Multi-day stretches of camping in tents and sweltering under the hot summer sun to be 100 rows back at your favorite musical artist’s set? It must be music festival season. As the year comes to a close, with music festivals returning in full swing after a COVID-19 hiatus, it’s important to understand the socio-economic impact that they have on the cities that host them, long after the final set performs. Do the short-term entertainment and monetary benefits outweigh the long-term urban inequities that they might exacerbate?
The origins of music festivals date back to ancient times when similar events involved large gatherings for celebrations of music and the arts. Modern festivals, much like the famed 1969 Woodstock, grew out of an ethos for anti-government and anti-establishment views, which later developed into iconic pop culture movements. Much of the communal spirit that was fostered at Woodstock remains, but music festivals have since become a popular business model which draws more than 30 million people each year, according to Billboard. Coachella, one of the most well-known events, set records as being the first festival franchise to gross more than $100 million in 2017.
Music festivals have also become an elaborate display of mega-sculptures, architectural pavilions, and other designs that have involved some of the world’s most well-known architecture firms. BIG designed and installed an 80-foot diameter reflective orb at Burning Man in 2018, which was heavily funded through crowdsourcing, and served as a way-finder for festival-goers. Coachella has also been home to impressive designs from Bureau Spectacular and Pritzker Prize Winner Francis Kéré, making art and architecture almost as important as the music performers themselves.
Temporary landmarks and architectural feats aside, music festivals have a greater impact on the cities in towns in which they’re hosted that last much longer than the extended weekend in which they occur. First, there are many positive impacts that successful festivals can bring. For recurring events, crowds can reach up to 90,000 visitors in one weekend, in turn bringing a significant economic injection of temporary jobs and additional revenue. The town of Indio, which hosts Coachella annually, reports over $250 million during the two-weekend event, where hotels, bars, small businesses, and restaurants prepare for the influx by extending hours, hiring temporary staff, and increasing prices. But there are some negative aspects, that show how festivals have evolved away from their original purpose of peace, love, happiness, and equality.
Earlier this summer, Chicago’s biggest event, Lollapalooza, featured numerous headliners that drew tens of thousands of fans but also raised concerns about the city’s curfew which forced minors to remain inside past 10 PM which was recently enacted after a significant increase in crime. But activists say that this only penalizes the city’s youth, who are largely African American and Hispanic, and benefits the teens who travel in from the suburbs, who are overwhelmingly white. Many Chicagoans and urban policymakers underscored the ways that the festival criminalized its own residents. Additionally, the festival has seen support to move to another city, although the mayor recently renewed it for the foreseeable future, citing financial gains as the main reason why Lolla should return. Locals say that after the festival concludes, the surrounding areas are left dirty, especially covered with broken glass and other alcohol containers that are slow to get cleaned up, impacting the people who utilize the park on a frequent basis.
Are music festivals worth it? In the short term, there is much financial benefit to be gained- but there is much that can be improved upon. Some established franchises work to ensure that community groups are able to get involved in the festival through partnerships with lower-income neighborhoods and underserved schools. Others are looking for ways to create cultural programs where the performers attend volunteer events to attract fans to clean up after the festivals as a way to give back to the city that hosted them. Some festivals even give out free tickets to people who live in the immediate area, enticing them to attend. Especially in places where these events occur year after year, it’s easy for the resentment to grow. As a result, music festivals need to do more to make them more socially equitable and create benefits for the communities that might greatly outweigh any negative impacts.
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