Festival-goers
view the "Coachella Bound" art installation at the campgrounds at The
Coachella Music and Arts Festival April 19, 2015, in Indio, Calif.(Photo: Zach Cordner/Invision/AP)
We are a long way from Woodstock. Forget the mud, sweat and tears; now fans can go all-VIP at their favorite summer music festival – for a steep price, of course.
But maybe too steep, leading to questions: Are ordinary music fans being priced out of America's most popular festivals? And if they are, what effect does that have on the role of this form of group entertainment in national pop culture?
Besides the Internet, how will music-lovers discover new bands they would otherwise never know about if not for the platform that music festivals provide new musicians?
"We’re getting close to where some people can’t afford a Coachella or a Bonnaroo any more," says Vito Valentinetti, a co-owner of Music Festival Wizard website, which provides information on 600 festivals around the world.
