Smells like middle-aged spirit - boom in big outdoor music festivals may not be sustainable

The Economist ^ | Jun 27th 2015 | no byline - The live music industry

[Cboldt]

Steely Dan will be on tour shortly. All exceptionally good musicians.

[truth_seeker]

“Steely Dan will be on tour shortly. All exceptionally good musicians.”

Steely Dan was mostly recorded with hi-tech of the day, in studios.

Hence the jazz/rock fusion which was relatively but not totally new. Santana did it, too.

[a fool in paradise]

Modern (and clinging mid-to-late career) music ping

[a fool in paradise]

Now hundreds of live bands and DJs will perform on 90 stages over five days.

With 90 stages, the shared experience of the weekend is lost. And DJs are "entertainment" but not musicians.

[cicero2k]

Here in Orange County, CA there is a major cover band scene which is enjoyable because:

Voices are better
Songs are familiar
Cheaper
Convenient

[Cboldt]

-- Steely Dan was mostly recorded with hi-tech of the day, in studios. --

And session musicians. Fagen's material (Nightfly, Kamakiriad) too. I'm "good" through Two Against Nature. Later than than feels repetetive, but I haven't given it a fair listen. Stuck in the past.

[Squawk 8888]

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[a fool in paradise]

Some festivals that get "lost in the mix" when historians talk about Woodstock. These all look to be more rock and roll (and blues) than the 'self important' folk rock scene of Wooddstock.

From the same year (with many of the same bands)

Toronto was before it. Atlanta Pop was before it. Texas Pop was after it. Toronto Rock Revival (with the Plastic Ono Band) was after it. Palm Beach Festival may have been created to cash in on it after the fact.

"

And the next year:

And some of these were in sports stadiums, not open fields.

[a fool in paradise]

$#!* People Say at Music Festivals
by TheRoundaboutCrew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1LQGo7xgPg

[Tax-chick]

The “facilities” are a main reason I rarely go to big outdoor events. My teenagers have been to some one-day multi-performer concerts, such as the “Warped Tour.”

I think that, as with any type of recreational activity, a point will be reached where the supply exceeds the demand, and then some will go out of business.

[manic4organic]

Austin City Limits and Bonnaroo seem to be a couple of the most successful fests here. Upwards of 100,000 attendance. ACL is over two weekends. Bonnaroo, one. Haven’t attended either but my daughter has. She should be performing at both next year.

[Boogieman]

Yeah, 90 stages is overkill, and I would never pay a cent to see a DJ. I mean, nowadays everyone has their whole record collection in their pocket, so what is the point?

[Boogieman]

One-day events are as far as I’ll go. After 10 hours of walking around out in the sun (if you’re lucky), I need my own bed to sleep in :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Stones are totally screwing this up for everyone, LOL!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Burt Bump! Such pretty melodies with such meaningful lyrics! :)

[GSWarrior]

[Rodamala]

I got a good laugh at that poster. I think the last big music festival I went to was the Phish "It" show up in Limestone Maine.

Having experienced these sort of events before... it was nice to go in style in an RV with it's own bathroom for a change. You really don't want to see the inside of a Port-a-potty at one of those weekend long sort of shows on the last day.

I have seen Mexican jail cells that were less disgusting.

[Tax-chick]

Youngsters are more resilient and less squeamish than I am.

[a fool in paradise]

Ooooh! That looks like a good one!