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Is So-Called Original Music Destroying Festivals?

The Late Late Show

I have noticed that modern original music is killing off music festivals. Fair enough, this is a thing for the likes of the Electric Picnic and all them types of things but of late, I have seen this trend seep into bluegrass, folk and trad festivals too. I will be in Wexford in late August 2019 for a break and was considering going to the local Dunmore East bluegrass festival there. As a fan of 1940s country music of the Bill Monroe variety, I'd have assumed there'd be plenty of that at this festival. But checking out the bands at it this year, it is the same old modern original trash. This mentality is ruining festivals. Next thing, one will be going to 'Mozart classical concerts' with original material rather than Mozart's concertos!!

If one is going to a bluegrass festival, folk festival, classical festival, etc., they should get the proper music of the genre and not some cocky performer of their own material that no one is interested in. There are plenty festivals catering for so-called 'original music' so the other festivals should cater for fans of other music and should provide that for them. Nothing from the albums of the bands coming to this Wexford bluegrass festival are remotely like bluegrass and resemble sometimes either Neil Young type music or else modern Nashville stuff. Again, there is a time and a place for this and it is NOT at a bluegrass festival.

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[Deleted User]

What, so people aren't going to the folk festivals for the drum and bass?

The Late Late Show

zoobizoo wrote: »

When I go to a jazz festival, I expect to hear jazz.... I know that there'll be many different types of jazz being played - could be jazz funk, could be Rag Time, could be modern or whatever. The thing is, each one of them is jazz.

I'm no jazz expert btw.

What I thought the OP was getting at was festivals putting on bands who don't play the type of music that the festival is meant to be playing.

The Cork Jazz Festival often throws in music that isn't jazz - this year Martha Reeves and the Vandellas… that's Motown.

When I was at tit the other year, the jazz trail was basically pub bands covers - again, not jazz.

That's exactly it. I avoided the Cork jazz festival mainly because I heard it was excessively crowded. But it is the same thing. I love Martha Reeves by the way and she is one of the last links to the great era of soul and it would be great to see her headlining a proper soul/motown festival.

Pub bands and pushers of irrelevant to the genre in question original music have marred many festivals. I remember in Athy being at a bluegrass festival and there was a band called Bluegrass Patriots who had a good balanced mix of quality originals of the genre and affectionate covers of the bluegrass classics. That's the balance that is needed and none of them were in your face with songwriting egos either.

eoinzy2000

It's all getting very, 'pesky kids, modern music is rubbish, no respect, and it's not like it was in my day' in here. I'm out. Enjoy!!!!

[Deleted User]

eoinzy2000 wrote: »

It's all getting very, 'pesky kids, modern music is rubbish, no respect, and it's not like it was in my day' in here. I'm out. Enjoy!!!!

Ah, don't go.. you're great craic..

IAmTheReign

The Late Late Show wrote: »

These 4 or 5 names I mention may not be with us anymore but they are still and always will be remembered just like the music of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Puccini or Verdi is. Many people are 100% fed up today of singer songwriters whose songs all sound the same and whose lyrics are difficult to understand.

No, I am NOT tarring all singer songwriters with the same brush but it would not be truthful if one was to just say 'all original music is good just because it is original music'. A lot of bad stuff exists and being a songwriter is not a gift everyone has (but sadly is a gift a lot of people think they have). Those singer songwriters and composers I mention are good at what they do and had talent. Ed Sheeran, George Ezra and others like them are also good at what they do too.

There is only one thing essentially demanded at many festivals. Drink. I take a drink yes but I am not going to festival just to hear any type of music accompanied by a drink but others do. My friends said this festival in question is all loud talk with drink and no one really cares what music is played. ad but true.

Translation;

Bluegrass artists I like are comparable to the most famous composers in history. They will still be played in symphonies hundreds of years from now and will be listened to by truly cultural and tasteful people like myself. All music I don't like will be forgotten.

All music is terrible except the music I like. The only bands that should be playing at festivals are bands I like or bands playing covers of songs by bands I like. If a bluegrass cover band is not available Ed Sheeran is totally acceptable.

Some people go to festivals for different reasons to me. I go to listen to the music, which I don't really like while some people like to socialise at them, talking and drinking with their friends. I don't like that either. Why isn't everyone more like me?

The Late Late Show

IAmTheReign wrote: »

Translation;

Bluegrass artists I like are comparable to the most famous composers in history. They will still be played in symphonies hundreds of years from now and will be listened to by truly cultural and tasteful people like myself. All music I don't like will be forgotten.

