The impact of (jazz) festivals

Abstract

Festivals are an essential part of the jazz world, forming regularly occurring pivot points around which jazz musicians, audiences, and organizers plan their lives.Funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council, the purpose of this report is to chart and critically examine available writing about the impact of jazz festivals, drawing on both academic and 'grey'/cultural policy literature in the field.The review presents research findings under the headings of economic impact; socio-political impact; temporal impact and intensification and transformation of experience; creative impact -music and musicians; discovery and audience development; place-making; the mediation of jazz festivals; and environmental impact. It concludes with a set of recommendations for future research, which identifies gaps in the field. To accompany the article, a 100-entry 40,000 word annotated bibliography has also been produced, which is freely accessible online.

The role and function of jazz competitions in Belgium, 1932–1939

“…Other connections between these tournaments and later festivals can be found as well. As Emma Webster and George McKay clarify, ‘[d]efining what constitutes a “music festival” is not a straightforward task’, but one way of characterising it is as a ‘venue-based series of live music events linked by a theme or genre, usually urban’, a description that certainly applies to not only the aforementioned festivals, but also to the jazz contests (Webster and McKay 2016, p. 4). When following their further categorisation of music festivals into eight areas of value and impact, the similarities become even more evident (Webster and McKay 2016, p. 3).…”

“…As Emma Webster and George McKay clarify, ‘[d]efining what constitutes a “music festival” is not a straightforward task’, but one way of characterising it is as a ‘venue-based series of live music events linked by a theme or genre, usually urban’, a description that certainly applies to not only the aforementioned festivals, but also to the jazz contests (Webster and McKay 2016, p. 4). When following their further categorisation of music festivals into eight areas of value and impact, the similarities become even more evident (Webster and McKay 2016, p. 3). The discussed Belgian jazz tournaments contained aspects relating to no less than five of these eight categories: economics and charity (Webster and McKay 2016, p. 7) – the connection to music traders and Faecq's own businesses, the collaboration with le Conservatoire Africain ; temporality and transformation (Webster and McKay 2016, p. 10) – the creation of a temporary community of stakeholders (contenders, judges, promotors, fans) which allowed for socialisation; creativity (Webster and McKay 2016, pp.…”

Cultural heritage entanglements: festivals as integrative sites for sustainable urban development

“…Some festivals appear to fit neatly into categoriesthose that emphasis social cohesion and cultural diversity; those that appear to be part of an economic place-based tourism agenda; those that focus on the celebration of particular forms of expression and cultural practices, whether music or film; those that are the bearers for wider environmental or political messages. However, a more granular consideration of the processes and practices of festivals reveals the limits to reducing the impacts of festivals to any single category (see Webster and McKay 2015). By integrative sites, we mean festivals where the relationship between context and content is dynamic, where place, meaning and cultural expression combine.…”

Do music festival communities address environmental sustainability and how? A Scottish case study

“…However, music festivals are not merely a key economic component of the wider music industries: they also carry a cultural legacy as sites where constituents of musical cultures gather to form temporary communities. As Webster and McKay (2016, p. 9) have noted, British music festivals have historically often been ‘sites for social and political debate, and sometimes action … Festivals are or have been remarkable sites for experimenting with alternative lifestyles and practices’. In Britain, this representation of pop festivals extends back to the 1950s and 1960s.…”

“…By the late 1960s, pop festivals such as the Isle of Wight in the UK and Woodstock in the USA had become ideologically aligned (though not necessarily aligned in practice) with countercultural movements, escaping routines of mundane life, experimenting with alternative ways of living and getting back to nature. Or as Webster and McKay have put it (summarising a range of research on festival audiences), music festivals are discussed as ‘places for being with like-minded people and for engendering feelings of belonging, “communitas”, and community’ (Webster and McKay 2016, p. 10). The performance of songs themselves can also engage mass audiences directly around important issues by appealing to their emotions, and by engendering, as Anderson has put it, both ‘the ability to “feel” something better and the ability to “forget”’ (Anderson 2002, p. 212).…”