Pop festivals

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A pop concert at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium Tulloch Caledonian Stadium during a pop concert - geograph.org.uk - 6775549.jpg
A pop concert at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium

Pop festivals are live music events that center around multiple genres of popular music and feature related artists. Types of music present can include rock, hip-hop, jazz and country. [1]

Contents

History

The first known Pop festival occurred during the Pythian Games, held around 600 B.C. [2] They were a precursor to the Olympic Games, and contained a music festival featuring popular music from the time. [3] In 1876, the first Bayreuth Festival was held in Germany. It was started by Richard Wagner and funded by the current German government at the time. [4] The oldest Pop festival still held annually today is the Reading and Leeds Festival, first held in 1961. The festival centered around jazz music, and featured Chris Barber's Jazz Band and Ken Colyer's Jazzmen. [5] In later years it featured artists and bands from other genres, including Eminem, Björk, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain and the White Stripes.

Famous Pop Festivals

Coachella

Jamiroquai performing at Coachella in 2018 Jamiroquai 2018 Coachella18W1-148 (40250209740) (cropped).jpg
Jamiroquai performing at Coachella in 2018

Coachella is an annual Pop festival held in Indio, California. It began in 1999 as a rock festival, and originally headlined Beck and Rage Against the Machine. [6] It was founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen and sold 25,000 tickets out of the expected 75,000. [7]

Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival is a Pop festival that began in 1970 in Pilton, England. [8] It was founded by a dairy farmer and originally named the Pilton Pop Folk and Blues Festival, with the first event containing 1,500 attendees. [9] Notable performers throughout the years include David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Beyoncé and Al Stewart. [10] [11]

Monterey Pop Festival

The Monterey International Pop Festival was a Pop festival held in 1967. [12] It was organized by Lou Adler and John Phillips, and was the first American commercial music festival. [13] Notable performers included Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Mamas & the Papas. [14]

References

  1. "A Guide to the Types of Festivals | MDLBEAST". mdlbeast.com. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  2. "A Brief History Of Music Festivals – Glastonbury, Woodstock & More | HistoryExtra". www.historyextra.com. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  3. Childers, Chad ChildersChad (2023-12-14). "What Was the First Music Festival?". Loudwire. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  4. "The History of Music Festivals". PAAM. Retrieved 2025-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Goodwyn, Tom (2023-08-10). "A complete history of Reading & Leeds festival". Ticketmaster UK. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  6. "Coachella | Festival, History, Performers, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-12-20. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  7. "Coachella began as a niche music festival — now it's a place to show off the latest fashion". Deseret News. 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  8. "The history of Glastonbury Festival · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  9. Life, Sound of. "A Guide to Glastonbury Festival's History, Founder & Ethos | Sound of Life | Powered by KEF". Sound of Life. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  10. Faye (2023-06-16). "Glastonbury Festival - A journey through time". The Occasional Kitchen. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  11. "Years". www.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  12. "The Complete Monterey Pop Festival". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  13. "The Monterey Pop Festival | Psychedelic Rock, Folk-Rock, Soul | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
  14. חזיתי, FaceOff-עימות (2024-06-16). "Monterey International Pop Music Festival". FaceOff - עימות חזית. Retrieved 2025-02-08.