The summer music festival season took flight this weekend with Wanee in Florida, Sweetwater 420 in Atlanta, Georgia and the inaugural High Water in Charleston, South Carolina, among others. Over the years, music festivals have gone main  stream and became big business. Any similarity to the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival is purely coincidental.

How did we get here? Let’s take a look at the music festival history for some perspective. While many may believe Woodstock started it all, I believe the Newport (RI) Jazz Festival (1954) was the first to offer music by multiple artists on consecutive days, all in one location. In 1959, the Newport Folk Festival was begun as a companion to the Jazz Festival. Although the festivals have moved their locations over the years (they haven’t always been in Newport, R.I.), they still continue to this day. In 1967, the Monterey Pop Festival (there will be a 50^th Anniversary show June 16-18 this year) left an indelible mark on Rock and Roll history; and then in 1969, Woodstock birthed a whole new generation of musicians and fans. The world was never the same after that.

These early festivals and the stadium shows which they gave way to scared many of the communities where they were hosted. It became tougher for promoters to secure large enough locations for the rabid throngs that could fill these venues. Logistics were a nightmare for many of these shows. Promoters went to work to create a viable model to showcase the musical talent of the day, please the communities that hosted them, and of course, satisfy the fans. There was money to be made on these large stadium shows and weekend festivals, if they did it right.

Among the successes of the modern era of festivals are Lollapalooza (Chicago 1991), Coachella (Indio, California 1999), Bonnaroo (Manchester, Tennessee 2002) and Lock’en (Southern Virginia, 2013). There are festivals weekly from coast to coast from now through October. Charleston has hosted Zac Brown Band’s Southern Ground Music Festival for five years. So what is the draw and why are these festivals accepted and successful?

To begin with, they are generally well run affairs with multiple stages offering music that adheres to the schedule. When one band ends on one stage, the band on the next stage strikes their first chords and gives it their all for their allotted time. There’s camping of all styles at many of these locations, lots of food and beverage options and adequate facilities to handle the crowds. You will find lots of creature comforts that you can take advantage of; every festival offers a VIP experience for those who have the funds for that! The fans get a great mix of artists and genres to satisfy most peoples’ taste. Big name acts draw the numbers and expose their fans to musicians and artists they might never otherwise get to see. Considering what you pay for a ticket, it can be a great value if you take in many of these artists.

Depending on where you live across the country, there’s a festival nearby that you can take in this summer. We would love to hear about your favorite festival experiences, learn more about the ones you love and hate and why! We will share this feedback with our readers in an effort to help everyone in their pursuit of a real good time! You can leave a comment and tell us what you like and hate and why!

If you like what you read here or in any of my previous articles, subscribe and you will get an email whenever an article is published. Otherwise, you have to be a FB friend and be on your page when a new blog appears, which can be sketchy. Your comments are always welcome.

“The magic is in the music and the music is in me” John Sebastian 1965

**The photo in the article is an aerial view of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. Organizers had expected a crowd of 50,000 but 400,000 showed up. Oh, and 1 stage…Houston, we have a problem…**