MUSIC FESTIVALS
In which way do music festivals have the power to unify people?
Many thanks to Claire Mourtérot
I - Introduction
A/ Describe the picture and say what is happening on it.
Say what these people are here for.
B/ QUIZZ
What do you know about music festivals ?
1. The oldest ongoing music festival is ...
a. Glastonbury Festival (UK)
b. Reading Festival (UK)
c. Lollapalooza (USA)
d. New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival (USA)
2. When you get into a festival, they exchange your ticket for a ...
a. tattoo
b. tee-shirt
c. hat
d. wristband
3. At Newport Folk Festival in 1965, singer Bob Dylan was famously booed off stage because ...
a. he sang in Spanish
b. he played a one-hour long song
c. he played an electric guitar
d. he turned his back to the audience for the whole show
4. The area in front of the stage at a rock concert is called ...
a. the moshpit
b. the rooster
c. the dancefloor
d. the hospitality area
5. The festival which holds the attendance record with 800,000 attendees each year is ...
a. Woodstock Festival (USA)
b. Big Day Out Festival (Australia)
c. SummerFest (USA)
d. the Isle of Wight Festival (UK)
6. The price of a ticket to the Woodstock Festival in 1969 was ...
a. free
b. $18
c. $75
d. $25
II - A social experience
1. Look at the source of the text : what do you think the book will be about ?
2. Read the text and find the links are made between "crowds", "power" and events such as Woodstock and Coachella ?
3. Find the three qualities of rock festivals and explain them briefly.
4. Read between the lines to better understand the text :
a) " ... a rock festival is sometimes the only way they have, or think they have, directly participated in history" (l.5-7) : the audience at Woodstock is seen as having participated in history. Can you imagine why ?
b) "... a sense of interpersonal intimacy that's been lost to the internet" (l.12-13) : describe some ways that you think the internet has taken away interpersonal intimacy.
c) "the real conditions of a rock festival's material existence are not pretty. But the imagined ones are beautiful beyond compare" (l.15-17) : can you think of why the material conditions of festivals may not be "pretty" ?
LANGUAGE : simple present vs present perfect
Look at the following sentences from the text and underline the verb forms :
a) rock festivals have shaped how many baby boomers think about their place in the world
b) for those too young to have experiences a world war, too suburban to have been in a riot and too middle class to have raged against social inequalities, it is the only way to have participated in history.
c) rock crowds differ from mobs because people feel safe there.
d) people feel a sense of community, a sense of interpersonal intimacy that has been lost to the internet and that industrial society has taken away.
Try to justify why they are used here.
PRACTISE :
1) Choose between the simple present or the present perfect to write sentences.
a) Glastonbury festival (evolve) ____________________ a lot since it started in 1971.
b) Nowadays, it (be) ____________________ one of the biggest festivals in the world and a lot of British young people (feel) ____________________ they need to go there.
c) There is something about rock festivals that (defy) ____________________ logic.
d) The charity event (be) ____________________ very successful so far. Some stars (donate) ____________________ their on-stage outfits to raise money.
e) (you - ever – attend) __________________________________ a music festival ?
f) "Thank you for all your support ! Let's celebrate the great work that we (achieve) ____________________ together over the last 50 years. There still (remain) ____________________ a lot of work to do, but with your help we can (achieve) ____________________ great things."
2) Which of these things have you done / never done / not done yet but hope to do some day ? Write sentences.
III - GLASTONBURY : CHARITIES & THE ENVIRONMENT
Watch the video and write a report focusing on :
- the evolution of the festival
-the types of festival-goers
-the initiatives Glastonbury supports
IV _ FINAL TASK
You are the director of the "Music For the Planet Initiative". Imagine a music festival in your area in order to bring young people together in an eco-friendly way :
You are the director of the "Music For the Planet Initiative", a project aimed at promoting eco-friendly practices through music festivals. Your mission is to create a concept for an eco-friendly music festival in your local area that brings young people together to celebrate music while respecting the environment.
Your presentation must include the following:
Festival Name
- Choose a creative and meaningful name that reflects the eco-friendly theme.
Location
- Describe the festival's location (urban park, forest, coastline, etc.) and explain why this setting is suitable for an eco-friendly event.
Food & Drinks
- Propose sustainable options for food and drinks, focusing on local products, vegetarian/vegan menus, and minimal packaging.
Sanitation Solutions
- Present environmentally-friendly solutions such as composting toilets, water-saving systems, or waste management facilities.
Waste Management
- Explain how the festival will reduce waste (e.g., reusable cups, recycling bins, banning single-use plastics).
Energy Solutions
- Suggest sustainable energy sources to power the festival (e.g., solar panels, wind energy, or biofuel generators).
Activities for Awareness
- Include educational activities or workshops to raise awareness about environmental issues (e.g., recycling tutorials, eco-initiatives).
Target Audience
- Identify the festival-goers (e.g., young people, families, eco-enthusiasts). Explain how the festival will attract this audience.
Assessment Criteria
- Task Completion: All aspects of the festival are covered.
- Relevance: The festival concept aligns with eco-friendly principles.
- Language: Clarity, use of technical vocabulary, and grammatical accuracy.
- Presentation: Effective use of visuals and oral communication skills.