Travel in groups formed at previous editions, share coaches and vans, camp in the same spot every year, trade lineup opinions for months, and reconvene annually with people they never see otherwise. Discord servers per festival and per genre, subreddits, lift-share and coach groups on Facebook, Resident Advisor and equivalent listings, and the campsite itself as a returning annual village.

The pit, wall of death, kutte, crowd surfing, b2b, the afters, clash finder, lineup drop, day tickets versus the full weekend, the campsite versus glamping, sold out in minutes, wristband. Tomorrowland and Wacken in the summer core, Hellfest and Download and Primavera and Roskilde in June, Dekmantel in August, Amsterdam Dance Event in October, Montreux and North Sea Jazz in July, Snowbombing in April.

European festival season is compressed into ten weeks by weather and by the touring calendar that feeds it. November to February for outdoor editions.

The indoor and city-based electronic calendar covers part of the gap, and the winter and spring indoor festivals are a genuine second season for that tribe.