the lived experience of the popular music festival-goer

332 Pages·2015·2.38 MB·English

THE LIVED EXPERIENCE
OF THE POPULAR MUSIC
FESTIVAL-GOER

CAROLINE JACKSON

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bournemouth
University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

JULY 2014

BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY
Copyright Statement

This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who
consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author
and due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any of the
material contained in, or derived from, this thesis.
ABSTRACT
The lived experience of the popular music festival-goer
Caroline Jackson
This study provides an in-depth understanding of the lived experience of people that
attended a popular music festival in the UK. The research is grounded in the
philosophical roots of both experience and descriptive phenomenology.
Phenomenological research is about “going back to people’s specific experiences and
letting the concepts come from there” (Todres and Holloway 2010, p183). The
research used Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method (1985, 2009). Giorgi’s
method is based on the early twentieth century philosopher Husserl’s scientific
approach to developing phenomenology. Giorgi (2009) offers a robust process for
analysing situated experiences that gives a clear insight into a phenomenon.

Ten interviews with festival-goers who went to the Isle of Wight Festival in June
2011 were conducted. Using Giorgi’s method, the participants’ words were
transformed into meaning units, which then underwent a process of descriptive
analysis. This involved scientific phenomenological reduction using free imaginative
variation. The constituent parts of the experience were identified and used to set
out, what Husserl (1982 [1925]) defines as the morphological essence of the
experience. This was achieved by formulating an invariant structure that eidetically
captured the phenomenon of the popular music festival experience.

The constituents discovered to form the structure of the phenomenon, that is the
lived popular music festival experience, can be drawn as polar opposites. However
the nature of the experience is more about the mixed valence of emotions rather
than the bipolar explanation of concepts such as reversal theory. This resonates with
the critical theories of leisure, especially that of freedom and constraint and the
need to accept negative as well as positive emotions in a holistic view of the
experience. Stebbins (2006, 2011) may refer to leisure studies as the 'happy
science', but the research not only identified the highs experienced by the
participants but also their depths of despair. The social aspect was found to be
important, as festival-goers experienced both a sense of communitas and of personal
angst and enmity in relation to others. Finally, whilst hedonistic behaviour led to a
sense of heightened excitement and euphoria, it also engendered shock and concern
over the extent of some deviant behaviour.
LIST OF CONTENTS
List of figures vi
List of tables vi
Acknowledgements vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Introduction 1
1.2. Background 1
1.2.1. Academic context 1
1.2.2. Popular music festival context 4
1.2.3. Epistemological context 11
1.3. Rationale 13
1.3.1. Personal interests 13
1.3.2. Relevance for practice 14
1.3.3. Contribution to knowledge 17
1.4. Aims and objectives 19
1.5. The structure of this study 19
1.5.1. Giorgi’s essential factors for conducting research 19
1.5.2. Research interest – researchable problem 20
1.5.3. Life-world situation – research situation 20
1.5.4. Research context – data and method chosen 20
1.5.5. Horizon for research findings – communication 21

CHAPTER 2: FESTIVALS
2.1 Introduction 22
2.2 What is a festival? 24
2.2.1 Theoretical conceptualisation of ‘festival’ 24
2.2.2 Festivalisation 26
2.2.3 Festivalscape 27
2.2.4 Festivity 29
2.3 Popular music festivals 30
2.3.1 Background 30
2.3.2 Characteristics of popular music festivals 32
2.3.3 Music festival consumption 34
2.4 Conclusion 36
CHAPTER 3: EXPERIENCE
3.1 Introduction 38
3.2 The conceptualisation of the event experience 39
3.3 The philosophy of experience 41
3.3.1 Background 41
3.3.2 Lived experience (Erlebnis) 42
3.3.3 Self and subjectivity 43
3.3.4 Memory and consciousness 43
3.3.5 Meaning 46
3.4 Conclusion 47

CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY
4.1 Introduction 49
4.2 Descriptive and interpretive phenomenology 49
4.2.1 Background to phenomenology 49
4.2.2 Descriptive phenomenology 52
4.2.2.1 Life-world (Erleibenwald) 53
4.2.2.2 Irreal 53
4.2.2.3 Morphological essence 54
4.2.2.4 Intentionality 54
4.2.2.5 Bracketing 55
4.2.2.6 Reduction and intuition 56

4.3 Critique of phenomenology and descriptive phenomenology 57
4.3.1 Introduction 57
4.3.2 Scientific basis of descriptive phenomenology 59
4.3.3 Philosophical basis of descriptive phenomenology 61
4.3.4 Criticisms of bracketing 63
4.3.5 Conclusion 64

4.4 Reasons for adopting descriptive phenomenology 66

4.5 Giorgi’s steps of descriptive phenomenology 68
4.5.1 Background to Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenology 68
4.5.2 Step 1. Concrete descriptions 71
4.5.2.1 Step 1 introduction 71
4.5.2.2 The phenomenological interview 72
4.5.2.3 The participants 73
4.5.3 Step 2. Sense of the whole 76
4.5.4 Step 3. Meaning units 78
4.5.5 Step 4. Transformation 79
4.5.6 Step 5. Structure 82
4.5.6.1 Step 5 introduction 82
4.5.6.2 Constituents 83
4.5.6.3 Essential structure 86
4.6 Ethical and risk considerations 88
4.7 Judging qualitative research 90
4.7.1 Credibility 90
4.7.2 Generality 91
4.7.3 Confirmability 91
4.8 Limitations 92
4.8.1 Method 92
4.8.2 Participants 92
4.8.3 Richness of data 93
4.8.4 Time 93
4.9 Conclusion 93

