Music festival

Music festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria, picturing both the main stage and the camping grounds on the farm behind

A music festival is a community event oriented towards live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, or locality of musicians, or holiday. Some festivals are focused on women’s music.

They are commonly held outdoors, with tents or roofed temporary stages for the performers. Often music festivals host other attractions such as food and merchandise vending, dance, crafts, performance art, and social or cultural activities. At music festivals associated with charitable causes, there may be information about social or political issues. Many festivals are annual, or repeat at some other interval. Some, including many rock festivals, are held only once.

Some festivals are organized as for-profit concerts and others are benefits for a specific charitable cause. Another type of music festival is the educative type, organized annually in local communities, regionally, or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement.

Ancient

Leigo Järvemuusika 2007

The Pythian Games at Delphi included musical performances, and may be one of the earliest festivals known.^[1] During the Middle Ages, festivals were often held as competitions.

Music education

Another type of music festival is the music education type, often organized annually in local communities, regionally, or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement. Entrants perform prepared pieces or songs in front of an audience which includes competitors, family and friends, and members of the community, along with one or more adjudicators or judges. These adjudicators, who may be music teachers, professors, or professional performers, provide verbal and written feedback to each performer or group. The adjudicator may be someone whom they might never meet in any other way, as is the case when an adjudicator from another city is brought in to judge. They also usually receive a certificate, classified according to merit or ranking, and some may win trophies or even scholarships. The competitive element is often played down, however, as the important aspect is that participants can learn from one another. Such festivals aim to provide a friendly and supportive platform for musicians to share in the excitement of making music. For many, they provide a bridge from lessons and examinations to performing confidently in public; for a few of the top performers, they provide a pathway to further professional study of music in a college, university or conservatory.

Festivals around the world

Youth attend Przystanek Woodstock festival of rock music, Poland, 2011

Milwaukee, Wisconsin's 11-day event, Summerfest, promotes itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival", a title certified by the Guinness World Records and has been held since 1999. Operating annually since 1968, the festival attracts between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people each year, and hosts over 800 musical acts.^[2][3] The Woodstock Festival in 1969 drew nearly 500,000 attendees, and the Polish spin-off Przystanek Woodstock in 2014 drew 750,000^[4] thus becoming the largest open air annual festival in Europe and the second largest in the world. In comparison, the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, attracts about 135,000 spectators each year.^[5] Glastonbury Festival has a capacity of about 275,000 spectators, but has "fallow years" roughly every five years, so it is the biggest non-annual greenfield festival in the world. The oldest annual dedicated pop music festival in the world is Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands,^[6] though in other genres, there are much older ones: the Three Choirs Festival in the UK has run annually since 1719.

Historic music festivals

Selected historically notable festivals

Festival name		Location	Years	Details
Fiera della Frecagnola		Italy	1450–present	Based on old folk tradition
Annaberger Kät		Germany	1520–present	Old folk festival
Three Choirs Festival		England	1719–present	Early choral festival
Tyagaraja Aradhana		India	1846–present	Early Carnatic music festival
Leeds Festival		England	1858–1985	Early classical festival
Estonian Song Festival		Estonia	1869–present	One of the largest amateur choral events in the world - Takes place normally every 5 years with 30,000 performers
Latvian Song and Dance Festival		Latvia	1873–present	Early folk music festival - Takes place normally every 5 years with 30,000 performers
Þjóðhátíð		Iceland	1874–present	Early folk music festival
Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan		India	1875–present	Early Indian classical music festival
Long Plain First Nation Annual Pow-wow		Canada	1876–present	Government-sanctioned pow wow
Nordic Music Days	(many)	Europe	1888–present	Festival for new Nordic music
Royal National Mòd		Scotland	1892–present	National Celtic mod
Ravinia Festival		Illinois	1904–present	Oldest outdoor classical festival in US
Glastonbury		England	1914–25	Early classical festival
Donaueschingen Festival		Germany	1921–present	Early experimental festival
Newport Jazz Festival		Rhode Island	1954–60, 1962–present	Early jazz festival, later added rock and other styles
Reading and Leeds Festivals		England	1961–present	Early rock/blues festival
Philadelphia Folk Festival		Pennsylvania	1962–present	Early folk festival, later added other styles
American Folk Blues Festival	(many)	Europe	1962–1985	Introduced US blues circuit to Europe
Jazz Bilzen		Belgium	1965-1981	First festival in Europe combining jazz and pop
Shiraz Arts Festival		Iran	1967–1977	Diverse international genres
Woodstock		New York	1969	Culturally notable event
Ichthus Music Festival		Kentucky	1970–present	Early Christian music festival
Roskilde festival		Denmark	1971–Present	Largest music festival in Northern Europe, non-profit
Smile Jamaica Concert		Jamaica	1974	Early reggae festival
International Computer Music Conference	(many)	Worldwide	1974	Early electronic music festival
Heatwave		Canada	1980	Important event for new wave and punk
Spring Rhythms. Tbilisi-80		Soviet Union	1980	First official rock festival in the Soviet Union
Antilliaanse Feesten		Belgium	1983–present	Largest Caribbean Dance Music Festival
Donauinselfest		Vienna	1984–present	Largest music festival in the world, free entry (~3 mill)
Rock in Rio		Brazil	1985–present	1.5 million people attended the first event
Rendez-vous Houston		Texas	1986	Largest ticketed event in North America (1 to 1.5 mill)
Moscow Music Peace Festival		Russia	1989	Important event for glam metal
Love Parade		Germany	1989-2010	Massive early technoparade
Wacken Open Air		Germany	1990–present	Large metal showcase
Big Day Out		Australia	1992–2014	Multiple stages and genres
Sziget		Hungary	1993–present	Large Woodstock style event
CzechTek		Czech Republic	1994-2006	Large teknival closed by police
Przystanek Woodstock		Poland	1995–present	Ticket-free festival with crowds up to 625,000
Vans Warped Tour		United States	1995–present	Punk rock showcase
Fuji Rock Festival		Japan	1997–present	In 2005, more than 100,000 people attended
Nashestvie		Russia	1999-	One of the largest Russian rock open-air festivals
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival		California	1999–present	In 2014 had 579,000 attendees over six days
Exit Festival		Serbia	2000–present	Exit 2006 had 22 stages
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival		Tennessee	2002–present	Annual attendance of 85,000-120,000
Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto		Canada	2003	Largest outdoor ticketed event in Canada (~half a mill.)
Live 8	(many)	Many	2005	Ten simultaneous benefit concerts in eight countries
Positivus Festival		Latvia	2007-Present	Largest and most popular of music festivals in the three Baltic States
Live Earth	(many)	Worldwide	2007	Widely broadcast worldwide
Sunburn Festival		India	2007-Present	Largest music festival in Asia
Milege World Music Festival		Uganda	2010–Present	Biggest music festival in Africa
Colour Day Festival		Greece	2015–Present	Biggest music festival in Greece
Faine Misto Festival		Ukraine	2013–Present	Music festival in Ukraine
Atlas Weekend		Ukraine	2015–Present	Biggest music festival in Ukraine[7]

Current music festivals

The following are selected music festivals that are recurring as of 2015. Some sections may also have links to related lists of music festivals by country.

References