Behind the Scenes @ Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend 4 (GJWW) in Riviera Maya (Mom’s Style)
Imagine floating in a pink donut on aquamarine water, margarita in hand, live music playing in the distance…the kind that makes you stop to catch the words in the chorus so you can be sure to Google the song and add it to your Spotify as soon as you drift back to your phone on the powdery white beach. Imagine starting each day in a perfectly firm bed in a cocoon of black-out-curtain-bliss without anyone but yourself to think about. Maybe you’ll get up and do light yoga on the beach? Maybe you’ll head straight to the surprisingly delicious breakfast buffet that details vegan, gluten free and any other dietary offering your mind can conjure? And imagine knowing each night that a ten-minute shuttle ride filled with strangers who all somehow feel like your best friends will drive you to a taco-bar lined venue leading to a stage where her highness, the one and only Brandi Carlile (and Allison Russell, Maren Morris, Sara Bareilles, Wynonna, Lucius, and SO MANY MORE!!!) will perform what feels like a tailor-made concert of your dreams for four nights straight? A dream you ask? No, it’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend (GJWW), and it was better than I ever hoped.
I am not a big resort/all-inclusive kind of gal, so I was initially a bit skeptical of what the experience would be like, but I am a die-hard Brandi fan (IYKYK) and felt like a true initiation into the “Bramily” required experiencing GJWW. Also, I am a mom of two young kids and sometimes a mama just needs to get away (especially in the depths of dreary January). A good fellow-mama friend and I packed our bags and headed to the Yucatan. This is what we learned:
Highlights:
- First choice is whether you stay at the Hard Rock hotel (where the main concerts take place), or the adults-only venue (this year it was the Barcelo). We opted for adults-only with an intention to fully recharge away from littles. BTW – my 5-year-old was horrified that “adults only” venues exist, let alone that I would patron one. I’m certain someday she will change her mind. The advantages of the Barcelo:
o To kid or not to kid? I have kids, adore my kids, and the whole point was to not be around them! We saw several families with kids at Hard Rock and inquired about the GJWW family-style experience. The majority opinion was to think long and hard about the experience you want. The first night I had dreams of bringing my kids to GJWW next year, but by the end of the week I wasn’t so sure. The adult/female-friend only experience was hard to beat. There are pros and cons to both choices of course.
o Food!!!!! – To my surprise, my favorite food was the buffet at the Barcelo. Granted, my expectations for an all-inclusive were low, but I was impressed with the variety, freshness, and selection of great options. The restaurants at the Barcelo were less impressive (options included a Japanese and French restaurant, which seemed like a stretch in the Yucatan, and the food itself actually seemed like it was having an identity crisis). Each night the Hard Rock concert-venue was lined with food vendors offering everything from giant vats of guacamole to tacos, dahl, and everything in-between. We were initially worried about feeling hungry after the concerts, but clearly someone was one step ahead of us! Drinks were abundant. Should you ever desire a margarita, mezcal (my favorite!), piña colada, beer, or any other alcoholic or non-alcoholic concoction, it was yours for the taking. The experience felt like your best friend was throwing a party and hadn’t missed a detail in catering to your comfort.
o Tough Choices - Doing nothing, yoga that was actually stretching, discovering the next Grammy-winning artist, finishing a book, bobbing in a floatie, or grabbing another strawberry swirl ice-cream cone were among the tough decisions we had to make each day. Getting up “early” for yoga at 9:30am, meant we were able to secure beach chairs of choice each day. We would claim a spot and leisurely transition between ocean, beach reading, and swimming-pool-front concerts throughout the day (the day-time concerts were basically equivalent at both hotels – we only ventured to the Hard Rock during the day for Brandioke, which is 100% worth it).
o Read instructions/transportation – (the read instruction comment is for me because in my 40 years of life, I just still cannot remember that reading information usually provides useful answers). Anyhow, I missed the official GJWW transportation recommendations and rented a car. Part of this is driven by my fear of resorts and desire to be able to escape at moment’s notice. Turns out I did not want to escape a single aspect of GJWW and really didn’t need a car. However, because we were so busy leading up to the trip and hadn’t managed to finalize our Ladies of the 80’s costumes, we stopped at a local grocery store on the way to the resort and found excellent options (purple lipstick, neon green shorts, tie-dye shirts and all!). So, the car was worth it (albeit expensive) for that excursion.
o Don’t forget you’re in Mexico!!! – Mexico is a cash and tip-driven country. Always have pesos in 20,50,100 and 200 denominations. It is polite and very appreciated. I always take out local currency at the airport ATM when I arrive.
o Nicest people on earth? My friend and I left GJWW wondering if somehow Brandi has the magic power to summon the best of humanity (myself being an exception of course…ha ha ha). Truly, from the performers, greeters, hotel staff, photographers, to fellow concertgoers, everyone was pure joy. This was the type of crowd where people smelled like soap, didn’t crowd your personal space, and offered to move aside to ensure they were not blocking your view. And this brings me to my most important takeaway:
§ GJWW is not just a concert, it is community – the fellow artists mentioned it, the staff mentioned it, fellow concertgoers mentioned it: GJWW is not only about the music (which was exceptional, BTW), it is about togetherness, family (no matter what that looks like!) and celebrating the best of what is an potential for what could be. My travel partner said it well: “I have never felt so invisible in the best possible way.” What she meant is that GJWW truly felt like a judgement-free zone. It did not matter what you wore, what you looked like, or why you were there. Everyone was ready to strike up a conversation, share their best GJWW tips (yep, Brandi poured tequila in my mouth!!), and celebrate being alive while hopping up and down to a kick-ass version of Salt n’ Peppa’s “Push It”.
When my friend and I returned home, both our husbands mentioned they had maybe never seen either of us so happy. Joy was quite literally emanating from our bodies. I’m still clinging to that magic as I’m settled back into a dark, cold, snowy January. I remember that 5-day smile plastered to my giddy face during 6:30am school alarms, preparation for work presentations, herding cats for dinner (feeding actual cats at 5am…sigh), answering the endless excuses why my kids don’t want to go to bed. And I am reminded how important it is to make time for whatever makes you feel vigorously alive.
