Details on All Good, Langerado and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festivals

In recent years, bands have seen a downturn in attendance at their concerts which has caused, even the most successful of artists, to downsize their tours, playing smaller venues in an effort to sell tickets and cut back costs.

The one area in the live market that doesn't seem to be hurting is the outdoor festival circuit. A large number of bands are signing up for these events in the hopes of playing in front of bigger audiences in the hopes of maximum exposure. Most of the festivals take place in massive outdoor fields where the attendees buy weekend passes and camp out for the weekend. It's not only the bands that have noticed this as a great stage for themselves, special interest groups, mostly focusing on environmental issues, have latched on too, and the results is a win-win scenario for all involved.

The fans get to see a large number of bands for one price, the bands get to present their music to a large audience with the potential of garnering more new fans, and the environmental groups get their message heard by tens of thousands of people at a time. Let's take a look at 4 of the more successful music festivals.

Langerado Music Festival
The 6th annual Langerado Music Festival will be held in March 2008 at Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reserve in Florida, after 5 successful years at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida. The music featured here is mostly of the blues, folksy, Cajun variety and in previous years there have been up to 15,000 fans in attendance. This 2007 show was their most successful to date which is why they have had to move to larger venue.

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Held every June in Manchester, Tennessee, the Bonnaroo festival is a celebration of music, comedy and the environment. Besides the main stage, which this year featured The Police as headliners, there is a comedy tent with some big name stand-ups and a number of cafe's featuring smaller, independent artists. The festival organizers are very concerned with the future of the planet and hot button items like global warming are at the forefront of the message they try to get across to attendees.

All Good Music Festival & Camp Out
Spread out over 3 days, each July for the past 11 years, at Marvin's Mountaintop in Masontown, West Virginia, the All Good festival features a line-up of little known artists but still manages to pull in a great crowd every year. During the last 3 years the festival has teamed up with the Conscious Alliance to offer a food drive. Attendees are encouraged to bring a food item to donate with all the food collected going to Saint Ursula Food Pantry in Morgantown, WV.

The Echo Project
This festival is the perfect meeting of music and environmental concerns. Held every October just outside Atlanta, Georgia, the Echo Project is a 3 day musical event that also focuses very heavily on issues concerning the Earth, most notably the Chattahoochee River. While attending, you can volunteer your time to these conservation projects. I live in this area and it's a very worthwhile cause.

These types of events are a great way to build a bigger sense of community on the planet and make people face important issues while they are entertained.