Over the last forty years music festivals have emerged as a significant leisure phenomenon. From humble and amateurish beginnings the music festival industry is now an important part of the economy, with several major players dominating the organisation of the large music festival within the UK. Music festivals are economically successful because the spaces within them enable people to engage with practices and performances that are far different from those experienced within the everyday world. However, whilst the role of music festivals has become of increasing importance, both economically and culturally, they remain wholly neglected within academic research. As a result little is known about why music festivals are successful and how people use the spaces within them. Furthermore, there has been no substantial research that has attempted to understand just how music festivals are put together and organised. This research addresses this lacuna through substantial ethnographically informed research that documents how the processes of production, consumption and performance come together at the music festival. It is the first attempt within human geography to document the important spaces and places, practices and performances that constitute just what a music festival is. The challenge for this research has been to show why music festivals are successful for both the festival organiser and the festival participants. Three specific areas are explored using a variety of methods. Firstly this research explores how the spaces within the music festival are produced as economically successful spaces, highlighting how decisions by festival organisers are often taken to encourage particular forms of consumption by festival participants. Secondly, this research explores how festival participants use the music festival, and pays particular attention to the lived experiences of those involved as a means to understanding why people enjoy the spaces within the music festival. Thirdly, this research looks at the creative tensions that emerge within the festival as a result of the differing expectations between the festival organiser and the festival participants over how the festival should take shape
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:446235 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Thomas, Peter |
| Publisher | University of Newcastle Upon Tyne |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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