The Evolution of Music Festivals

Author: Max Voysey

The Evolution of Music Festivals

Festivals have not always been around. Initially, they were called camp meetings or musical retreats and were formed by religions to gather a bunch of people and bond over hymns and prayer. 

This changed in 1954, when America's first festival was launched in Rhode Island called the Newport Jazz Festival. 11,000 people gathered and danced the night away to artists like Billy Holiday and Dizzy Gillespie. 

Then the 60's arrived...

People from all over the world gathered to have the time of their life at Woodstock... the most famous music festivals in the world that launched the beginning of a new era. The life of Woodstock in the 60's carried on through two new decades as music festivals spread all over the world to celebrate peace, love, counterculture and an escape from rigid conventionalism. 

The picture above was taken at one of many amazing Woodstock festivals where thousands of people would gather.

The birth of the modern rave culture came in the 90s with the demise of the Berlin Wall. EDM infected the world alongside techno from Germany and acid house from the UK.

The naughties is where the real party started! Popular artists like Coldplay, Kylie Minogue and Daft Punk, infested the world with their top hits as music festivals began to get even bigger. The musical world took a dive, however, as Apple came around with its iPod's and iPhones, which nearly put artists out of business. However, this didn't stop festivals from flourishing and selling out within minutes of opening.

Nowadays, we can see some incredible line-ups and popular artists, including grime artists, such as Skepta, Stormzy and Wiley, featuring in festivals all over the world as people pop pills and dance the night away at some of the best festivals in the world.

I wish I was around to experience this awesome evolution of music but unfortunately I was only around for the latest versions.

Let us know which era you experienced on our twitter page at #tonedeaf!!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Don't forget to stay tuned for more daily uploads!

References: 

https://www.vix.com/en/ovs/listenup/57633/beyond-woodstock-the-evolution-of-music-festivals

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/the-top-50-songs-of-the-noughties-ng-fc096173ab15c05c84db230063252765