Darren Black -
All That I Hoped For And More
A YEAR OF FESTIVALS
What constitutes a perfect music festival? Does such a thing really exist? If so, is it out there
waiting to be found?
Is there a set of individual elements which, brought together, would create the perfect festival?
Can an individual moment define a perfect festival and, if so, what could it be?
I'll be travelling to thirteen music festivals during 2007, festivals taking place across three continents,
in nine countries, with the aim of establishing what the answers to these questions could be.
The individual festivals have been selected. They've been chosen for specific reasons; the contrast of
different cultures, the comparison of the large festival with the small, the long established with the newcomer, the
alternative with the commercial. Different genres of music have also been considered
in the mix. They are:
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (USA)
- The Isle of Skye Music Festival (Scotland)
- The Isle of Wight Festival (England)
- Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (England)
- Roskilde Festival (Denmark)
- Latitude Festival (England)
- Festival Internacional Benicàssim (Spain)
- Fuji Rock Festival (Japan)
- Haldern Pop (Germany)
- The Green Man Festival (Wales)
- End of the Road Festival (England)
- Reeperbahn Festival (Germany)
- Iceland Airwaves (Iceland)
Festival goers will be asked why they go to festivals. Festival organisers will be asked what drives them to hold festivals. Performing artists will be asked why they tolerate the technical and personal grievances that would be unheard of outside of the festival season.
And there'll be a book at the end of it. In essence a travelogue, I'll detail how the idea was conceived, chronicle both the individual festivals and my personal experiences, and reflect upon what I have
learnt during my travels.
And of course the inevitable question will be answered; did I find the perfect festival or is there no
such thing after all?