Riley Houser's Blog

Guys, can I take a minute here to talk about one of my favorite times of year? No, not summer antiquing - I'm talking about music festival season. While one of the year's biggest music events - Coachella - just passed back in April, many of the summer's most exciting extravaganzas of live music, artwork, delicious food, camping and comedy are just around the corner - Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza, Wakarusa, Sasquatch and Austin City Limits, among dozens of others.

While I try to get to as many of these incredible events as I can, the sheer volume of live music makes it impossible. Because of this, I have to pick and choose which festivals I want to experience each year. As someone who enjoys the outdoors, I tend to prefer the festivals that let me take advantage of the opportunity to spend a few days enjoying the sun and greenery, but I also like mixing things up with the occasional city jam every now and again.

This year, I'm heading down to Bonnaroo in the great state of Tennessee. For four incredible days, we get to disconnect from everything happening in the outside world and just listen to some of my favorite artists and bands. The event starts in just under a month, so I've already gotten to work organizing the necessary supplies.

Along with the essentials, a tent, food, sunscreen, lots of water, ice and summer clothing, I never forget to bring a whole heaping mound of Green Mountain Coffee® K-Cup® packs. Luckily the campground I am staying at provides electricity to each campsite so my Keurig® brewer can continue to function at the picnic table with nothing more than an extension cord - it beats searching for a decent cup of coffee every morning, afternoon, and night.

There's nothing better than a cup of Nantucket Blend® Iced Coffee to beat the summer heat during the early morning performances. However, it can get a little chilly at night - even in the middle of June in Tennessee - so it's nice to have some hot French Roast coffee to get me through the late night shows that sometimes cross into the wee hours of the morning.

Considering that we'll be sleeping in tents under the hot sun - not the easiest conditions to get any amount of rest in - the coffee is as much about the routine and taste as it is survival. However, no amount of roughing it will deter me from my love of my musical summers.