CHAPTER 5: THE POPULAR MUSIC FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE
5.1 Introduction 96
5.2 Visualising the structure 98
5.3 Freedom and Constraint 101
5.3.1 Introduction 101
5.3.2 Free will and restraint 102
5.3.2.1 Free will 102
5.3.2.2 Restraint 108
5.3.3 Independence and anxiety 111
5.3.3.1 Independence 111
5.3.3.2 Anxiety 114
5.3.4 The mundane 118
5.4 Camaraderie and Hostility 119
5.4.1 Introduction 119
5.4.2 Comradeship and antagonism 120
5.4.2.1 Comradeship 120
5.4.2.2 Antagonism 125
5.4.3 Intimacy and enmity 128
5.4.3.1 Intimacy 128
5.4.3.2 Enmity 130
5.4.4 Solitude 133
5.5 Euphoria and Despair 134
5.5.1 Introduction 134
5.5.2 Euphoria 134
5.5.3 Despair 137
5.5.4 Indifference 142
5.6 Conclusion 143

CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION
6.1 Introduction 145
6.2 State of Being 147
6.2.1 Introduction 147
6.2.2 State of mind 149
6.2.2.1 Introduction 149
6.2.2.2 Escape 150
6.2.2.3 Choice 152
6.2.2.4 Novelty 155
6.2.2.5 Paradox of freedom 155
6.2.3 Embodiment 157
6.2.3.1 Introduction 157
6.2.3.2 Performativity 157
6.2.3.3 Carnivalesque 159
6.2.3.4 Hedonism 160
6.2.3.5 Utilitarian behaviour 161
6.2.3.6 Edgy behaviour 162
6.2.3.7 Liminoid 163
6.3 Being with Others 164
6.3.1 Introduction 164
6.3.2 Intersubjectivity 165
6.3.3 Intimacy 167
6.3.3.1 Introduction 167
6.3.3.2 Intimate interaction 168
6.3.3.3 Intimate relationships 171
6.3.3.4 Dysfunctional intimacy 172
6.3.4 Sociality 173
6.3.4.1 Introduction 173
6.3.4.2 Socialisation 175
6.3.4.3 Communitas 178
6.3.4.4 Negative Sociality 181
6.4 States of emotion 182
6.4.1 Introduction 182
6.4.2 Emotional states 183
6.4.3 States of arousal 189
6.4.3.1 State of optimal arousal 189
6.4.3.2 State of despair 191
6.4.3.3 Bi-polarity of emotional states 193
6.4.3.4 Coping mechanisms 195
6.4.4 The sublime 198
6.5 Conclusion 199

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION
7.1 Introduction 201
7.2 Thesis conclusions 201
7.2.1 Objective one 201
7.2.2 Objective two 203
7.2.3 Objective three 207
7.2.4 Objective four 207
7.3 Research implications 213
7.3.1 Contribution to knowledge 213
7.3.2 Implications for practice 216
7.3.3 Further research 219
7.4 Reflections 223

REFERENCES 227
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Taxonomy of popular music festivals 264
Appendix 2 Characteristics of popular music festivals 265
Appendix 3 Ritchie and Hudson’s 6 streams of tourism experience 266
Appendix 4 Phenomenological applications to event-related fields 267
Appendix 5 Informed consent form 268
Appendix 6 Units of meaning of Participant 2 269
Appendix 7 The transformation of the meaning units of Participant 4 277

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Giorgi’s essential factors for conducting research 19
Figure 4.1 A sample of transcript broken into meaning units 79
Figure 4.2 A sample of transcript meaning units transformed 81
Figure 4.3 Colour-coding used to identiy the constituents of the structure 85
Figure 4.4 An example of a highlighted transformed meaning unit 86
Figure 5.1 The essential structure of the popular music festival experience 99
Figure 5.2 The narrative structure of the popular music festival experience 144

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Developmental eras of the popular music festival 7
Table 3.1 Features of the study of event-related experience 40
Table 4.1 Steps taken for phenomenological reduction 70
Table 4.2 Profile of participants 75
Table 5.1 Key to colours and constituents 100
Table 6.1 Social consumption of particular genre of music 176
Table 6.2 Basic emotions 183
Table 6.3 Epistemological field of emotional study 186
Table 6.4 Four ways of experiencing arousal 194
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to sincerely thank my two supervisors, Professor Roger Vaughan and
Dr Lorraine Brown, for their unstinting support, guidance and patience.

A special thank you to my family: my husband Clive, daughters Jemma and Katie, my
mother and mother-in-law. They have had to do without me whilst I was on this PhD
journey. Thanks for your sufferance, the tea and empathy.

I acknowledge the support of my colleagues at Bournemouth University, so many
that I cannot list them all. I would however like to dedicate this PhD to my late friend
and mentor, Mike Morgan, who passed away before I had finished this chapter in my
life. He was there at the beginning and in memory at the end.

With special thanks to Lyn, Gemma, Kat, Di, Jane, Flick, Connie, Sam, Wendy and
June, the participants of this study. They had all lived the popular music festival and
willingly shared their experiences with me. Without them my PhD would not exist.