I soloed last year. I say ‘solo’ in the sense that I made the decision to go without having anyone else in mind. This quickly changed when the good sir @Mjolnir had an open call for someone to fill a spot in his hotel room also shared with @KayMonstar and Kay’s friend (whose name I have regrettably forgotten). So right off I found three notably awesome people and I hadn’t even arrived at the venue. Once you get in you find an atmosphere that’s so happy and energetic that you can’t help but assume everyone there is a friend.
If you’re worried about how to approach these strangers, it’s really quite simple: say hi. Ask their opinion about a band that was recently on. We’re all nerds here; we like to talk about the things we like. Nerdapalooza is a collection of nerds who like generally the same stuff, you’re going to fit in fine. You WILL find cool people, you WILL exchange high-fives, and you WILL want to go back.

I can’t though. October’s all sorts of busy for me.