Curatorship or curation has become a widely used term in music industry and popular music discourse recently, used not only in a museum or exhibition context, but also in connection with music ...festivals, and increasingly, playlists and other functions related to online music platforms. Through a case study of 22tracks, an online, playlist-based music discovery service currently based in four European cities, I look at the role and position of the music curator, and provide a critical analysis of the dominant discourses around music curation. I place the discourse of music curation into a context of dominant narratives accompanying music as well as digital and online technology, including that of the “long tail” and the “tyranny of choice.” I then proceed to explore the relationship of curation to place, scenes and genres, and conceptualise curatorship as an increasingly professionalised tastemaking and promoting function.
Culture always speaks to the history and meaning of place. Music festivals in particular carry considerable significance as they are produced through spatial and temporal processes that extend their ...symbolic and material meaning beyond their local settings. The onset of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in Bristol intensified debates about festival diversity. Drawing on interviews with Bristol-based festival producers, this article examines popular music festivals and the places, communities and identities they represent. Rather than repeating the common criticism of festivals for being too white, we contribute to the debates by unravelling complex processes embedded within festival production. Using Lefebvre’s concept of conceived space, we argue that (racial) diversity is a spatial conundrum for music festivals. We demonstrate this through the way festival space is conceived: culturally – as it is framed within established music festival discourses; economically – through entrepreneurial networks of independent producers within local music cultures; socially – their ideals (including diversity), tastes and lifestyles inadvertently organise and represent particular symbolic and material formations of (racialised) identities and communities.
Music festivals are increasingly utilizing ICT to augment live music performances. This research project proposes and trials three liveness scales to measure attendee???s perceptions of authenticity ...regarding liveness across a broad spectrum of formats for, and viewpoints of, live performances
at, or emanating from, music festivals. The research addresses the thesis that: It may be possible to develop liveness scales to measure attendee perceptions of liveness regarding ICT-enhanced performances at music festivals. Following item development processes, pretest liveness Likert scales
were developed, and two iterations of primary research were carried out to collect and interpret empirical evidence from 164 respondents. Formats and viewpoints generating the greatest acceptance or resistance were identified. Significant differentiation in responses was tested for by gender
regarding audience viewpoints and by occupation regarding audience size. Potential to further develop/simplify the liveness scales, and for future research into ICT-enhanced experiences at music festivals, was ascertained.
•Wastewater analysis shows that cocaine, MDMA and amphetamine use is stable over two editions of a Swiss music festival.•Wastewater analysis confirms that MDMA is internationally prevalent in ...festivals, as well as amphetamine to a lesser extent.•MDMA and amphetamine are more consumed during the festival compared to normal times, when there is no festival.•Police seizures supports the hypothesis of an existing market for MDMA and amphetamine during the festival.
This article describes the application of a recently proposed framework for deploying wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to monitor illicit drug use within festivals (Benaglia et al., 2019). The festival under study was a week-long music festival in Switzerland (Swiss Festival) which attracted around 50,000 people daily. Wastewater sampling was performed during its 2014 and 2015 editions. As the Swiss Festival’s wastewater is conveyed to the sewage treatment plant (STP) of the nearby city, to assess illicit drug use when there is no festival (i.e. the background consumption) wastewater sampling was also carried out during an off-festival week in 2015. During the 2014 and 2015 editions of the Swiss Festival, WBE highlighted that the most consumed illicit drugs were cannabis, MDMA, cocaine and amphetamine. Excluding cannabis, the means per capita loads of all illicit drugs were not statistically different between both editions of the Swiss Festival. The results were then compared to those of an Australian festival which had also been subject of a quantitatively assessed illicit drug use study (Lai et al., 2013). This comparison confirmed that MDMA is highly prevalent, as well as amphetamine, although to a lesser extent. Consumption of cocaine (in Switzerland) and methamphetamine (in Australia) is also high, but their use seems to be related to their availability (i.e. to the country where the festival takes place). Furthermore, it was observed that MDMA and amphetamine are more consumed during the festival compared to normal times, when there is no festival. This might suggest that their availability is increased and therefore, that a market for these substances potentially exists during the festival. This last hypothesis was assessed by consulting drug seizures made by the police during the 2015 Swiss Festival. Despite very limited data, police records suggested that most of the drugs were purchased at the festival, which supports the previous hypothesis. Results validate, on the one hand, WBE as a useful indicator to monitor illicit drug use within festivals and on the other hand, the suggested framework for deploying WBE in such environment. In addition, this study suggests the need for prevention and harm reduction measures targeted on MDMA and amphetamine during the Swiss Festival, such as drug checking laboratories.
