Voyage Music Festival

I’ve been a Khalid fan since the debut of “Location” and followed all the hits since then. When I found out he was coming to Simpsonville the same weekend that I turned 30, I RAN to buy my ticket.

And I didn’t skimp either. As someone who will take any and every excuse to treat myself, you can believe I splurged for this one with the highest level I could!

Because I’m a music person and this was a huge birthday gift for me, I was pretty adamant about going by myself. I had friends ask about my birthday plans or offer to go with me, but when I said “are you a Khalid fan?” and they said “well, idk” it was a hard no. I don’t enjoy trying to convince someone how big of a deal one of my favorite artists is and would rather just be with people who are having a good time already. So that’s exactly what I did! 1000% worth it.

The Super VIP ticket included access to the main stage (FRONT ROW) and seating area, Noonshine private lounge, IV drip stations, exclusive VIP entrance, private restrooms, and full bar—all beverages included all for about $250.

Because I was going to this festival soon after my “notorious ankle sprain of 2023” (literally still recovering) I wanted to make sure I got a good seat and arrived an hour and a half too early… Like before they even opened the gates. So I sat in my car and doom scrolled the socials while the time passed. When it was closer to event time, I went to the Super VIP entrance, which was ironically the longest line considering all the overly eager fans like me were ready to go. General Admission people showed up much later and had like 8 other gates to go through.

Once I was in I took inventory of the food, hot air balloons, merch, bars, and all the things before finding where I’d sit.

The first day started with Madds on the main stage getting the party started. I checked out the Noonshine lounge, got some photos, went to the restroom, and grabbed a drink.

Bryce Vine took the stage first and I remember thinking he seemed fun. He brought such a contagious energy, and then started singing “waste your time with me in California” from his song La La Land and I was like “THIS IS HIM????” and was completely captivated from that point on. He kept the energy up the whole time and ended with Sour Patch Kids which also had me singing at the top of my lungs and boppin’ on my sprained ankle. He could’ve kept going for the whole rest of the night and I would’ve had no complaints! He’s definitely a full-fledged entertainer and I’ve added several more of his tracks to my favorites and kept up to see when he’ll be in concert close by. He was hands down my favorite other than Khalid, so the show started off strong.

Photo of @brycevine by @imryanschmidt from @voyagemusicfest

Mike was up next and seemed to pull a big crowd. He had us out of our seats, but I didn’t know his music quite as much. With plenty of “hey, how are ya’s” and pulling his dad onstage to chug a beer, Mike seems like a guy who’s always down to have a good time with the audience.

Last for day one was Quinn XCII who I was really excited to see. I’d been jammin’ to his song “Stacy” for quite a while and his performance could not have been a better way to end the first day. His performance pulled out all the stops and I ended up adding several more of his tracks to my favorites after the show!

There was also a Silent Disco for both days, but I stuck to the live stuff. I considered the hot air balloons, too, but ultimately decided to stay on land and splurge on giant pretzels and pizza instead.

Arden Jones started off day two, but I missed some of his set since I arrived a bit later. From what I remember, it was a good start.

Arizona gave classic retro energy with his mustache, white tee, and jeans and brought the rockstar vibe to his whole set. I actually decided to play some Arizona in the background while I write this and really enjoyed it. He was new to me at Voyage, but I could see myself listening to his music while I work.

Teddy Swims came on after and completely took my breathe away with his vocals and live performance! A lot of people were there for him and I could totally see why. He sings with so much soul, and if he was in the area again, I’d be down to go.

Two Friends were up next with THE most larger than life performance of the show with quite a few saxophone and dance breaks. I think there was the most enhancement during their set like smoke machines and beach balls going everywhere. I don’t remember much else other than it was just party, party, party with Two Friends onstage, perfect for queueing up Khalid!

Photo of @twofriends by @trahancreates from @voyagemusicfest

After all the hype, the lights went down in preparation for Khalid.

Me and my sprained ankle scooched up as close as we could to the front, ready and waiting for Khalid to be like “Wow, you got so close, I’ll have my people invite you backstage!” (In a fan way, not a groupie way, don’t be gross.)

I made my way as far up as I could with everyone else as crazy as me, and stood patiently waiting.

After a few minutes of hype and a drumroll, KHALID flashed in huge letters across the screen. We all lost our minds, and then heard “Sorry if it's hard to catch my vibe, mmm” from “Love Lies” sung through the microphone.

THERE HE WAS, dancing out on stage in a tan linen outfit, later followed by his crew of backup dancers. He walked RIGHT OVER to my side to the point of EYE CONTACT and took his time serenading us before walking around to serenade everyone else, too. (Check out VoyageMusicFest on my Instagram highlights.)

A few people threw friendship bracelets on stage that he caught and put on (A DREAM) and while I hadn’t come prepared with a customized friendship bracelet, I shot my shot at tossing a beaded bracelet on stage that… security grabbed since Khalid didn’t see it. Better luck next time.

He sang all the favorites and while the completely delusional side of me wanted to stay up there the whole time for a chance to shake his hand or get my jacket signed, my ankle was throbbing and it was time to sit down.

Photo of @thegr8khalid from @voyagemusicfest

I went back to my seat and spent the rest of the evening in pure bliss and enjoyment of listening to Khalid, and celebrating the best birthday ever.

If we ever have another festival like Voyage, I’ll be first in line for tickets again!

That being said, while the music and most of the experience was completely worthwhile, I always aim to give a full picture of the experience. The Super VIP ticket was completely worth it for the front stage access, although I think VIP included that, too.

I also jumped for Super VIP since drinks were included, but the lines at the VIP bar were so long I think I could’ve been better off going VIP or GA for that, too. The VIP bathrooms were great, so if that’s a priority for you, it can definitely be worth it to upgrade. The Noonshine Lounge seemed kind of pointless at first, but it did offer relief from the sun during the earlier parts of the day. I didn’t do any of the IV stations so I can’t speak to that. and my only other observation was that the VIP entrance wasn’t much of a “fast lane”.

Overall, getting to see Khalid was completely worth the splurge and as someone who’s not much of a country fan (#sorrynotsorry), I’m SO glad to see more things like this coming to the Upstate.

I’d go again in a heartbeat!

Were you at Voyage? I’d love to hear your experience, too! Send me a message on Instagram and tell me all about it. After all, I’m only one #gvlenthusiast.

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