Back in the late 80s/early 90s I went to a couple of festivals, I hated camping so just picked one day. Went to the Phoenix Festival as I lived 1/2 hour away and a mate could drive.
Then in 2002 a bunch of us went to All Tomorrow's Parties at Camber Sands. Now there was a a festival I got into. All indoors, sleeping in a real bed, being able to cook your own food... Unfortunately I never got the chance to do it again...
In 2010 I started going to the Supersonic Festival at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. I'd tried to go a couple of times before that, had tickets and such, but stuff happened. I'm from Coventry and my folks still live there. Me and my mates share driving duties. They used to contribute reviews to Louder Than War, so had press passes. Then they started their own little site, and still got passes. Until this year.
Usually I have prior knowledge of maybe 3-4 bands playing, but finding new acts to listen to is what the festival is all about for me.