Music festivals offer a unique setting to engage in music and envisioning a musical performance can

bring about another dimension to the musical engagement. As well as the music itself, factors such
as the thrill of physical proximity to the performer and social interaction with other attendees have
been found to be important to participants (Oakes, 2003; Paleo & Wijnberg, 2006; Pitts, 2005).
Visual aspects of performance signal that performers are not merely producers of sound but are
themselves listeners, highlighting the musical activity as a shared experience between performers
and listeners (Thompson, Graham & Russo, 2005). The aesthetic movements and gestures of a live
performance serve to highlight, articulate, interpret and clarify the music and facial expressions and
gestures reflect the elements of the music that cannot be predicted just from the lyrics (Thompson,
Graham & Russo, 2005).

Festivals today contain a number of different aspects which together amplify the overallevent.
Research undertaken by Novais & Arcodia (2013) has identified that festivals contain positive
outcomes of socialisation, family togetherness, event novelty, escape and relaxation, excitement,
enjoyment and cultural exploration. The desire to interact with people, the desire to escape
normality and the wish to increase cultural knowledge together are what makes festivals
unforgettable. The escape from everyday life causes attendees to view life in a different way and can
heighten their openness to negative as well as positive influences (Packer & Ballantyne, 2011).
Gibson & Connell (2012) explain that what makes festivals distinct is that they generally have social
aims: gathering people together for fun, enjoyment and shared companionship. These social aims
can be achieved through interaction with key factors such as time, flow and expression (Berridge,
2007). Once the events of the festival are in a chronological order and there is optimal flow and
expression, satisfaction will be reached. Social interactions among attendees enhances the
overall music experience.

Although music is a fundamental factor for the festival as a whole, participation and engagement
also contributes to the overall experience. No matter what the route is, in order to experience an
event the audience must engage with and interpret it (Rossman, 2003). This means not just the
physical engagement but also the act of mentally responding to what is placed before us (Berridge,
2007). ‘Music festival engagement 8 provides an avenue through which people can connect with the
arts and discover a sense of identity, meaning and social integration’ (Ballantyne & Packer, 2014).
Active involvement is an integral part of the experience and can lead to personal growth and self-
discovery that expands the mind and inspires ideas.

2.6 The Link between Music and Emotion It is commonly suggested that music has the ability to
induce strong emotions in listeners (Liljestrom 2011). Music is often cited as an effective tool for
exploring and regulating emotions (North, Hargreaves & O’Neill, 2000; Saarikallio, 2011; Wells &
Hakanen, 1991). Krumhansl (2002, p.45) explains that ‘one commonly held view is that music
acquires its emotional meaning by association with consequential events’. In other words, if a
particular piece of music has a personal meaning to the listener then it can trigger an emotional
response. Vink (2001) suggests that music itself holds no intrinsic emotional value, but when an
individual listens to a piece of music that person is able to project emotion into that piece. ‘It is often
difficult to predict a specific individual response to music but it is recognised that musical
preferences play an important role in emotional responses’ (Pothoulaki, MacDonald & Flowers,
2008). The tendency to seek opportunities to engage with music to regulate emotions is likely to
result in a greater sense of fulfilled personal psychological functioning and social 10 well-being (Chin
& Rickard, 2013). By attending a festival, a person is exposing themselves to their emotions. Music
has the capacity to increase emotional sensitively (Vastfjall, Juslin & Hartig, 2012) and emotional
intelligence (Resnicow, Salovey & Repp, 2004). Huron (2006) explains that the capacity to be aware
of and understand one’s emotions may be honed in by frequent engagement with music, as music
provides a safe platform for exploring and expressing emotions, both positive and negative.

The primary research undertaken revealed that the overall festive atmosphere of music festivals was
of vital importance to young attendees. These findings are supported by Bowen & Daniels (2005)
who state that the cheerful atmosphere is important to festival goers as it presents an opportunity
for social interactions and non-musical experiences. Ballantyne & Packer (2014) agree that social
integration within a festival atmosphere is an important factor and this was also found to be of
significance to the focus groups participants. Participants claimed that there was a particular ‘party
atmosphere’ present while at music festivals which aided in the social integration.