Festival Palomino

For the record, I am a HUGE Trampled by Turtles fan. Trampled is my favorite band. I go to pretty much any show I can get to and travel routinely just to see them play. So obviously, a Trampled by Turtles-​organized festival less than an hour from home is a no-​brainer for me. So, while it may be tough for me to be completely objective, I shall try my best. This was year two for Festival Palomino, and I’ve attended both years, so I guess I have an educated opinion at this point.
Here’s what I liked:
–The music. Duh. Not only did my favorite fellas headline, closing the night with bagpipes on the stage, but the lineup of other acts kept the action moving and introduced me to some new music, which is always a good thing.
–The side-​by-​side stage setup. Last year, there were two stages, but they were situated opposite each other. The dual stages allowed for music to continue throughout the day without much break between sets for breaking down and setting up of gear. But last year, you had to do a kind of sprint to the opposite stage for the next act. This time around, the side-​by-​side setup allowed you to either migrate more leisurely or just pick a prime spot further back with a view of both stages and stay put.
–The branding. Maybe it’s the communications professional in me, but I thought the branding was much better this year. The Palomino banners on top of the stages and of course the Palomino sign were good visual cues that this is going to become a big branded event over the next few iterations. Plus dammit, I love the Palomino owl and think it should be on more stuff.
–The inclusion of more merchants. Was delighted to see the Duluth Pack folks this year and hope to see this area of the festival grow.
–The people: Not only great people watching but also just a general relaxed and positive vibe all day despite being packed on a field with 9,000 of your closest friends.
–The festival T-​shirt. Props to whoever designed it!
–The VIP bathroom. Gift from heaven. To the girl who clearly dropped an entire pack of smokes in the toilet: Damn, that sucks, dude.
Here’s what I didn’t like:
–The food. There was more food than last year. That was good. It was more logically centralized on the field than last year. That was good too. Several of my friends and my husband and I all ate from the Mexican stand. The food did not taste good and we ALL got ill after the show. Like a few of my friends left in the middle of the Trampled set because they weren’t going to make it through. We’re pretty sure it was the burritos. Food safety, people! Taco mix should not be served cold, like ever.
–The ticket system for food and beverage. I’m not sure why but both years now, you’ve had to purchase tickets in sets of 10 for $ 1 apiece and then use those to buy drinks and food. Seems like an extra step and extra work to get beer and food. Also, I hate that you can’t buy anything other than 10 tickets at a time. You always end up with extra tickets you paid for but didn’t use, or you wind up wanting one more beer but not willing to pay for a new set of $ 10 tickets. Why can’t the stands just take cash???
–The prices. I have to say… $ 7 for a 12 oz beer seemed a bit much. And I know there was a deal with Summit, but the beer options were underwhelming both years.
–Speaking of… This is a really cash-​intensive festival. My husband and I were only there for half the day and dropped a good amount of money on just food and drink. If you are coming for the full day, come packing some real cash.
Things to know:
–Yeah, it’s at a racetrack so the layout can be kind of confusing. When you park, come in the entrance and then immediately turn to the left to get wristbanded. Then you walk right through the building and out to the racetrack.
–Wear comfortable shoes suitable for tromping around in a field. Ladies, I’d leave cute heels and wedges at home. Maybe flipflops or sandals but more practically? Sneakers or hikers wouldn’t be out of place.
–There are also options inside the casino for food and drink. We discovered that the draft beers in the casino were bigger and better-​priced. Also a good place for refuge if it rains, as we learned in year one.
–The VIP tickets were $ 140. If you have the cash, it would be a nice perk. There are exclusive beer stands = no waiting. The bathrooms, as mentioned above. You get drink tickets and some other swag and access to the VIP area, which was pretty cool. If you can afford it, splurge.
So here’s where I get all biased again… I think this was an incredibly adventurous project and one that only a few bands could have pulled off this well in just two years. I was encouraged that this year there were many improvements made and good thoughtful changes. I am confident this event will continue to grow and improve each year. Looking forward to year three and maintaining my perfect attendance record!

I love music festivals. I love them even more when you have perfect weather like we had on Saturday. Thanks Mother Nature.
So, I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 simply because there was a lack of signage/​information regarding where to park and where to enter Canterbury as well as food/​drinks and wristbands. We ended up wandering a bit, but eventually found our way.
So quick tips for newbies to save you some time and frustration next year:
1. Park anywhere you can find a spot, VIP parking is separate and gated off
2. Enter the main gate
3. Get your 21+ wristband immediately to your left when you enter
4. Drinks and food are inside, food trucks are just outside, and even more food/​drink on the festival grounds
5. Drinks and food outside of the main building are ticketed, and yes you will have to buy more tickets than you need or have extra tickets leftover after you get what you want
6. Check out all the food/​drink vendors before you make a decision on how many tickets to buy
7. Check out the non-​food/​drink vendors, some pretty cool stuff
8. VIP has some pretty sweet digs, I recommend getting it if you can spend the extra money
9. Bring cash
10. Backpacks and towels/​blankets to sit on are allowed in the venue
Even if you don’t know the acts it is quite easy to be sucked into the fun everyone else is having, so if you are wavering, just go!
Perhaps you will have some fun nature happenings like we did… the amazing pink/​orange sunset during Dr. Dog and the flock of geese the flew directly overhead the sage just as they ended a song (and the crowd erupted into cheers, it was so hilarious and wonderful).
The people watching is wonderful, young and old alike having a great time together. Everyone is there for the same reason, a love of music and fun, and it was awesome to watch the small children dance it out along with their parents (and everyone else).
Shout out to Blue Goose Photo Booth, a cool photo booth with props that is in an old van. So. Awesome. They were offering free photos (4 on a strip) for everyone at the festival. It even printed two copies.
The booth with the cigar box guitars was pretty rad, too. If I had more disposable income I would’ve purchased one to hang on the wall (because I can’t play guitar).
Side note — If anyone can remember the name of the vendor with the «Hooray» MN shirts, please let me know, I want to get one.
So, all-​in-​all, a great festival that I would totally go back to year after year.

After I read Jasmine’s review, I sent her a compliment saying, «It’s like you opened my brain and ladled out the review I was brainstorming». I totally agree with every word she typed.
One setback was with the process of entering the stadium — inside we swiftly went to get a beer, but had no idea we needed a wristband until we were next in line. Also, one of the park employees told us that the only food vendors were right at the entrance (before the field) — so we spent almost an hour getting a panini from one of the two food trucks. Then when we crossed the field we saw so much more food we wished we had room to eat.
But overall, it was an amazingggg day — nothing beats bobbing your head in a crowd on a crisp clear night. We saw Father John Misty, Dr. Dog, and of course Trampled By Turtles. All of them were kick ass! I LOVED the photo… van. Blue Goose had the cutest VW full of props, and it printed out 2 strips of photos! I loved checking out local artisans, who brought products ranging from hilariously profane cross-​stitches to cigar box guitars. The two stages were set up right next to each other, so it made for efficient set-​changes. I plan to be back next year for sure.