Music festivals can help drive economy, culture, traffic, author says
Here’s a preview of some of what you will hear if you check out “Music/City” author and sociologist Jonathan Wynn’s presentation at the Music University Conference and Showcase Oct. 1 at the State Historical Building.
- Music festivals are a great way to test how much support there is locally for live music, before a community jumps into planning more permanent arts-related venues, said Wynn, a hip-hop bass player and assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Wynn is scheduled to appear on a panel discussion, give a keynote address and meet with business leaders and hopes to tour Des Moines in his first visit to the city since a speech at Drake University two decades ago. (Note: A lot has happened in that time.)
- It is fairly common to see some people leave town to avoid a music festival, while businesses, musicians and music fans strongly support the events. Some fear the festivals will worsen overcrowding. Among those folks are the ones who wear shirts in Austin that read, “Welcome to Austin, don’t move here,” or “Welcome to Austin, we hear Dallas is nice.”
- Often, music festivals can lead to a long-term cultural shift and a branding of a place as a “music city.”
Wynn said in a telephone interview that festivals and other short-term, temporary events are a good way to gauge support for the arts before a community commits to the expense of building major arenas or other facilities.
The book examines the sociology, culture and economics of staging festivals. “They have a long-lasting impact, over the whole year,” Wynn said.
Continue reading to learn about the pros and cons of music festivals. Full Insider story >>>
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