All music is terrible except the music I like. The only bands that should be playing at festivals are bands I like or bands playing covers of songs by bands I like. If a bluegrass cover band is not available Ed Sheeran is totally acceptable.

Some people go to festivals for different reasons to me. I go to listen to the music, which I don't really like while some people like to socialise at them, talking and drinking with their friends. I don't like that either. Why isn't everyone more like me?

Not quite. A bluegrass festival should be bluegrass, a jazz festival should be jazz, an Ed Sheeran tribute singer should sing Ed Sheeran. Festivals and music events should do what it says on the tin.

How would one feel if they bought a bottle of red wine and opened it and got white wine instead? One could like BOTH types of wine but one was expecting red wine. Same with music events.

bodhrandude

Maybe you should choose your festivals more wisely, why don't you try Body&Soul, All Together Now or Electric Picnic, Ireland was never really revered to be a bluegrass liking country really apart from the John Keenan Banjo festival in Longford when it was going.

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bodhrandude wrote: »

Maybe you should choose your festivals more wisely, why don't you try Body&Soul, All Together Now or Electric Picnic, Ireland was never really revered to be a bluegrass liking country really apart from the John Keenan Banjo festival in Longford when it was going.

I feel bluegrass is more a thing in Northern Ireland, Leitrim, Longford, etc. and the best festivals are in these areas. Some also say the Southeast counties are the worst for music (how true or not, I cannot say). I enjoyed festivals in Longford, Mohill, Omagh and Ardara, and Athy was the furthest south I've seen a good bluegrass festival.

A well run festival will market to its audience and provide music to satisfy it. I feel some of the lesser festivals like the Dunmore East one are run more on the lines of: a band contacts the festival for a plug and gets a try. What the band does is irrelevant as it is mostly a glorified weekend of pub gigs anyway and not a real festival. Instead of getting proper bluegrass or whatever, one gets a set of gigging bands of no genre in particular. Someone else said this festival is like being at a wedding!

Sadly, insurance hikes have killed off a lot of festivals of ALL kinds too. That is another story.

TheIrishGrover

The Late Late Show wrote: »

Not quite. A bluegrass festival should be bluegrass, a jazz festival should be jazz, an Ed Sheeran tribute singer should sing Ed Sheeran. Festivals and music events should do what it says on the tin.

How would one feel if they bought a bottle of red wine and opened it and got white wine instead? One could like BOTH types of wine but one was expecting red wine. Same with music events.

Conversely: How would one feel about going to a festival only to find two acts because of the extremely restrictive parameters: Original music ONLY. Original style ONLY. Zero variation. Nothing written in the last 70 years. Covers ONLY. Because that is basically what you are saying. As I said, there is a market for that: Tribute Bands. But, as I have said before, Festivals are there to appeal to the music style they are targeting but also to broaden people's ideas of that that particular music is.

The problem in this case is, as said before, it's themes are so restrictive and specific that any deviation is met with scorn. It is it's own worst enemy.

But, I can only say the same thing so many times before I sound like a tribute band myself so....

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TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Conversely: How would one feel about going to a festival only to find two acts because of the extremely restrictive parameters: Original music ONLY. Original style ONLY. Zero variation. Nothing written in the last 70 years. Covers ONLY. Because that is basically what you are saying. As I said, there is a market for that: Tribute Bands. But, as I have said before, Festivals are there to appeal to the music style they are targeting but also to broaden people's ideas of that that particular music is.

The problem in this case is, as said before, it's themes are so restrictive and specific that any deviation is met with scorn. It is it's own worst enemy.

But, I can only say the same thing so many times before I sound like a tribute band myself so....

You missed a lot of my points. A lot of festivals have ONLY singer songwriters whose songs are not really belonging to any particular genre (think acoustic Westlife!!). Fine to have 1 or 2 of them but at a bluegrass festival, there should be a few Bill Monroe tributes too (afterall, it is very much associated with him) and other variations of bluegrass both covers and originals. The lack of variety at festivals is EXACTLY what I am giving out about not endorsing.

Festivals like Dunmore East are clearly thoughtlessly put together. Give any band a gig no matter who they are without thought for bluegrass fans. The music heard at this would be no different to a typical band in an urban pub and one can hear that any night of the week. If it were called the Dunmore East music festival or the Dunmore East pub gig festival, then that would be a different matter entirely!

Mickolution

Why is it "so-called" original music?