How Much Money I Spent on Food at a Music Festival

• I attended Governors Ball this year, a three-day music festival in New York City.
• Although larger music festivals offer more food and beverages, the prices are often high.
• I spent $105.60 on the festival and $8.25 transport costs in three days.

While a ticket to a music festival will cost hundreds of dollars, what about the money you spend during the event?

Friday through Sunday, I attended Citi Field’s 10th Annual Governors Ball in Queens.

I was delighted to have the chance to see my favourite artists, Megan Thee Stallion and Phoebe Bridgers perform. As a festival lover and four-time Gov Ball attendee I knew that my wallet would be hurt.

On top of the $319 price tag for a three-day general admission wristband (plus service fees), festival expenses can include transportation, meals, and water — and that’s not to mention alcohol, if you’re over 21 and that’s your thing.

Food and beverage options are many-variedbut prices tend to be high, and you can’t bring any snacks or drinks with you from home. This may be a surprise to first-time visitors.

Below is a breakdown of my daily spending during the weekend.

Friday: $44.65

I live in Brooklyn, so I took the subway to and from the festival every day. A 7 train stops directly in front Mets/Willets Point and costs $2.75 for a single ride.

This was quite refreshing in comparison with previous years. Gov Ball takes place on Randalls Island. You will need a ferry pass or walk across the 103rd Street footbridge.

I arrived at Citi Field at noon and decided that lunch would be best. These chicken nuggets were delicious with truffle fries. I paid $20.70, plus a 15% tip. These nuggets were $6 less than plain nuggets and the toppings (scallions and bacon bits and parmesan cheese), seemed well worth the extra expense.

My festival strategy is to arrive early, beat the late afternoon crowd, and front-load with food and leisure. This is especially important if your goal is to secure a spot at the headliner’s show, as I was.

Since I was having some downtime, I also purchased a beer. Although the IPA was excellent, the $16.20 festival up-charge, which also included a 15% tip, was quite high.

Before heading to the main stage at 5:30 p.m. to camp out for Eilish’s set, I spent $5 on water.

Many festivals offer water stations for free, but you will need to either buy one or bring a reusable bottle. The latter option was my choice for the remainder of the weekend.

At the end of the day, due to thousands of people trying to leave from the same subway station, police officers opened the gates and didn’t require us to swipe again. How much does it cost to get home? $0.

Saturday: $34.95

For lunch on Saturday, I went for Roberta’s, one of my favorite Brooklyn pizza joints.

The Bee Sting was my favorite, with honey, chili flakes and soppressata. The cost of the Bee Sting was $20.70 with the standard tip. For context, it was about the size of a classic paper plate — a bit smaller than a typical Bee Sting from Roberta’s, which costs $22 at the Bushwick location.

Unfortunately, while it was delicious, I did get very hungry a few hours later. This is just a normal eating pattern in the real world. Festival meal times operate differently.

Just before heading out to A$AP Rocky’s headlining show, I waited 30 minutes in line to buy cheese fries for $11.50. Ouch.

Sunday: $34.25

Sunday lunch was a little rough. It took me 20 minutes to get a chicken sandwich. The portion was smaller than I expected.

I was told it should come with pickles, pineapple slaw and a salad. But mine did not. However, I did tip 18% as the workers seemed extremely stressed. The total cost was $17.70.

A few hours later, I stopped by the Big Mozz food truck.

These $13.80 mozzarella stick were by far the most delicious meal I had this weekend.

Total: $113.85

For three Metrocard swipes and one or two small meals per day, this may seem very expensive. But in my festival experience, it’s pretty standard — except for those who drink alcohol throughout the weekend, in which case it would be much higher.