Music festivals & raves

Festival & Rave Safety App for Your Crew

A rave buddy app for your crew: a live shared map and one-tap SOS.

Overview

What it is

BuddySOS is a free festival and rave safety app, a rave buddy app that puts your whole crew on a live map. Each person in your group shows up as a live GPS pin, and one tap on the SOS button alerts the group with your live location.

Music festivals and raves are part of why BuddySOS exists. Dense crowds, multi-day timelines, and 'meet at the stage' coordination strain every general-purpose messaging app. Put your crew on one shared map instead, with a one-tap safety net built in.

Why standard apps fall short here

  • Cell towers get hammered at peak crowd times.
  • 'Meet at the main stage' can mean 30 minutes of pacing through tens of thousands of people.
  • Phones die fast in heat with always-on screens. Tracking the group manually drains battery further.
  • If someone gets hurt, separated, or has a hard moment, no one knows until they make it back.

What BuddySOS gives you

  • Every person in your group shows up as a live GPS pin, updating as they move through the crowd.
  • One tap sends an SOS with your live location to the group, and it keeps broadcasting after your screen locks.
  • Battery Saver Mode stretches your phone across a full festival day.
  • Your location stays inside your group. Not sold to advertisers, not sold to data brokers.

Built for events like these

CoachellaEmpire Polo Club, Indio, California. Two April weekends, 125,000+ per day. The footprint covers multiple polo fields and dozens of stages, and crowds compress around headliners and bottleneck at the gates and Main Stage.
EDC Las VegasLas Vegas Motor Speedway. Three overnight sessions in May, 500,000+ across the weekend. Crowd density around kineticFIELD on the third night is extreme, and the dusk-to-sunrise schedule adds a visibility problem on top of it.
LollapaloozaGrant Park, Chicago. Four days in late July or early August, 100,000+ per day. The layout is dense and linear with stages strung along Columbus Drive and the lakefront, so a miscounted walk to the Bud Light stage costs 25 minutes.
BonnarooGreat Stage Park, Manchester, Tennessee. Four-day camping festival in June, 80,000+ attendees across 700 acres. Crowd flow concentrates at the What Stage for headliners and at the Plazas, and rural Tennessee cell coverage is uneven.
Burning ManBlack Rock City, Nevada. Last week of August into Labor Day, 80,000+ attendees. Signal on the Playa is intermittent, so a group map matters most on travel days and in the gate line, which can back up 8+ hours. Do not make it your only plan inside Black Rock City.
Electric ForestDouble JJ Resort, Rothbury, Michigan. Four-night camping festival in June, 45,000+ attendees. The wooded section is maze-like after dark, which is where a live group map earns its keep.
Outside LandsGolden Gate Park, San Francisco. Three days in August.
ACL FestivalZilker Park, Austin, Texas. Two consecutive October weekends.

Questions about BuddySOS for music festivals & raves

Is BuddySOS officially supported at major US festivals?

BuddySOS works at any music festival, whether or not the festival officially supports it. You need a group of friends with the app installed. We also partner with select US festivals for deeper integration, including direct routing of SOS alerts to on-site security and medics.

What if the festival cell network is overloaded?

BuddySOS depends on a data connection like any other app. Pair the app with a clear meeting plan and physical landmarks so the group has a low-tech backup. That is good practice at any large event, regardless of which app you use.

How do I get my festival group set up?

Have everyone download BuddySOS from the App Store or Google Play. One person creates a group named after your festival and sends the invite link. Setup takes about 90 seconds per person. Do it the night before to avoid onboarding outside the gates.

Is BuddySOS a rave buddy app or a rave tracker?

Yes. BuddySOS works as a rave buddy app. Your crew shares a live map to find each other in a packed rave or festival, and one tap sends an SOS with your live location. It is free on iOS and Android, and your location stays inside your group, never sold to advertisers.

Related use cases

Production and event crews→
Not losing friends at a festival→
Nightlife and going out→
Security and event teams→

Free for groups. Forever.

BuddySOS is free on iOS and Android. Download it tonight, be ready for your next event by the weekend.

Download BuddySOS← All use cases