It is said that around 2,500 Music Festivals are held in USA alone. The nation enjoys all genres of music but country music is very popular. Nearly in every state Country Music Festivals are held which are attended by music lovers in large numbers.

The WE Fest is one of the leading country music festival held in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. The event started in 1983 and lasts for around 3 to 4 days in August. Fans from all over the US gather to attend this event where big names in country music frequently perform. More than 50,000 fans come to watch their favorite stars perform live and also to boost the emerging talents. You can camp or come in your RVs. Bathroom, potable water; showers and hand wash stations are provided for the convenience of the fans. Some big names who will be performing this year are Brad Paisley, Jerrod Niemann and Blake Shelton.

You can watch Martina McBride perform live in the Country Thunder Music Festival this year in Florence Arizona. This 4 day annual event will start from 7^th April. This event is more than a festival; it is carnival with scrumptious food, 6 different camping sites to choose from, local arts and crafts and non-stop music. Although campers are advised to bring in their own supplies, food and beverages are also available onsite. Children 12 and under are allowed free of charge.

The humble town of Nebraska plays host to many grand music festivals in the country. Comstock Country Music is one of such events. The event has recently undergone a facelift and now focuses solely on country music; previously it showcased rock and Christian music as well. The three day event takes place in August and besides the big stars, local musicians and stars also perform in the Comstock.

The Grammy Awards are held every year to award the singers for their outstanding achievements in the past year. Grammy is the short form of Gramophone and the awards got this name because the awards were shaped as a gramophone. The awards are held in the USA with Los Angeles hosting the event more than other cities.

The Grammy (Gramophone) Award started in 1958 is one of the most prestigious and glamorous music awards of the world. Known as the Oscars of Music, the Grammy Awards honor the talented artistes from all genres of music, country, rock, jazz, rap etc.  The awards were first televised in 1971 and since then the number of audience has been growing with a record number of audience this year (2011).A panel of 150 judges; all experts in the music industry choose the winners in different categories with The Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best New Artist of the Year being some of the major categories.

The Grammy is a star studded extravaganza featuring the big names of the music industry. The show itself is fueled by outstanding performances from international stars. In 2011, the 53^rd Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles and were watched by approximately 26 million people.  This year the country rockers Lady Antebellum won the Song of the Year award for “Need You Know”, while the 26 year old jazzist bagged the Best New Singer award. The Suburbs by Arcade Fire was judged the Album of the Year, Record of the Year Lady Antebellum “Need You Know” also bagged the Record of the Year award while Eminem walked away with the best rapper award and Lady Gaga won the Best Pop Album Vocal.  The stage sizzled with performances by Muse, Eminem, Cee Lo, Arcade Fire, Bob Dylan, Mike Jagger and others.

Country Music is defined as a blend of many genres of music such as folk, Celtic, gospel played on a stringed instrument and extremely popular in the southern states of the USA.  In simpler words, it can be called the cowboy or rural songs played on instruments such as banjos, violins and guitars. This type of music evolved in 1920 and is now regarded as one of the popular genres of music. Its popularity spread far and wide and Canada and Australia have their own form of country music.

The Country Fest is a major country music festival held in Cadott, Wisconsin. This four day festival began in 1987 and takes place in late June. The heavy weights in country music; groups as well as individuals enthrall the public with non stop music. The event lasts for four days. An important feature of country music festivals in USA is camping. With an average of more than 50,000 fans attending the events (Country Fest pulls the largest crowd), accommodations can be a problem. That is why people prefer to camp and at Country Fest the campground is the largest with 8,000 campsites. The fans are provided every facility so that they can enjoy their stay and the wonderful music which brings them out in the open.

Many big names such as Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Sugarland and Brooks and Dunn have driven the crowds wild with ecstasy in previous events.  This (2011) year’s impressive line up for Country Fest Music festival includes Miranda Lambert,  Grammy Winner Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Trace Atkins and Justin Moore to name a few.

The festival promises quality entertainment for fans of all age groups. Children up to the age of six are admitted free if accompanied by an adult with a ticket.

The Rosklide Music Festival is one of the five major musical events of Europe. It takes place every summer in Rockslide, Denmark. It is a great outdoor event; colorful and entertaining. The event started in 1971 for hippies and now and is now a big extravaganza featuring every genre of music. There are color coded stages with Orange Stage being the center stage. More than 180 bands entertain music lovers for four days.

Iceland Airways Festival is held for five days starting from the third weekend of October in Reykjavik, Iceland. The Iceland Airways provides a platform for new music from Iceland and other countries and besides musicians, it is attended by many people from the music industry and journalists.

