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!

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“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…**

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. Continue reading →

Source: DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC, the story behind the song and the blog

I named my blog based on the rock and roll anthem by the Lovin’ Spoonful. However, knowing the song’s meaning and its’ words appear to be a generational thing. So, for the benefit of my younger readers and the older ones who don’t want to admit not really knowing the song, let’s explore DYBIM.

The Lovin’ Spoonful was a NYC based folk rock band from 1965 to 1968. During that time, the band had seven Top Ten hits competing with the Beatles, Stones and other emerging bands from America and England. The quartet, John Sebastian, Val Yanofsky, Steve Boone and Joe Butler, gave us hits in many different styles of music.  Case in point is “Do You Believe In Magic”,

Continue reading →

Comedian Dave Chappelle began his first tour in more than 10 years in Charleston, SC, on February 1 and 2. He sold out four shows in two nights in record time for the Charleston Music Hall. Normally, I would post a picture of the artist in this slot but cell phones were banned at all of his performances. I will explain all of that later in this review.

First, I must say that I loved his sketch comedy when he had his TV show. His willingness to poke fun at himself and all manner of people made for must see TV. Continue reading →

We all grew up listening to “Cover “bands in bars and at parties. Give a young guy a guitar and watch as they learn to play music that was popular in the day. Give a girl a microphone and listen to the songs of the artists who became her influences. After all, this was how many musicians got their start. Most never got past playing those cover tunes. But others discovered their talent for songwriting as the result of the musicians they listen to on the radio and record.

Fast forward to the present and plainly see that playing the songs of others have become the sincerest form of flattery in the Rock community. If you want to know who a musician’s influences are/were, look no further than their song list and the tunes others have written and made popular.  Continue reading →

You don’t have to like his music to want to read further. Zappa was a fantastic musician but an acquired taste. This is not about his music, but how a dysfunctional family’s infighting threatens Zappa’s legacy. Continue reading →

It was with true sadness that I  read about the death of Leon Russell this past Sunday, November 13. I was very fortunate to catch live him twice in the last 6 years.  While I intend to pay homage to a great musician with an amazing career,I would also like to stress how important  it is to attend shows of a living legend when they come to your town. They may never get another chance to come back again. Continue reading →

Jimmy Buffet, Zac Brown, Bruce Springsteen and the Mavericks… what do they share? These bands create a party atmosphere at their shows where the concert goer just can’t sit still in their seats! The audience embraces each song with contagious energy.  These performances are just plain FUN!! Continue reading →

Recently, I had the good fortune to see performances by legends and unknowns that
showed me that the future is behind us. Several weeks ago, I saw a solo piano player named Holly Bowling perform 90 minutes of amazing solo piano Continue reading →