Summer is in full-swing, and while you should be floating on lakes, tanning on beaches and sipping on cold drinks with friends & family it’s also music festival season. The hotter months come with a license to party, with a bevy of concerts and music festivals cropping up around rural and urban venues alike. Whether you enjoy outdoor parties or full stadiums of screaming fans there’s no bad way to rock out, jive on, headbob or sing along to your favorite bands this summer. There are only two essentials you need to enjoy music this summer: water/drinks to stay hydrated and high-quality cannabis. Whether you’re into sativa or indica for music listening enhancement or you prefer dropping the best edible strains for concerts, music is the yin to your marijuana yang. We’ve talked about the scientific reasons why weed makes music sound better, but how do you choose what weed is good for music festivals or the best strains for concerts? Most buds can do the trick for putting you in a chill mood to vibe with the vibrations of your favorite band, but there are certainly certain sativa or indica strains for music that are better at getting your groove on. What should you smoke before a concert? What are the best strains for music? Is edible weed good for music festivals rather than the fleeting highs from smoking? Let’s turn up, light up and get down in this guide to the best weed strains for concerts in 2024.
What’s Better: Sativa or Indica for Music?
Before we tell you what you should smoke before a concert or what weed edibles are good for music festivals, we need to determine which is better: sativa or indica for music listening? We know today that sativa vs indica matters less so than the terpenes and cannabinoids found within the buds themselves. Still, many sativas are known to uplift people while indicas can be much more chill-inducing. Exploring this further, you could say that sativas offer better day-time highs for attending music festivals on the beach, in the woods or in a rocky gorge. On the flip side, indicas seem primed for zoning out, losing yourself to the music at an epic concert with lots of lighting effects and pyrotechnics. Not all sativas energize or help you focus - some can zonk you out, make you lose focus or even induce naps. Similarly, indicas relax many people but others find them perfect for hallucinations, distracting them from pain or stiffness, and inducing a very strong appetite. With these generalized effects in mind, here’s three examples of the types of musical-marijuana pairings you should consider when deciding between sativa or indica for music listening:
CHILL VIBE & INDICA
Jazz sessions, synthwave-chill remixes, or even the sounds of nature can pair well with the relaxing highs of indica strains of cannabis. Indica-dominant strains are best for music listening when you want to unwind, unplug, lose yourself in the music or truly feel every note, every lyric or every beat of the drum.
ROCK OUT WITH SATIVA
Rock, metal, high octane or anything with a fast-pace or pulse is perfect when you’re flying high on sativa strains. Choosing between sativa or indica for rock music is a no-contest: the energizing, uplifting, euphoric or body-highs from sativa-dominant strains is empowering, to say the least. When you’ve got the need for speedy tunes or you want to headbang at this summer’s Metalfest, then sativas will help you feel more of the pulse of the music and less of the pain from the mosh-pit.
DANCE MIX HYBRID
Are you a dancing fiend that attends raves, woodstocks or shamballas? Then why not combine both sativas and indicas for music enhancement. Hybrids offer the best of both worlds, and they often provide the most intense yet balanced, long-lasting yet manageable effects from cannabis. These are just a few examples of the millions of cannabis-and-music combinations that vibe together. There are untold numbers of ‘best strains for music’ depending on the kind of music you’re into, your mood, the setting, who you’re with, or when you’re listening to it or getting high. The important thing about deciding what you should smoke before a concert or what weed is good for music festivals has to do with making you feel good. Marijuana enhances how we experience everything around us - tastebuds are boosted, visuals are warped, textures are heightened and sounds are enhanced. Next we’ll talk about some of the specifically best strains for concerts, both smokables and edibles.
What Should I Smoke Before A Concert?
If you’re a toker, a bong-hitter, a vape god or a dab rigger then we won’t try to persuade you on the merits of cannabis edibles for music enhancement. Sometimes there’s nothing better than a few hits from a joint before a concert - not to mention it’s easy to puff-puff-pass with your friends and fellow superfans while you headbang to the headliner. Here are some of the best crowd-surfing, foot-tapping, hip-swaying, head-bopping and sing-along strains of weed for enhancing your next weed festival or concert this summer:
ROCK STAR
This citrusy powerhouse is an obvious choice - I mean, come on… it’s in the name. Rock Star hybrid and Rock Star OG are excellent choices for anyone looking to stay happy and keep jamming on. Rock Star is known to induce states of euphoria, relaxation (without causing you to fall asleep) and cut off any notions of soreness or tiredness. Rock Star is the perfect strain to smoke before a rock concert because it uplifts with notes of spice, citrus and musk while leveling your head on what’s in front of you. You’ll find yourself rushing the stage and grabbing the mic for a duet with the lead singer whenever you smoke Rock Star.
