatures. For grease-free application and protection that works, I highly recommend this product…even the boys were asking to use it! (Stay tuned for this product in our summer issue of NICHE)
