A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines, performance art, and social activities. The Pythian Games at Delphi included musical performances, and may be one of the earliest festivals known. During the Middle Ages festivals were often held as competitions.

Many festivals are annual, or repeat at some other interval. Some, including many rock festivals, are held only once. Some festivals are organized as for-profit concerts and others are benefits for a specific cause.

Another type of music festival is the educative type, organised annually in local communities, regionally or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement. While entrants perform prepared pieces in the presence of an audience which includes competitors, the essential feature of this type of festival is that each participant receives verbal and written feedback, there and then, from a highly qualified, professional adjudicator — someone whom they might never meet in any other way. They also usually receive a certificate, classified according to merit, and some may win trophies. The competitive element is often played down, however, as the important aspect is that participants can learn from one another. Such festivals aim to provide a friendly and supportive platform for musicians to share in the excitement of making music. For many they provide a bridge between lessons & examinations and performing confidently in public.

Chazwick Bundick better known by his stage name Toro Y Moi, is an American recording artist and producer. His music has taken on many forms since he began recording, but he is often identified with the chillwave movement of summer 2010. As of 2011, his sound has struck out toward progressive rock, especially in a live setting.

The name "Toro y Moi" is half Spanish and half French, and means "the bull and me".

Bundick was born on 7 November 1986, in Columbia, South Carolina, and attended Ridge View High School where he formed well-known Columbia indie rock band The Heist and the Accomplice with three schoolmates. He is of Filipino descent from his mother and African-American descent from his father.

Bundick graduated from the University of South Carolina in spring of 2009 with a bachelor's degree in graphic design. Late in his school career, Bundick formed a close musical relationship with fellow chillwave luminary Ernest Greene who plays under the name Washed Out.

He has since been signed to Carpark Records, on which he released his first full-length album Causers of This in January 2010.

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Perry grew up with gospel music, and during her first year of high school she pursued a music career as Katy Hudson, releasing her first studio album called Katy Hudson which failed to chart. She recorded a solo album later, which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.

She first gained recognition with the release of her first mainstream album, One of the Boys in 2008, which spawned three Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"I Kissed A Girl", "Hot n Cold" and "Waking Up In Vegas". Perry supported the album with her Hello Katy Tour. In 2010, her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010), which topped the Billboard 200 chart, and spawned five number one singles—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"—Teenage Dream was the only album (after Michael Jackson's Bad)—to do so, and the first female in history to achieve this milestone. She embarked on the California Dreams Tour, which grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. Perry re-released the album under the name of Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection on March 26, 2012, and the re-release has already spawned the number-one single "Part of Me".

Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez. Timberlake became famous in the late 1990s as the lead singer and youngest member of the boy band 'N Sync, whose launch was financed by Lou Pearlman.

In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which sold more than seven million copies worldwide. The album was a commercial success, spawning the hits "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body". Timberlake continued his success with his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and produced the US number-one hit singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around".

Timberlake has won six Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards. His first two albums made him one of the most commercially successful singers in the world, each selling in excess of 7 million copies. He also has an acting career, having starred in films such as The Social Network, Bad Teacher and Friends with Benefits. His other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, and the restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality.

Steve Hiroyuki Aoki (born November 30, 1977) is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.

Steve Hiroyuki Aoki was born in Miami and grew up in Newport Beach, California. He graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1995; he was a star player on the varsity badminton team. He is the third child of Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi. His father was a former Japanese Olympic wrestler who also founded the restaurant chain Benihana. He has two older siblings, sister Kana (who is sometimes called by her middle name "Grace"), and brother Kevin (owner of Doraku Sushi restaurant). He also has three half-siblings, all of whom are younger: half-brother Kyle and half-sisters Echo, and Devon, the supermodel and actress. As a child, Steve lived with his grandfather,^{[citation needed]} his mother, and his two older siblings.

Aoki attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with two B.A.s; one in Women's Studies and the other in Sociology. In college, he produced do-it-yourself records and ran underground concerts out of his Biko room in the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative, which was located in Isla Vista, a section of residential land adjacent to UCSB. As a concert venue, the apartment became known as The Pickle Patch. By his early 20s, Aoki had built his own record label, which he named Dim Mak after his childhood hero, Bruce Lee. He has also been in numerous bands, including This Machine Kills, which released an album on Ebullition Records, Esperanza, and The Fire Next Time.