Musical Festivals

Music festivals are as big a part of Americana as baseball and apple pie. Each year hundreds of festivals are held all across the United States and are as diverse as the music itself. You’ll find all genres of music at these festivals: rock, pop, country, soul, jazz, blues, Latin, tejano, reggae, and more. Some of the festivals charge admission; others are free. Nearly all music festivals have a food element and to some, the food is as important as the music. One of the best parts of these festivals is the abundance of all the different foods. You can find jams, jellies, hot sauce, barbeque, ethnic food, and now in some of the more modern venues, sushi.

Music festivals typically run anywhere from 2 days to 10 days and can be very simple, with just a few acts or multi-faceted, such as the Kodiak Crab Festival in Kodiak, Alaska. There you’ll find music, food, games, sports, and activities for children and more. There’s so much to do at this festival; one couldn’t possibly do everything in one day.

New Orleans Jazz Fest has a lot to offer festival goers. Not only will you find some of the best food in Louisiana at the festival, but also you’ll find arts and crafts, games, and activities for young and old.

It usually takes hundreds of volunteers to make some of these festivals happen and this is another way in which you can give back to your community. It takes an incredible amount of work to bring some of these mammoth events together.

Music festivals are also a great way for the family to spend time together, as most music festivals have something for everyone, so young and old alike can find something to enjoy.

Each music festival has their own board of directors and/or their own way of selecting performers for each festival. In Chicago, the Mayor’s Office of Special Events accepts submissions for the various music festivals put on throughout the year in the city. Performers send in CDs, audio and video tapes, pictures, etc., for consideration. Chicago has several different music festivals, so there are several genres in which submissions can be made.

Alabama’s Jubilee Fest has an entertainment committee that reviews submissions each year. Of course, other things have to be taken into consideration, as well, for example, artist availability and at times, budget.

There are music festivals and occasions when the music committees have far more submissions than they can possibly accommodate and thus have to make some tough decisions. Then there are the instances when the festival committees are trying valiantly to procure an act in high demand. It is these “headliners” that often draw the crowds into the festival in the first place. Many times this is a great opportunity to see many bands that have debuted professionally. It is always rewarding to know you saw a high profile band for little to no cost.

It’s fun too years later to look back at the “unknowns” that you first saw at a local music festival that have now become superstars and charge megabucks for a seat at one of their concerts. Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks comes from a very musical family, and they still play at music festivals all over Texas.

It’s nice at some of the smaller music festivals when a headliner comes to town, because you can get so much closer than you can at a huge concert hall and you get the feel of a much smaller, more intimate concert.

Vendors, especially food vendors, are a big part of almost any music festival. The public looks forward to the tantalizing delicacies offered from year to year that one can only find at special venues like fairs and festivals. Although it looks amazingly easy to set up a booth and start raking in the money, there is a lot more involved to being a food vendor at a public gathering.

Almost any successful annual festival has a waiting list of vendors just waiting to be a part of the festivities. Food vendors in particular have to pass stringent guidelines in order to be considered. For one thing, food vendors are required to carry liability insurance. There is usually an application to be filled out prior to the start of the festival listing which foods you plan to sell along with the prices.

Some festivals prefer to have a widely diverse selection and therefore will grant space and resources to the first one or two vendors selling the same food or goods. Some venues will grant space on a first come first serve basis, as long as the prospective vendor has any and all permits, insurance, etc.

Vendor space can go for as little as $100 on up to thousands of dollars per booth. For example, in Lubbock, Texas, at the annual Lubbock Music Festival, formerly the Buddy Holly Festival, standard size booths cost $150. However, depending upon the venue, food booths at some music festivals go for $3,000 or more. At the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas, the same size, beverage only booth is priced at $3,375 and a 10’ x 20’ food booth is $4,500.

Many festivals showcase the wares of local artisans who wish to set up booths to sell their wares. Some festivals even hold contests for certain kinds of crafts. Arts and Crafts are a big part of Jazz Fest, as many different types of artisans are featured. You can even see firsthand how musicians craft accordions and guitars until they have a fine tuned instrument.

You’ll also see clothing, jewelry, leather goods, paintings, and more that have been handcrafted by local artists at Jazz Fest. Some people work all year just to get their goods ready to take to this annual festival.

The annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival held in Manchester, Tennessee, showcases poster art and artists. Some of the posters advertising rock and roll acts from the 60’s and beyond are collector’s items today and the poster exhibit is something indeed. You can even purchase a signed print depicting an act from yesteryear.

Most music festivals are held in the summer months, although there are plenty of them held in spring and fall as well. You won’t find as many in the winter but they do exist. The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, an annual Austin, Texas, event is held from December 9th through December 24th each year and showcases not only Austin’s musical talent but the artistic talent of many different artisans, as well. Here you’ll find more than 80 booths of crafts made by the area’s finest craftsmen. Many festival goers shop for Christmas presents among the pottery, jewelry, soaps, candles, perfumes, blown glass, and many more items showcased.

Some music festivals are just that: music. Others have almost a carnival-like atmosphere with all the other activities offered. Taste of Chicago offers free bingo and plenty of activities for children like face painting, rides, and a jumping gym. Many festivals use this opportunity to raise money by holding a walk or a run.

Taste of Chicago offers some activities that many music festivals don’t. Alcohol can be purchased to those of drinking age, and the Illinois State Lottery has a booth where festival goers can play the lottery.

The Kodiak Crab Festival in Kodiak, Alaska, not only features music and food, but tons of activities as well. There are many activities for children and adults. Among other things, kids will delight in digging through a huge sawdust pile looking for buried coins that total $1,000. They’ll also enjoy a frog-jumping contest and a foot race just for them.