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Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is a worldwide problem with potentially major forensic and life-threatening consequences. Although it is obvious that new psychoactive ...substances (NPS) could lead to impaireddriving, the prevalence of NPS use in a DUID context is unknown as the applied roadside screening tests for drugs of abuse (DOA) are not adapted for NPS detection. This works aims to tested oral fluid (OF) specimens for NPS in French drivers circulating around two music festivals (Artsenik 2017 and Garorock 2017) in order to assess the prevalence of consumption and the kind of used NPS in this particular population. OF samples consisted in dried saliva spots obtained from used Drugwipe-5S® tests (after a positive or negative roadside screening test for DOA). These OF were analyzed using a liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry or high-resolution mass spectrometry method. NPS were detected in 17 out of the 229 OF collected specimens (7.4%). Eleven various NPS were identified (number of identification): 5F-AKB48 (2), MAM2201 (1), JWH122 (1), 4F-PVP (1), 3- or 4-MMC (2), fluoromethamphetamine (1), ketamine (3), MXE (3), methoxyketamine (1), 6-APB (2) and 25C-NBOMe (1). There is an apparent effect of the music festival proximity on the prevalence of NPS in OF from this controlled driver population compared to that of 140 controlled drivers from Northern France analyzed in the same period (7.4% versus 3%). The variety of used NPS appears to be increasing (e.g. large proportion of cyclohexanones). In addition, 5% of drivers initially roadside-tested negative for DOA were in fact driving after NPS use in this specific population. From a forensic perspective, these results confirm the reality of driving after NPS use in French drivers, notably in those driving to or from a music festival.
This article focuses on two under-researched areas of tourism management – the management of music festivals, and the influence of social media on customer relationships. In the new digital era of ...marketing communications little is known about how social media interactions with tourism brands affect how consumers think and feel about those brands, and consequently how those interactions affect desired marketing outcomes such as word mouth. Based on the literature, a conceptual model was developed and was tested using structural equation modeling. The results show that social media does indeed have a significant influence on emotions and attachments to festival brands, and that social media-based relationships lead to desired outcomes such as positive word of mouth.
•This study examines the influence of social media on customer relationships.•A conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling.•The use of social media of attendees with music festivals was examined.•Results show social media usage has a significant influence on festival engagement.•Social media-based relationships also lead to positive word of mouth recommendations.
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•MDMA was detected in two-thirds of samples seized at New Zealand music festivals.•Second most popular drug seized at New Zealand music festivals was cannabis.•Handheld Raman ...spectrometer showed variable success at analysing music festival seizures.•Collaborative testing between on-site testing services and laboratory-based scientists recommended.
Music festivals and other recreational events are common settings for illicit drug use with the intention of socialising, relaxing and creating a memorable experience. The use of stimulants is commonly reported at music festivals, with a general preference for MDMA, cocaine, cathinones and LSD. The results from this survey of drugs seized at New Zealand music festivals show a similar trend, with MDMA accounting for two-thirds of the 305 samples seized. The second most popular drug in this survey was cannabis plant material, which is not generally noted as being a common festival drug but reflect New Zealand drug culture. On-site drug testing services can provide valuable information and education to potential drug users. In this study, a handheld Raman spectrometer was able to correctly identify at least one of the components in 54% of the samples analysed, meaning a large proportion of samples tested were unable to be identified using this device. A collaborative testing approach between on-site testing services and laboratory-based scientists is recommended in order to improve testing accuracy and provide additional information that might assist in harm reduction from drug use at music festivals.
