Festival season… what a time to be alive.

Something about the mutual experience of strangers coming together to watch and appreciate the same event induces a feeling of belonging and connectivity. This derives from the idea of being part of an audience as we subconsciously fabricate a collective memory.

To kick off my new year of 2019, I and a group of friends attended the music festival ‘Field Day’. This was a memorable time that I was part of an audience as I shared the main stage floor with hundreds of different people, coming together for the same ultimate experience of creating memories. What was interesting about this experience is that despite the 30+ degree heat, the slipping and sliding of sweat-drenched limbs and the rubbing of overheating bodies, as an audience we pushed this uncomfortable encounter aside for our overall entertainment.

Although sharing and creating this experience as an audience with other people does generate comprehensive enjoyment, there’s always some sort of catch when standing in an enclosed space with sweaty and aggravated teens… and indeed there was. Negatives that arise while you’re in the pit of sweat are inclusive of selfish pushing which unfortunately I had the first-class seat in and the people who dared to go on others shoulders right in the middle of the mosh, creating havoc and chaos as other members of the audience push and shove to create mayhem.

Being part of an audience does come with the attachment of unspoken rules. As much as there is little to no personal space while in a mosh pit and your constantly rubbing shoulder to shoulder with people you probably haven’t seen before or will see again anytime soon, there is generally a level of respect that is kept, especially for those who fall over or get injured. This is inclusive of creating space for those in that sort of circumstance to make sure everyone is safe.

Connecting this experience to the ideas that were introduced in week 2’s lecture involves that as an audience we are all sharing a similar collective affair through experiencing the same festival together. Individually you can grow and find belonging Whilst engaging as a collective audience as you feel a sort of acceptance through the idea of celebrating the same event as a bunch of strangers. Packer, J. & Ballantyne, J. (2011) did a study incorporating the idea that music can contribute to the development of a sense of belonging (Duffy, 2005), help people participate actively in social activities (Davis, 1992), feel accepted, valued and needed (Kahn, 1999).

So I guess me trying to learn Irish off an Ireland backpacker whilst listening to Peggy Gou in the background, is just me trying to find my sense of acceptance through shared experience with the rest of the audience and not me being a weirdo.

Works cited

Parker, J. and Ballantyne, J., 2011. The Impact Of Music Festival Attendance On Young People’S Psychological And Social Well-Being. [online] Escape Library. Available at: <https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_221685/UQ221685_postprint.pdf?Expires=1587616679&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJKNBJ4MJBJNC6NLQ&Signature=ECUL7xjfCLU8zLmrWzs-8EICLsCFd-qJmrBaE8o3lVF31PUVx1Qn9aoZ7dAL4samQ4RC-I7BIuHhxFzYJryMhJpV-2hWXhBHmn1wqa~e9MMj~OG~k7iTWvQT5Scs3AV0-ZR~TWKm0knuKWFZZZbKfuuiB2XZ9HeNsb4-CRo7P9VzwlGf0BfyzIBOyc0afMAeEi7ZSKFIOd4-Kjbi09s61u0d0mk-y54Au23HNM2I0hY3KoJk7cnRfIP1Oo~vDxT~NqiM6RmRx1i10OJrok2KEFaiBF~xenD-rqCX8hB3mwlEA~A8QtP1x7EDPjJ5h2uxx6ojXSbWCbg8LobY5ZVu9w__&gt; [Accessed 20 March 2020].