Day N Vegas Festival 2021

***I just have to say… I can’t believe it’s been 1.5 years since I’ve written blog post. My last post was amidst the start of the pandemic – clearly, I didn’t feel the need to continue with my blog while the world was on pause. But I feel overjoyed that now, almost 2 years later, large social events and travel have become mainstream once again!

I just returned from an epic weekend at Day N Vegas, a hip-hop and r&b music festival held Friday – Sunday (Nov 12-14, 2021) on the Las Vegas festival grounds. This year’s headliners included Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator and Post Malone (who replaced Travis Scott last minute due to the horrible tragedies at Astroworld). Sza, Lil Baby, Doja Cat, Majid Jordan, Lil Uzi Vert and YG were among the other popular performers throughout the weekend.

After experiencing the euphoria of Coachella in 2018, attending another music festival was on my 30 before 30 bucket list. In early 2020, my friends and I bought tickets to Firefly Music Festival, but due to the pandemic the festival was quickly cancelled. Therefore, I wasn’t sure how soon I would be able to cross this off my list. But then, in May 2021, the Day N Vegas line-up was announced and I knew I couldn’t miss it. And just like Coachella, I designed and hand made festival outfits for both myself and one of my best friends. Scroll down to see more on the outfits! But first….

Day N Vegas Festival Details

My overall score for the entire festival – I give it an 8/10. I had a fantastic time and would absolutely attend this specific festival again, but there are several things that would improve my score for the future.

Things I Loved:

Line up. Obviously, the main reason for wanting to attend this specific festival was the musical line up. I’m actually very pleased that Travis Scott was replaced by Post Malone, as I’ve seen Travis Scott before and had never experienced Post Malone live. Truth be told, Posty was my favorite performance of the weekend. I was truly surprised by his live talent. Prior to the last-minute headliner change, Kendrick Lamar was the headliner I was most excited to see, and he certainly did not disappoint. My other favorite performances from the weekend were SZA, Doja Cat & P-Lo. *My one note on the line-up: in future years, I hope there are a few more r&b artists in attendance that I listen to regularly.

Festival location. Day N Vegas is held on the Las Vegas festival grounds, right on the Las Vegas strip, which means there are TONS of hotel options within walking distance of the festival. We chose to stay in the Hilton Grand Vacations on the strip, directly adjacent to the grounds (you could see our hotel tower from the festival). It was incredibly convenient to take a short 5-minute walk to and from the festival each day, and not have to wait potentially hours for expensive ground transportation. Since there were four of us, we got a suite in our hotel – it was beautiful and spacious, with an open living space and full kitchen where we could prepare our own meals, if desired. Considering the proximity to the festival, I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable our room was for four nights, costing us just under $700 each.

Festival size & grounds. In comparison to Coachella, Day N Vegas is about 1/5 of the size. There were three stages; two at opposite ends of the festival grounds and one tent settled in the middle. It took approximately 5-10 minutes to get from the main stage to the other stage across the venue, which helped if two artists you wanted to see were playing at the same time. Just a fun fact: my average step count each day was over 15K, even though the festival was on the smaller side! Also, instead of loose gravel and grass, the grounds were asphalt and turf, which meant there was no dust in the air!

Safety precautions. Perhaps due to the recent catastrophe at Astroworld, safety precautions were extremely prevalent. Even several of the performers were making sure crowd-goers were safe and respectful towards one another during their sets. Medical professionals were on-site and clearly marked.

Food & beverages. Day N Vegas had a surprisingly great selection of food options, from gooey mac and cheese to deep fried Oreos, to pho and fancy artisanal pizza. There were also a number of independent food trucks on site. Early on Friday, we made friends with one of the bartenders who hooked us up the remainder of the weekend with inexpensive cocktails (shout out to you, Sean!). That being said, food and beverage prices are high, with a single shot cocktail priced at $16, double for $23. For dinner one day, I ordered a corn dog and curly fries which set me back about $25. But festival food is known for bring priced high, so this was expected.

Easy entry. The festival opened at 12pm each day and concluded around midnight. We arrived at the festival around 3:30pm every day and got through security and entry lines quick and painlessly.

Things to Improve:

Ticket price. In 2018, I paid about $400 for a general admission Coachella ticket. This year’s GA Day N Vegas ticket cost me $565. However, there are price tiers and I got my tickets on tier 4. I also purchased tickets before the festival announced requiring covid vaccination status, which made a lot of ticket purchasers sell their tickets. Had I waited, I may have been able to score tickets for a lower price. But regardless, I think what I paid for Day N Vegas was quite high.

Sound issues. There were several major sound issues that made some of our favorite artists lose performance points. YG performed early evening on Friday and we were fairly close to the stage, yet the music was extremely low and his microphone kept going in and out. We were all so excited to see YG live, and the poor sound quality was very disappointing to us. Headliner Post Malone also had similar microphone issues during his set on Saturday night and was visibly angry about it during his performance, but was able to recover better than YG.

Running water. By the middle of the third day, the water had mostly run out in the wash stations by the Porta-Potties, so washing yours hands became obsolete. It was also a gamble whether the Porta-Potty stalls had toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Additionally, water stations were really hard to find (I think there were only two in the entire festival). This could be improved for the future.

Cell service. There was MINIMAL cell service. Once inside the festival grounds, it was nearly impossible to send a text message or use any kind of cell data, meaning no posting to social media while at the event. There was a 20/80 chance a phone call would go though. Poor service is usually expected during huge social events, but I was hopeful for better service at a festival in the middle of a city.

All-in-all, the festival was an incredible experience and I would absolutely attend again in the future. After reading my review, would you attend a future Day N Vegas festival? Have any other questions about my experience? Feel free to make a comment or send me a message on Instagram!

and now onto…….

Day N Vegas Festival Outfits

As mentioned above, I created festival outfits for both myself and my best friend. It was intended for us to be coordinating each day. Prior to starting this festival collection, I created a Mood Board, a Silhouette Inspiration Board and a Print & Color Board. Here’s the initial inspiration behind the designs:

Next, to the drawing board! I drew up these pieces using Procreate on my iPad and after a few minor tweaks, the final Day N Vegas festival collection was created. On the left is Friday’s fits, middle is Saturday’s, and on the right is Sunday’s.

And here are the actual garments!

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Which day of outfits is your favorite? Which outfit could you see rocking yourself at a festival? Some of these pieces may soon be for sale on my storefront, which you can check out here! Additionally, I am open for custom clothing orders. Please email me at kateyblairedesigns@gmail.com, or reach out to my through my Instagram for any custom design inquiries!

As always, thank you for reading!