The Sonar Festival takes place in Barcelona Spain. This three day affair which takes place in the third week of June is divided into two categories; Sonar by Day and Sonar by Night. The Museum of Modern Art and The Center of Contemporary Culture serve as the venues for Sonar by Day. Sonar by Day is about DJs, Live concerts, multimedia art and modern cinema. Sonar by Night is when you get the real action. The big names in the world of electronic music both local and international enthrall the mammoth crowd gathered at the venue. The venue is situated away from the main city and is quite huge around 10,000 meters of open as well as covered space.

The annual Spring Music Festival is held in May in Gratz in Austria. This funfair of electronic art and music turns the peaceful town of Gratz into one big party. It is the biggest musical event in Gratz and besides some electrifying music to enchant the crowd; workshops for VJs are also held.

Another summer musical festival of Europe worth mentioning is the EXIT festival. It is held in Serbia. The aim of this musical gala was to provide entertainment to the youth who had suffered much due to the political turmoil. This event now draws huge crowds from all over Europe.

Music is a universal language understood and appreciated throughout the world. The music lovers pay homage to music by holding different music festivals in different seasons and in different countries

The Sitka Summer Festival is held in the remote corners of Alaska. It was founded by Paul Rosenthal the celebrated violinist in 1972. The festival is held twice a year once in February and once in June. It is the summer festival in June that pulls the biggest crowd of music lovers. The Sitka Summer Festival is held for three weeks and the magnificent landscape of Alaska provides the perfect stage.  A large number of international artistes perform in the open unaided by sound systems.

Rock al Parque Festival is the biggest Rock Festival which rocks Latin America. The rock festival takes place in Bogotá Colombia and features rock bands from Colombia as well as from other countries. The entrance is free and it is one of the most awaited events of the year. The bands have you screaming for more and from heavy metal rock to alternative rock bands; the entertainment has no bounds.

The snow resort of Naeba in Fuji Japan hosts a musical event in which musicians from Japan and other countries of the world participate. This three day event is well attended by thousands of music lovers from the world.

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts takes place in Somerset, England. It is an open air event featuring modern musical galas, dance, theatre and other forms of performing arts. It is a grand event which last for three days.

The Austere Milwaukee Summerfest held in Wisconsin in USA is claimed to be the largest musical event of the world. For 11 days (from late June till early July) you are entertained by more than 700 bands.

Africa was once known as the Dark Continent but if you look closely, you will find that the continent is very much alive and colorful with vibrant festivals and diverse culture. Some music festivals held in Africa are:

The Festival in the Desert; this three day event is celebrated on Mali on the borders of Timbuktu in the Sahara Desert. It usually takes place in January and is considered to be the remotest musical festival in the world. This event is based on the traditional gatherings of the Tuareg nomads and their celebrations. It is a unique blend of traditional Tuareg music, dance and camel races and at night the desert comes alive with modern music.

The Festival of Niger takes place in early February in Mali and is another colorful fiesta featuring music and dance as well as puppet shows. Celebrated artists from West Africa entertain people with their skills. It is also a way to promote the culture of the place and many food stalls are set up for the convenience of the people. Besides being a music and dance extravaganza, it is also a means to bring together people from all parts of Africa as well as from other parts of the world.

Uganda celebrates the Bayimba International Festival of Music and Arts in September. The venue is the National Theatre in the capital city of Kampala. It is a three day affair of non stop music, fashion shows, exhibitions etc. Live band performances, traditional dance performances and documentaries featuring revolution of music and other forms of arts and also social issues are some salient features of this event.

Zanzibar has the Sauti za Busara Music Festival. It is five days of music both traditional and contemporary from all parts of Africa. It is held in February and where seasoned artists charm the audience with their lovely music, it has been a useful stepping stone for upcoming talent. A carnival parade is the highlight of this event.

The Cape Town Jazz Festival has become one of the biggest musical events of Africa.  For two days more than 40 local and international artists perform to captivate the audience. It has been voted the Grandest Event of Africa.

The continent of Asia is the home to many ancient civilizations. If the westerners were attracted to Asia because of its treasures, its rich music and diverse culture simply mesmerized them. Many music festivals are held in Asia; some of which are as follows

Borneo the enchanting island hosts the Rainforest World Music Festival which features world famous artists from all over the world. While the days are filled with mini concerts, jamming sessions and lectures, the evenings fill the air with music. One can’t but help dance to the tunes foreign to the mind but familiar to the soul. You will be entertained by soul stirring music to foot tapping tunes to music that will rock you.

