ABSTRACT
Festivals are an important expression of human activity that contribute much to our social and cultural life (Allen, O’Toole, Harris & McDonnell 2011, p. 15) and are also ‘big business’ (Webster & McKay 2016). Festivals form part of the growing events sector, and, as the Eventbrite Pulse Report noted in 2016, ‘this is still an industry with many more opportunities than challenges’ (Eventbrite 2017). Festivals may focus around various art forms or cultural activities but often have a particular association with music. For example, Shuker (2012, p. 130) defines a festival as ‘a concert, usually outdoor, often held over several days … sites where commerce and popular ideology interact to produce historically significant musical meanings’. Music festivals are fluid environments, subject to change and reinvention, so that, for example, ‘participative arts, audience theatricality and themed environments are increasingly popular within what may be described as the “boutique” festival sector’ (Robinson, cited in McKay 2015, p. 177).
