The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #112375 Message #2376777
Posted By: Chris Green
29-Jun-08 - 02:32 PM
Thread Name: Glastonbury English Folk Festival?...
Subject: RE: Glastonbury English Folk Festival?...
It's Michael Eavis' festival and land, so he gets to book who he wants. If you look at the line-up, you'll see a fair amount of folk acts are playing the Avalon Stage. There's also pop, rock, jazz and all sorts of other types of music going on. We call that diversity. Most people think that's a good and desirable thing.
And for what it's worth, I wholeheartedly agree with the first half of your opening statement. However, a lot of people who go to Glastonbury clearly don't (or more probably don't give a toss either way). It's not up to you, me or anyone else to tell them they're wrong or that they have to listen to such and such a genre instead. We call that freedom of choice. Again, most people think that's a good and desirable thing.
As for the second half, the idea that we should all pressure Mr Eavis into booking bands such as the one that I play with purely on the grounds that we're English and play English music is frankly an insult to those bands. I'd much prefer to be booked because a festival organiser likes our music and thinks their audience will too, rather than be part of some half-arsed quota system. We call that cultural fascism. Most people think that's a bad and undesirable thing.
Sincerely
Chris Green from Isambarde