Open Air Music Festivals and the Environment: A Framework for Understanding Ecological Engagement

Abstract

This paper presents a model for understanding the ways in which open air music festivals proactively engage with environmental and ecological issues. It focuses on the Australian context, with two case studies of well-known and well-established festivals providing the basis for a framework that discusses four domains of environmental engagement: promotional, operational, conceptual and spatial. This framework is illustrated with examples drawn from ethnographic observations and interviews undertaken in 2012, during and after the running of each of the case study festivals. The paper argues that, through the examination of elements within these domains, new perspectives on musical engagement with the environment can be obtained.