HIPSTER RUNOFF

Will music festivals still be ‘a fun, authentic, alternative experience’ in 2k10?

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 12:22 PM PST

I was just looking at the Coachella festival jpg lineup announcement, and I felt sort of underwhelmed. So many bands that appeal to a lot of different people. It seems like they are going for a sort of ‘nostalgic’/'ironic’ type of experience this year. Like our chance to re-live the past without leaving behind all of the pleasures of today.

I sorta wonder if ‘music festivals’ are still going to be authentic/fun/organic/exciting experiences. In the latter stages of the 2k0 decade, we saw music festivals morph into huge corporate events. So many mainstreamers showed up at formerly alternative festivals that by the end of the decade, festival curators were catering to maltstream audiences by booking headliners such as Coldplay, the Kings of Leon, and Jack Johnson Bro.

It seems like music festivals aren’t even ‘about the music’ any more. Bottles of water cost $5. Plastic bottles of beer cost $15. Buying band merch costs 500% more than the unit cost of a blank tshirt. Feels like if I wanted to pay to ‘gawk at famous people from afar’, I would get tickets to a professional sports team. Really hope that microfestivals begin to pop up. Secret gatherings of young professional alts + ‘trustafarians’ who are willing to pay top dollar for a unique experience, limiting the amount of entry levs at the music fest.

Wonder if by the end of the decade, we will be dropping off our kids at Hanny Montanny music festivals.

Mind is truly ‘blown’ by the coachella lineup. Part of me wants to say it ’sucks’ and ‘all of those bands are old’, but another part of me just wants to ‘go have fun and listen to some awesome music.’

Which band r u looking forward 2 seeing the most at Coachella 2k10?
Which music festival will u attend in 2k10?
Will u stop going to music festivals this decade because seeing kidz/inauthentic ppl watching the same bands u like can put a bottleneck ur ability to enjoy a band/concert/mp3?

Previous Concert/Show/Festival Coverage
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/06/u-me-and-every-concert-we-attend-how-we-grow-older-with-concerts.html

The Festival Bro

http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2008/05/i-am-the-festivalbro.html