> So pretty much all of my life I just listened to the music people around me were listening to. When I was a kid, I listened to whatever was on the radio and what my parents played at home. As a teen, I just listened to whatever my older sister would recommend. Now, in college, I listen to whatever songs my friends are.

Asking those people what they're listening to, & saving this artists. Listen to the album that song is from to see how you like it. Do you just like the song, or does that whole album's sound speak to you? If the album does, check out their other stuff. On Spotify there's "Artists similar to x" which will be another good place to look & see. If you want to see what genres people use for it, I suggest going to RateYourMusic.com (RYM) & searching the album to see what most people recognize it as. When you see a genre you don't recognize, look it up on google & play some other music of that genre. See if you can spot similarities in sounds, instruments, singing styles.

> On top of that, when I look at music festival lineups I feel like I don't know anyone even though I should.

Look up some of the artists you don't know. Those at the top will probably be the most popular ones, so they could be a good place to start.