Festivals have been around for hundreds of years. While they weren’t completely similar to current-day festivals, the influence they hold is still relevant. Many cultures have festivals and celebrations that go back through generations, including Holi, Chinese New Year, Winter Solstice, and many more. With that being said, festivals are influenced by culture. Current-day music festivals have been extremely popular as people go to see all their favorite artists. Festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Ultra Music are all some of the largest music festivals today. While these events have also been around, there are a few other things that have changed music festivals from how they used to be.
Music is obviously the most important part of a music festival. While music is always changing, these very popular events have been known to host some of the most popular artists. While that is still true, many newer artists and ones that are considered “underground” have been making their way to these festivals. While pop music is still relevant, EDM, Latin music, hyper pop, and many more have sometimes been the focus point at these events. DJs have also been popular at festivals recently. While DJs have been popular for decades, it feels like now almost every artist is also a DJ and includes mixes within their performances. Music is always changing, and genres are always being reintroduced. Now, music festivals are not just about music but also everything in between.
Influencers have completely taken over the world of music festivals. We see this time and time again, where influencers are given free tickets to huge events just so they can wear a brand or collaborate with a business. While they sometimes receive backlash, this has been going on for the past few years. While it used to be mostly celebrities invited, it’s now influencers who have large followings. While influencers are very relevant, there are still non-influencers who take part in these events, but they just pay for their own tickets. There have been controversies online about influencers being rude and ignorant to other fans for no apparent reason. Some say these influencers have gotten too comfortable and they feel like they deserve respect. While I personally don’t keep up with influencers, I do have interest in music festivals. So, seeing the culture change from music lovers to brand ambassadors is very interesting.
I think music festivals are such an important and amazing part of today’s culture, though there are definitely questions around what they will look like in the next few years. Brands and influencers have completely changed these events. While the music is still loved, being able to get to these events as a “normal” person is becoming harder and harder. This poses the question, who are these festivals really made for?