ready time

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Three stages, forty sets, and one you really don't want to miss.

A festival day can run from gates at noon to encore at midnight, and people still walk in during the second song of the set they came for. Getting from your car to a stage means a parking field, a shuttle, a security line, and a hike across the grounds. Ready Time works backward from the one set that matters most and gives everything before it a start time.

The lineup is not a schedule

Set times drop a few days before gates, often buried in the festival's app, and they slip. The poster shows the music and none of the ground between you and it: the mile of parking field, the shuttle that leaves when it fills, the security line that moves in lurches, the walk to the far stage. So the day gets shaped by lines as much as by sets. You drift between stages during the music and stand in queues during the gaps. Twelve hours of festival, and the part that stings is arriving mid-chorus.

The plan in Ready Time

  1. Set the deadline. That's the time you need to be ready.
  2. Add your steps and how long each one really takes.
  3. Ready Time works backward and gives every step a start time.
Festival Day
30 min Big lunch before you go 12:35 PM
20 min Sunscreen, water bottle, ticket, charger 1:05 PM
40 min Drive to grounds 1:25 PM
45 min Park & catch shuttle 2:05 PM
40 min Security & entry line 2:50 PM
30 min Walk over, refill water, stake a spot 3:30 PM
Festival Day 4:00 PM

Anchor the day to the set you refuse to miss

Pick the one act you'd feel sick about missing all week and make it your deadline. Ready Time counts backward from standing at that stage: the drive, the parking field, the shuttle, security, the walk. Everything earlier gets a start time. Eat a real lunch before you leave, too. The food lines inside are long enough to cost you half a set. Once you're through the gates, the next must-see set becomes the next deadline, and the gaps in between are where food, merch, and wandering fit.

Travel time to the festival

The drive above is a starting number. In the app, pick the real place, choose drive, walk, or bike, and Apple Maps fills in how long it takes.

Home Festival
🚗 40 min
🚗 Drive 🚶 Walk 🚴 Cycle
40 min Drive to grounds

Change where you're leaving from or how you're getting there, and every step before the drive shifts with it.

What time should I get to a music festival?

If an early set matters to you, plan to be through security 45 minutes to an hour before it starts. Entry lines at big festivals commonly run 20 to 45 minutes at peak, and the walk to a far stage can add another 15. If your day genuinely starts at the headliner, arriving after the early rush usually means shorter lines, since they peak at gates-open and again toward sunset. Gates typically open an hour or two before the first sets. Whichever you choose, plan to the moment you need to be standing at your first stage, and let the gate time fall out of that.

How long do headliners typically play at music festivals?

Festival headline sets usually run 75 minutes to two hours, with the biggest names getting the full two. Undercard slots are shorter, commonly 30 to 50 minutes, with 15 to 30 minutes of changeover between acts on a stage. Posted times are close rather than exact, so treat a set you care about as starting a few minutes early. Build the day around the two or three sets you'd actually be sad about and keep the rest loose.

Ready Time 12:35 PM
Big lunch before you go. Festival Day in 3h 25m
Ready Time 1:25 PM
Drive to grounds. Festival Day in 2h 35m
Ready Time 3:30 PM
Walk over, refill water, stake a spot. Festival Day in 30m

Alerts when it's time to start

Get a nudge at the right moment, while there's still time to act.

Each step gets its own alert, so you know what's next and how long you have.

★★★★★
“I get so tired of counting backward to when I should start my task. This app is the solution.”
App Store review
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Ready Time

You know what you need to do. Ready Time helps you know when to start.

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