In 2019, Tainan Art Festival curators Ling-chih Chow Mív^. and Liang-ting Kuo invited Danish artist Kitt Johnson to collabo-rate with five Taiwanese artists in creating a site-specific performance, ...MELLEMRUM Tainan ?‡i , during which the audience was guided through many secluded spaces in the old city of Tainan. In light of post-dramatic theatre, artistic activism, and the concepts of dérive and psy-chogeography proposed by Situationist International, this research ana-lyzes MELLEMRUM Tainan, not as an autonomous artwork with prede-termined meanings but as an immediate communications process be-tween performers, urban space, and audience. Due to the absence of fic-tional narratives in MELLEMRUM Tainan, the audience could not seek its comfort zone of familiar spectatorship in dramatic theatre but had to look for new ways of perception during the performance. Deviating from the earlier genre of environmental theatre as urban spectacle pre-dominant in City Stage Tainan Arts Festival, the performative act of im-p
The main purpose of this dissertation is to explore the formation of communal identity in music festival communities and in church communities, ultimately discovering and discussing themes that are ...integral to the formation of communal identity. The themes of place, symbol, and ritual are examined in a representative grouping of church communities and music festival communities, yielding both descriptive and prescriptive understandings of the formation of communal identity. I explore the formation of communal identity through theological and social scientific reflection focusing on the work of scholars such as Mircea Eliade Paul Tillich and Clifford Geertz who balance the lived experience of community with identity shaping themes Pairing theoretical frameworks anchored in the scholarship with extensive fieldwork I show that the themes of place, symbol and ritual are important communal identity themes. In comparing the music festival communities to the church communities I note how church communities both succeed and struggle with some of the communal identity themes, leading to a prescriptive conclusion for the researched church communities. The ultimate hope of this dissertation is that the church communities adopt specific communal identity formation recommendations, engaging in positive, theologically attuned identity shaping crafting centralized communal identities that draw from their successful music festival counterparts T he dissertation and its research not only reflect a new area for lived religion research but also explore the lived reality of two groupings that will allow for church communities to reflect on and enhance their formation of communal identity.
Introduction
There are few contemporary data on illicit drug use at music festivals. We describe drug use patterns and prevalence of specific higher‐risk drug‐related behaviours, and their ...associations with festivalgoer characteristics.
Methods
We approached attendees at six major music festivals in New South Wales, Australia, from November 2019 to March 2020. Participants self‐completed an anonymous survey on prior and intended drug use and associated higher‐risk behaviours; double dropping; higher‐volume ethanol alongside drug use; higher quantity 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA); mixing stimulants; and preloading. Logistic regression and UpSet analyses were performed to identify festivalgoer characteristics and the intersection of high‐risk behaviours, respectively.
Results
Of 1229 participants, 372 (30.3%) used or planned to use drugs at the festival. In multivariable analyses, men and those purchasing drugs both inside and outside the venue had greater odds of engaging in higher‐risk behaviours. Of those using MDMA, 47.9% reported double dropping. People using drugs for the first time had 3.3 (95% confidence interval 1.2–8.7) greater odds of higher‐volume ethanol alongside drug use. People reporting that police/police dog presence influenced their decision to take drugs had 2.2 (95% confidence interval 1.4–3.6) greater odds of preloading. In UpSet analysis, preloading was the most common intersection (17% of those using drugs).
Discussions and Conclusions
Engagement in the five higher‐risk drug behaviours was common, particularly amongst males and those using drugs for the first time, while police/police dog presence appeared to influence higher‐risk behaviours amongst festival attendees. This information can be used to inform harm reduction advice, public health and law enforcement strategies.
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