Seoul World DJ Festival is a musical event held in South Korea every year in May. The event started off in a bid to promote tourism but got a lot of positive response especially from foreign students and expatriates. It is now three days of dance party and live music. The Seoul World DJ Festival pulls a big crowd.

The Beijing Pop Festival started in 2004 but has gained immense popularity in relatively short period of time. It started off as a hobby and encouraged local bands to participate and now it features pop groups from other continents as well.

The Jaffna Music Festival provides a platform to exhibit the colorful culture of Sri Lanka, a country known for its rich traditions. The event takes place in the end of March and showcases traditional folk music and graceful dance performances from various areas of the island. Besides local Sri Lankan music, performances from India, Norway, Palestine, Nepal and South Africa also entertain the people.

For a whole month (mid December to mid January) music lovers are entertained by a myriad of musical performances and dances in the Madras Music Season held in India. There are over 1500 performances from veteran musicians to the artists from present day generation besides lectures and seminars on music.

In the month of June the ancient holy city of Fez in Morocco hosts the Sacred Music Festival where musicians from different faiths gather to pay melodious homage to their religion.

The festival originated after the first Gulf War as a humble attempt to wipe out the political differences and bring humanity together with the sound of music. The Sacred Music Festival aims at promoting love and peace between people of different religion caste and creed and in some way has been successful as those who attend it feel nothing but peace and contentment in their hearts.  Though words are foreign and not understood but the soulful rendition of the singers really touches the chords of one’s heart. At times the whole audience is in a trance and hatred and other ill feelings are totally forgotten.

The event lasts for 10 days Fez echoes with Pakistani Qawwalis, the whirling dervishes of Turkey, the Sufi chants of Morocco, Egyptian Madhi odes, the chants of ancient India and Christian Saeta. Every performance is unique and soul stirring and has made this festival so very special. The program ends with a joint performance as the musicians from different faiths and different countries find common grounds to unite.

A Sacred Music Festival is also held in Los Angeles USA after every three years. It also strives at connecting together people from different faiths. It is a major event of the city and for sixteen days churches, synagogues, temples; theaters and outdoor areas serve as stages for the music and dance performances. It provides an opportunity to understand the various faiths and sends a strong message that humanity is above all differences.

Similar events are hosted in Olympia, Washington and Michigan in the USA. Spain, Canada, France, England and India are other countries where World Sacred Music Festivals are held.

Get set, get ready and go….to Glastonbury, the venue of the world’s biggest open air music festival of modern music. What started as the Pilton Festival on a farm by Michael Eavis in 1970, it is now a mega music event. This year, from the 23rd to the 27th of June, the town of Pilton in Somerset (England) will transform into a tented city where musical performances in every genre of contemporary music under the sun will take place.

Besides music, other forms of performing arts displayed here are dance, theatre, comedy, circus, and cabaret. There is a kids’ entertainment area, too.
The whole area is divided into 50 + stages with the Pyramid, Other Stage, Jazz World Stage, Acoustic Tent, Shangri-La, and Trash City being some famous ones. The number of people present at the venue can swell up to more than 177,000 and this year around 2000 performances are expected. This year some big names expected to thrill the audience are Stevie Wonder, Jack Johnson, U2, Muse, MGMT, Snoop Dogg, Vampire Weekend, Orbital, and many others.

To add color, sculptures are displayed at the venue. There are many food stalls as well, which sell a variety of food – from burgers to organic food.

Vibrant, entertaining, lively, and energetic are some words to describe the festival.

Top Three Blues Festivals around America
Posted in American Festivals, Music festivals on 05. Apr, 2009
Blues and jazz are unquestionably a way of life for many on the American continent. There are plenty of blues festivals around America and Canada all year. Similar to many other music festivals blues festivals are held around summer and fall/autumn. The festivals listed here may not be as big as the International Festival of Blues and Roots Music in Australia, but they are three festivals that are worthy of mentioning would be:

•    The Ottawa Blues Festival in Canada
•    The San Francisco Blues Festival
•    The Chicago Blues Festival
Ottawa is a renowned city for these types of festivals and among them is The Blues Festival. It is attended by hundreds of thousands from all over Canada and the United States. It is normally held outdoors for four days and is the largest in the country. The San Francisco Blues Festival is a comparable size, but it is located on the western shore of United States. It is held annually at San Francisco Bay. The Chicago Blues Festival is probably one of the oldest and most famous in the Midwest United States. This particular festival is also known for featuring famous blues artists from around the world.