By Flora Szandi | July 3, 2024
With the festival season underway and mega artists like Coldplay and Taylor Swift touring this year, a versatile live blogging tool such as Live Blog Pro is a great way to share the excitement and energy of concerts and music festivals in real-time. It provides an immersive experience for readers who can’t be there in person and keeps them engaged with up-to-the-minute updates.
Coldplay used a “behind the scenes” live blog for their European summer tour last year, offering an authentic way to connect with their fans. Similarly, NME magazine uses live blogging to report from festivals. If you want to learn from them, check out their live blogs on Glastonbury Festival and Coachella.
Here are ten tips to help you master the art of live blogging concerts and music festivals in 2024.
1. Prepare Ahead and Conduct Research
Before the event, research the artists, their latest albums and any newsworthy updates. Check previous setlists on setlist.fm to anticipate what might be played. This background knowledge will enable you to provide context to your updates and engage readers with interesting insights. Test your internet connection before the event starts to find a spot with a good signal, ensuring you can post updates without interruptions.
2. Use the Right Equipment
A reliable smartphone is essential for live blogging events such as concerts and music festivals. Make sure that your phone is fully charged for the event, and bring portable chargers, too. A smartphone with a high-resolution camera is essential for capturing moments to share with your audience. Specific new smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, have top-of-the-line cameras for videos and photos, with excellent zooming capability. However, higher quality means larger file sizes, so keep this in mind if you have a slower internet connection and need to upload those photos. Finally, use a live blog application, which makes it easier to report from your smartphone.
3. Create a Content Plan
While spontaneity is a big part of live blogging, having a content plan prepared can be beneficial. Outline key moments you want to cover, such as the opening act, the first appearance of the headline artist, fan-favourite songs, featured guest performances and crowd reactions. Planning ahead will help you stay focused and ensure you don’t miss important parts of the event. It also helps when there is nothing interesting happening that you want to share at the festival or concert you are attending. You might even consider drafting a few posts ahead of time and scheduling them.
