Dylan Stasiak Source 5

Question: How does the genre of electronic dance music (EDM) relate to rave culture at music festivals?

Ballantyne, Julie, Roy Ballantyne, and Jan Packer. "Designing and Managing Music Festival Experiences to Enhance Attendees' Psychological and Social Benefits." Designing and Managing Music Festival Experiences to Enhance Attendees' Psychological and Social Benefits. Sage, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

This source talks about why people go to music festivals and the positives of them. The article makes a point of music giving people as a way to express themselves and attending music festivals gives music lovers an outlet to “connect with the arts” and “discover a sense of identity, meaning, and social intergretation.” Festivals give adolescents the opportunity to experience more psychological and social benefits. The genre of music does not matter, music festivals give people a chance to have unique experiences that he or she might not have another opportunity to do so. It talks about how music festivals are ways to disconnect from the real world and are capable of separating the festival-goer from everyday life. The article talks about how musical festivals have positive psychological outcomes, for example, festival goers said they “felt more positive about themselves, others, and life in general.” An example of this would be that in those big crowds of people, festival-goers have a chance to meet new people and connect with them (as well as their friends) on a different level.

This source was very helpful to my research. Instead of learning about ecstasy, I learned that the experience of a music festival goes deeper than drugs. There is psychological effect to attending music festivals. More importantly, is it a positive psychological effect. I’m happy to see that people don’t automatically compare EDM music festivals to drugs. It’s not just a concert, the festival is an experience in itself. Not only is it about the music, but its about a sense of self-awareness and identity. This source talked a lot of festival culture, but the science behind it was discussed more in this article than my others. It went into a lot of detail about the positive effects that music festivals can have.

This source has me very close to completing my research. So far I have learned rave culture and how raves have morphed into music festivals. I’ve also learned about all the positives of music festivals, not just physical, but emotional and psychological positives as well. I’ve also learned the long and short term effects of the most common rave drug, MDMA. I also read a survey that proves that ecstasy is the most common drug associated with dance music. Since I don’t think I have a full answer to my original question, I plan to find a book that can help me put all my research together. My sources have led me to a lot of information about electronic dance music, the culture of it, and all the great things that come from attending a music festival!