Music festivals can be chaotic. Have you been separated from your friends? Missed the tour bus shuttling around the festival premises? Searched for trending Instagram posts to score more likes? From navigating your way back to your tent to tracking down all your lost friends, mobile experiences have become the latest way to enjoy music fests. Although much has been said about switching off our devices and letting the sights and sounds around us sink in, most of the bands, brands, and festivals have embraced mobility to connect with their audiences.

Here are some tech tips you need to keep in mind before powering through your next fest:

Preparation is key. If you’re not clear which band’s performance you want to watch or you have just jotted down the to-do list on a crumpled piece of paper, attending the festival won’t be too promising. Before you head to the venue, do your homework. Subscribe to all the pages on social media and look up the festival on the Web. Websites such as Fest 300 and Lonely Planet have all the guides, tips, event lineups, and exciting details about all the festivals, so you can be prepped up on all the do’s and don’ts before you go aboard.

Apps are a part and parcel of music fests these days. Downloading the festival app in advance and getting yourself acquainted with all its features (beware of fake apps disguised as original ones) will help you map your schedule well. Team up with your friends and jot down GPS-specific landmarks everyone can gather at in case anyone gets lost. Also, stay updated on the local restrooms, and F&B spots.

Push notifications are slightly annoying no doubt, but activate them to score early bird tickets, weather forecasts, and any changes in the artiste line-ups.

Quick tip: Save battery and mobile data by clicking screenshots of maps, artiste line-ups, schedules, and all the important details on your phone to avoid multiple logins.

Much has been covered about the benefits of Vitamin D for the skin, but too much of anything is harmful, especially the sunshine. Music festivals are all about soaking up the sun outdoors, which calls for sunscreen. Here comes tech to the rescue: L’Oreal’s My UV Patch, a new wearable device debuted at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, can be worn anywhere on your skin. It tracks your UV exposure and notifies you when the sunlight’s too much for you to bask in. Apps such as TANtastic and Wolfram Sun Exposure Reference also inform you when it’s time to reapply that sunscreen lotion.

During such events, capturing memories and networking with old and new friends would take up most of your time. Multiple distractions such as these increase the chances of you losing your gadgets and wallets. It’s time to ditch the wallet and heavy purses.

If you are expecting a line of calls and text messages during the festival, try wearing a smartwatch or even a FitBit to provide you with real-time notifications.

Over the past two years, popular annual EDM music festivals, Lollapalooza and Mysteryland USA headed in the cashless direction to prevent loss of wallets and reduce the time it takes to buy food and drinks. The Chicago music festival Lollapalooza introduced Lolla Cashless, which are essentially colorful wristbands with embedded RFID-tags linked to the users’ credit cards, enabling the attendees to pay for items at festivals with just a single tap and a PIN number.

Selfies, capturing videos of your favorite bands, and finding out where the after-party is does take a toll on your gadget’s battery life. Before you head out into the sun for the next gig, charge your phone with Mophie Powerstation Duo, a popular portable phone charger. Apple also has its smart battery case for iPhone 6/6S and 6 Plus/6S Plus. All you have to do is slip your phone into the case and it charges your phone, giving it 25 hours of further power, which means more Instagramming of sunsets and cider!

Apart from power banks and smart bases, maintain your phone battery levels with these hacks:

1. Carry an extra portable cellphone battery, which could be helpful for you and your friends too.
2. Cut down on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat because they are major battery and data drainers. Save the posts for later.
3. No doubt apps are the best way to navigate, but keep paper maps handy for schedules and other details.
4. Save some battery by turning off Location Services and shutting all the other apps running in the background.
5. Enjoy yourself thoroughly during a set by switching to Airplane mode because it powers down all the jabber and of course saves power.

Embracing the emerging advancements in technology, popular annual music and arts festival Coachella, which is held every year at the Colorado Desert in California, offered its audiences the magic of virtual reality (VR) this year. As reported by Mashable, the festival organizers joined hands with Vantage.tv to allow fans at remote locations and even for those abroad to be a part of the performances with their VR headsets. (Fans witnessing the event from abroad need to have their headsets).

For those of you who can’t get tickets to an upcoming fest or wish to escape the crowd and heat, live streaming is the best way to catch all your favorite acts on YouTube or on the app itself.

However, fans have been encouraged to ‘live in the moment’ by all the artistes and making the most of the moment is absolutely necessary. Avoid getting lost with constant uploads on social media and capturing digital memories. Technology has no doubt enhanced the musical experiences at festivals, but it’s equally important to have a healthy balance of everything and enjoy your surroundings. Happy fest-hopping!