CHEMNESIA
When you’re buzzing amidst the craziness of the crowd, nothing soothes the soul like some sonorous music… well that, and also Chemnesia. This sativa-dominant strain is ideal for long jam sessions, epic solos and 10+ minute versions of your favorite songs. Chemnesia will make you feel in-tune with the band as every note hits you at your core. This strain enhances creativity, improves mood, makes you feel euphoric and energizes your mind while relaxing your body. Flavors of lemony diesel, herbs and fruity musk will tantalize your senses while the sounds of the live performance light up your brain like the 4th of July.
GOSH
Gosh, that sounds incredible! This works for your reaction to those high notes as well as every time you hit a joint packed with Gosh hybrids. These golden buds look as good as they make you feel - cerebral, juiced, focused, hungry for more experiences while also extremely hungry for munchies. Gosh offers a piney, herbal, sweet and woody taste with lingering flavors & aromas that make you feel like you’re in your very own cloud of smoke. Not that music events are stressful, but if getting to the festival was a battle then Gosh hybrid is very good for dissolving stress.
EXTREME CREAM
Whether you’re a fan of the band Cream, or you just enjoy the creamy, dreamy flavor and aromas of these sweet buds, Extreme Cream is a fantastic choice for any concert-going experience. Known to make you extremely sociable, extremely fun and extremely enthusiastic for anything & everything around you, it’s no wonder why they call this one “Extreme Cream”. The flavors of cream, butter, berries and a perfect blend of skunkiness and sweetness makes this strain one of the best tasting, let alone the perfect light-headedness for enjoying a show. If you need some substance-assistance in being outgoing or talkative, then look no further for your next music festival and light up some Extreme Cream.
PURPLE HAZE
What kind of self-respecting list of the best strains for music wouldn’t include the most iconic of all rocker’s strains?! Purple Haze, named after the psychedelic-infused music of Mr. Jimi Hendrix himself, is as perfect for live music listening as Cheech is to Chong. These dank buds offer all the dark fruits as flavors - berries & grapes - while coating you and your surroundings in an aromatic incense of spicy, sweet and earthy aromas. Purple Haze is famous for an almost instant high - its effects take hold very quickly and don’t let go for a very long time, much like a Hendrix guitar solo. Expect to feel warm, fuzzy, hazy and one with the flow of the universe whenever you light up this iconic strain - especially if you’re rocking out when you smoke it.
What Weed Edibles Are Good For Music Festivals?
If you’re camping at a music festival all weekend-long, or you’ve got the time & patience to wait for your buzz to kick in when the beat drops, then maybe edibles are the best strains for concerts. Whether you enjoy smoking or not, there’s no denying that edibles offer a healthier alternative to lighting up at your next concert. On top of their potent effects, edibles are just damn delicious - and they’re great for sharing with your fellow Deadheads, M4users or Jazzfanatics.
100 MG THC GUMMY FISH
Swim with an entire school of fishes in your fellow music fans whenever you take these upper-range potency edibles. Chewy, fruity and easy to take on-the-go and share with your fellow dancers & singers, 100 mg THC Fish are a classic edible that can be found at every music festival or summertime concert. These contain 100 mg of full-spectrum THC, so they’re not for the faint of heart. If you want to dance like a flying fish on the waves, then these edibles will do the trick at your next music listening foray.
50 MG THC CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT
What goes together as good as music & marijuana? How about chocolate, hazelnut and THC?! With a mid-range dose of 50 mg of THC, Chocolate & Hazelnut edibles come in easy-to-take individual sizes and they’re known to kick in fast while lasting the entire concert. Melt them in your mouth while you soak up the sounds of the introductory acts, and feel the waves of body-highs and cerebral mind-explosions by the time the headliners hit the stage. Obviously these contain nuts, so make sure you ask your fellow headbangers if they have an allergy before you share these chocolatey gems.
25 MG THC CAPSULES
Okay, these are nowhere near as fun or exciting as gummies, chocolates, candies or baked goods, but sometimes an oil THC capsule washed down with electrolytes is all you need to keep the party going. At a lower-tier dose of 25 mg, these THC Capsules are perfect for dosing throughout the day and building up to the epic conclusion of a music festival or concert. The best strains for music listening are often lower potency because you can take them in stages, before certain bands take the stage. If you need to pace yourself for a long weekend of dancing, singing, headbanging and more then these 25 mg THC Caps are ideal.
150 MG THC POT LEAF GUMMIES
Ok… now we’re talking. These giant gummies leave nothing to the imagination - they’re molded into a rainbow for chewy, fruity gummies and they’re loaded with 150 mg of high-potency THC in every leaf. These are the ultimate party-going edible - whip these mammoth marijuana edibles out and you’ll have a crowd of adoring fans worshiping your moves instead of the bands. Buyer beware on these, of course, because they contain more than your usual amount of THC. Not only are the potent, but they’re often crafted from the hardest hitting strains on the market. Metal concerts that require a lot of neck-wrenching windmills or endless beat-drops at a massive rave concert are ideal for this kind of all-encompassing edible.
