FESTIVITY AND SOCIABILITY: A STUDY OF A CELTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL
Author: MATHESON, CATHERINE M.1
Source: Tourism Culture & Communication, Volume 5, Number 3, 2005 , pp. 149-163(15)
Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation
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Abstract:
This article centers on authenticity and social relations within a commodified Celtic music festival framework. The impact of the tourism commodification process upon environs and culture has generated a veritable plethora of studies, the precursor to this being MacCannell's theorization of the leisure class. In an attempt to explain the meaning and significance of social relations within a festival context, specific attention is paid to Maffesoli's theory of the neo-tribe and emotional community. Drawing upon empirical data from a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with festival producers and consumers of a Celtic music festival in Scotland, this article challenges Maffesoli's dismissal of the relevance of class grouping and suggests dimensions of the backstage region of festival social space: first, through participating in “real” culture in an intimate environment; second, by playing an instrument or singing; third, through the strengthening of social networks. It is argued that the tourism commodification process is resisted to attain authentic social relations through the backstage region of social space.Keywords: Festivals; Authenticity; Social relations
Document Type: Miscellaneous
Affiliations: 1: Queen Margaret University College, Scotland
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