While fans at the Meadows Festival in New York City this weekend donned their flower crowns, dusted off their comfiest shoes and planned their schedules of acts to see each day, festival headliners like Foster the People, Jacob Banks, flor and DREAMERS had their own very different pre-show rituals.
"We give each other a pat on the back or on the chest, and we say, ‘Bless,'" Foster the People lead singer Mark Foster told ABC News.
"I think that it’s important that we all eat together," the "Unholy War" singer Jacob Banks told ABC News. "My band and my team, we have to have a meal together."
For veteran performers like Foster the People and Jacob Banks, both still feel privileged to play to crowds of thousands of people who came all the way to the second year of the festival in Queens, New York, to see them.
"For me, nothing could ever be too much. People are spending their hard-earned money to see me. People are giving me their time. That’s the only currency that matters," said Banks.
"This is what we live for," Foster said. And it's a chance for Foster the People fans to hear their new album "Sacred Hearts Club" live for the first time. "The new record was really meant to be played live. We really like giving it its time in the day, you know?"
And for flor and DREAMERS' Nick Wold, who both played sets at the festival earlier in the day, they say it's surreal to do what they love and to also meet some of their favorite artists along the way.
"We’ve seen Weezer like five times this summer. That was one of my favorite bands growing up. And now Rivers [Cuomo] has introduced himself to us and they know who we are. And that’s a head-trip for me," Wold told ABC News.
“You think you would get nervous and overwhelmed but as soon as you see people out there enjoying and connecting with the music," flor's lead singer Zach Grace told ABC News. "It’s like, ‘Oh this is why we do this.”
And the performers each affirmed in their own ways that life on tour was not just about the music, but meant having fun with band mates and teammates they consider family and friends.
"I just get to run away and just not deal with real life. It’s fun. It’s a lot of laughter," Banks said. "These are my family now ... It’s not work. It’s family."
ABC News separately interviewed Foster the People, Jacob Banks, flor and DREAMERS' lead singer Nick Wold, where they played the Meadows Festival this past weekend to hear about their most embarrassing moments on stage, what they need to have in their dressing rooms and other fun facts.
Foster the People’s Sean Cimino: “We’re pretty particular about coconut water. And hummus,” he joked. “If it’s not fine enough, just get out.”
Jacob Banks: "I like Hi-Chews. Plus, you can’t get them in the UK. They only sell them here."
flor’s McKinley Kitts: “Kombucha!”
flor’s Zach Grace: “Famous Amos -- those little cookies.”
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: "We alternate every day between getting a bottle of whiskey or getting juice, because one bottle is too much for one day, so we get the juice the next day."
Foster the People’s Mark Foster: “[In Ohio, drummer Mark Pontius] was drying out his clothes out by our bus like on a fence or something, and a fan came out and stole his underwear.”
Jacob Banks: "When we were in Portland, [Oregon], and this dude came up to me and he said his girlfriend would like to get a picture. I said, ‘Cool, let’s just wrap up and we’ll grab one with your girlfriend.’ And then I got to the girl, and I was like, ‘Your boyfriend said you wanted to get a picture. It would be my pleasure.’ And then she turns around and says she’s never seen that guy in her life. And it was ------- weird, and she said he’s been following her around the whole gig trying to offer her a jar of pickles. And I turn around, and he’s there with a jar of pickles in his hand. I don’t know if it was a prank, but she was, like, genuinely afraid of this dude. It was crazy."
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: Jacob tweeted that he likes Cheez-Its, and now people bring him Cheez-Its all the time.
Foster the People’s Mark Foster: “The most real superstition we have is that before we go on stage, we kind of huddle up right before we walk up. We give each other a pat on the back or on the chest, and we say, ‘Bless.’ That’s something that we’ve done every show since the beginning. I don’t know how it started. But if we feel like we’re forgetting to do that, and someone starts to walk out, we scramble and call them back and make sure that we do that before we walk out on stage.”
Jacob Banks: "We pray before most shows. I think that it’s important that we all eat together. My band and my team, we have to have a meal together. It unifies our energy."
flor’s Dylan William: “A shot [of alcohol] just 10 or 15 minutes before you go on always calms the nerves.”
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: "We always hug each other before the show."
Foster the People’s Mark Foster: “I would say on [our album] ‘Torches,’ it would be ‘Houdini,’ and I think at like the core of who we are as a band, that song represents hope and being the underdog, which I think is kind of the strength of our band. I would say on [our album] ‘Supermodel,’ it would probably be ‘The Truth.’
Jacob Banks: "I’d say ‘Unholy War,’ just because it speaks to the two sides that I try to represent a lot."
flor’s Zach Grace: “We really like playing ‘Warm Blood.’ It gives you a real easy and good idea of what flor’s about and what we try to do with our music.]
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: "I think there’s a song of ours called, ‘Sweet Disaster,’ which is a song that I think is on the radio right now, is what most people hear first, so why don’t just join the bandwagon and start there?"
Foster the People’s Sean Cimino: “I got to have a least one pin on a hat in order to step on stage,” he joked. “No, I just made that up. I don’t need anything actually.”
Jacob Banks: "I just need my boys with me. I need my band with me and that’s okay."
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: "I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but I always have a dream catcher on stage with me on the microphone, and I always joke that it’s my most important piece of gear ‘cause it catches the dreams."
Foster the People’s Mark Foster: “I’m hoping to get back to playing a show in Dubai … We’re playing China for the first time in a month and Thailand.”
Jacob Banks: "New Orleans. I love New Orleans. It’s something special. I feel really at home in New Orleans."
flor’s Dylan William: “I always look forward to going to Chicago for some reason.”
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: Kansas City, [Missouri], Columbus, Ohio, Austin, Texas, and Seattle, my hometown, is always fun to go to … New York City, probably my favorite city in the world."
Foster the People’s Mark Pontius: “I typically start off most of the songs. And one time I got the wrong set list, so my order was almost right … so I started off everyone song playing my part in the song, and everybody else was on like a different page.”
Jacob Banks: Nothing bad has happened yet. I haven’t fallen. I’ve never done anything crazy. Yet. I’m sure it will happen at some point.
flor’s McKinley Kitts: “One time we were playing a song and Zach accidentally hit the demo button in the middle of a song, so it went into the PA but we didn’t notice for 30 seconds. So we stopped the song but it kept playing.”
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: "I fell down today, but I slipped at a moment that it was cool to fall down and just lay on the stage. In rock ‘n’ roll a mistake really isn’t a mistake, it’s just part of it."
Jacob Banks: "I’d love to work with Alabama Shakes, Dream -- I’d love to work with Kanye West, uhm, maybe John Mayer."
flor’s Zach Grace: “I would love to do a song with Regina Spektor.”
DREAMERS' Nick Wold: "John Lennon or Kurt Cobain, probably like my two favorites."
Catch Foster the People, Jacob Banks, flor and DREAMERS on tour now.
Editor's note: These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.