Professor George McKay: Live Music Exchange Cardiff, 10th November 2012
Channel: livemusicexchange
Date: 2013-01-04

'Festival, Industry, Place, Community': 
This is the keynote address from the Live Music Exchange: Cardiff event, November 10th,  2012

Professor George McKay gives a wide ranging presentation, which covers the history of music festivals in the context of the music industry, but also dealt with its relationship to a sense of place in terms of both society and geography.

From the role of CND to the tensions between fans of traditional and modern jazz audiences, the violence at Beaulieu and Stonehenge to the evolution of Glastonbury, the music festival has been the site of contested social spaces, reflecting changes in Britain's cultural and physical landscape.

This paper provides rich anecdotal evidence of the evolution of music festivals since the 1950s, underpinned by analysis of the cultural debates and shifts that it reflected.

George McKay is Professor of Cultural Studies, University of Salford and AHRC Leadership Fellow, Connected Communities Programme. 
His publications on music include:
'Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain' (London: Duke University Press, 2005)
'Glastonbury: A Very English Fair' (London: Victor Gollancz, 2000)
'Shakin' All Over: Rock, Pop and Disability' is due for publication in 2013, by the University of Michigan Press.

He has also written extensively about DIY culture, social activism and community.
More details about his work are available at:
http://georgemckay.org/

The Live Music Exchange: Cardiff event was presented in conjunction with The University of Glamorgan's Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations and brought together academics and a range of practitioners in the live music sphere to discuss 'Supporting Live Music in Hard Times'.

For more information about this, and forthcoming Live Music Exchange events please visit: http://livemusicexchange.org/events/live-music-exchange-events/