Crab festival goers will also enjoy a chess tournament, tennis and table tennis tournaments, and several different kinds of races, including a bed race!

Some festivals feature auctions to raise money for various charities and ask businesses in the community to donate items for festival goers to bid on. This is a fun activity and usually raises anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending upon the particular festival.

Physical activities of varied interests are usually present at music festivals. Rock climbing walls are a favorite activity for festival goers to participate in, and you’ll find examples of extreme sports such as bicycle and skateboard stunts for spectators.

Nearly every music festival in the United States publishes a list of prohibited items or items that are not allowed to be brought onto the festival grounds. While these lists are comparable in most areas of the country, each venue has their own rules. Almost no festival will allow video or audio recording and many won’t allow still cameras, although some will.

Most festivals have very strict security and reserve the right to confiscate any contraband brought into the festival illegally. For example, someone caught taking pictures from their cell phone at a venue that doesn’t allow cameras may be asked to turn over their phone.

Outside alcohol is almost always prohibited at music festivals and because most festivals have food and beverage vendors, outside food and drinks of any kind are usually banned. The good news though is that at some of the music festivals, you can participate in beer and wine tastings that have come from all over the world.

Strollers are always allowed at festivals. Those that put the festivals together want the public to come out and bring their children, and they realize certain things are needed in order to do that. Actually, the things we really need to have with us are rarely prohibited. It is basically dangerous items or items that have no place at a music festival that are prohibited.

Some festivals allow blankets and lawn chairs; however, these are items that will be allowed at one festival and banned at another, so be sure and check with the one you are planning to attend.

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Jazz Fest, is one of the longest running annual music festivals in the United States. Running 10 full days, Jazz Fest is more than 35 years old and has been called the country’s very best music festival by Life magazine.

Jazz Fest is much more than jazz or even music. The festival celebrates all that New Orleans is: music, culture, and cuisine. In addition to jazz, rock, pop, blues, rap country, bluegrass, and more can be heard coming from the many different stages.

The first Jazz Fest since hurricane Katrina, the 37th annual Jazz Fest, had certain performances webcasted over the Internet for everyone to enjoy. Some of these performances included music by such greats as Jimmy Buffet, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Elvis Costello.

This was such an important time for New Orleans as a city, to be able to carry on a tradition that had been a part of so many lives for so long. People that had not been back to the city since Katrina came back for Jazz Fest. To many, it marked the start of a new beginning and for some, it was the proof they needed that the city will never die.

The food offered at Jazz Fest is unlike any festival food offered anywhere else. Crawfish any way you like it is just one of the delicacies offered here; crawfish Etouffee, boiled crawfish. and Cajun crawfish rice are some of the crawfish dishes you’ll find. Don’t forget the red beans and rice, jambalaya, fried frog legs, and ‘gator bites. For those not particularly fond of Cajun food, there are such American staples as barbeque chicken, pork ribs, and turkey wings.

Many, many music festivals all over the United States have made a large economic impact in their communities by donating much of the proceeds from their events to their respective communities. Alabama’s Jubilee Cityfest, otherwise known as Montgomery’s Family Weekend, has donated more than $250,000 to their community. Not only does Jubilee Cityfest donate money to community organizations, they’ve also donated $50,000 to Montgomery’s public schools.

Another philanthropic music festival was June Jam, the band Alabama’s annual music festival that hasn’t been seen since 1997, but is still able to give back to their community through investment income.

The annual Kodiak Crab Festival in Kodiak, Alaska, takes many opportunities to raise money for charitable events during the festival. The Elks Club runs a sixtathlon to raise money for their charities. These activities are made up of darts, pool, bowling, shuffleboard, Wheel of Fortune, and putting. Entry fees are $10 and winners are able to keep a part of that for prizes and what is left goes to Elks charities. Habitat for Humanity is also a big part of the Crab Festival. They have an activity called street bowling to raise funds for their charity.

It’s a lot more fun for the public to donate money in an atmosphere such as this rather than just writing a check. In fact, some people don’t even realize they are donating money to worthy causes; they think they’re just having fun.

Taste of Chicago is actually a 10-day long food festival that showcases dozens of the city’s restaurants. It also showcases Chicago area bands at the Taste Stage and the 2-day Country Music Festival is held in conjunction with the food festival. The festival is held at Grant Park and is in its 27th year. Admission is free to the festival; however, food and beverage tickets must be purchased. The festival draws more than 3 million visitors annually.

Taste of Chicago has a lot to offer by combining music with food and other activities. It’s fun to try different foods and restaurants you might not have had the chance to try before. At each restaurant booth, a mini size portion of any menu item is priced at $1.00 to $1.50, so you can have the opportunity to get items from several different types of restaurants if you wish. You can choose among different ethnic foods, gourmet food, or fill up on good ole American food!

The music performances are free to watch at Taste of Chicago and the ten-day long festival covers the 4th of July, so you can also enjoy a free fireworks show. There are so many free things to do at Taste of Chicago that the events or activities that do cost money won’t seem so bad. In fact, Taste of Chicago is the largest free admission music and food festival in the United States. You’ll need to buy tickets if you want a ride on the Ferris wheel or one of the other rides. Kids will also enjoy face painting and karaoke and one day even features the Chicago White Sox.

Music festivals have something for the entire family, and many families look forward to the same festival year after year. Some festivals draw crowds from hundreds and even thousands of miles away, especially when they center on a certain performer or group like the former Buddy Holly festival and the former June Jam.