M.A., Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Most previous academic studies undertaken on music festivals in South Africa have been largely done through economic lenses. They have dealt with growing the festival; financial benefits for the festival organisers; management styles and models of festivals. This research interrogates the impact of music festivals on the participating artists’ social, creative, intellectual and sustainable growth. The research studied these aspects through the analysis of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival, which in 2010 was celebrating its diamond jubilee, and following six musicians who have participated in the festivals at different levels. Being a jazz artist myself, I became interested in what constitutes the development of a musician who participates in a jazz festival. This research seeks to depart from the socio-economic based studies by analysing the role of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival in the lives of six South African jazz musicians and the perceived benefits. It also draws on a wide range of literature that covers issues ranging from socio-political scenarios to arts and culture policies from around the 1920s to the present day. What the research found is that music festivals had varying impact on developmental bands in comparison to established bands and musicians. It also looked at the effectiveness of arts and culture policies, legislations and their implementation in the South African music industry. Due to the width and breath of this research topic it must be stated that there are other areas that the research did not delve into due to the researcher’s limited tools - such as the psychological analysis capacity.