Music festival

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, performance art, and social activities. 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, organized annually in local communities, regionally or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement.

History

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.

Another type of music festival is the educative type, organized 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.

Festival

A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or traditions, often marked as a local or national holiday, mela or eid. Next to religion and folklore, a significant origin is agricultural. Food is such a vital resource that many festivals are associated with harvest time. Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are blended in events that take place in autumn, such as Halloween in the northern hemisphere and Easter in the southern.

Festivals often serve to fulfill specific communal purposes, especially in regard to commemoration or thanksgiving. The celebrations offer a sense of belonging for religious, social, or geographical groups, contributing to group cohesiveness. They may also provide entertainment, which was particularly important to local communities before the advent of mass-produced entertainment. Festivals that focus on cultural or ethnic topics also seek to inform community members of their traditions; the involvement of elders sharing stories and experience provides a means for unity among families.

Music

Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound and silence. The common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics (loudness and softness), and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture (which are sometimes termed the "color" of a musical sound). Different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and with vocal techniques ranging from singing to rapping, and there are solely instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces and pieces that combine singing and instruments. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike; "art of the Muses"). In its most general form, the activities describing music as an art form include the production of works of music (songs, tunes, symphonies, and so on), the criticism of music, the study of the history of music, and the aesthetic examination of music. Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound."

Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in the city of Miami, Florida, United States. The festival, which was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes, is named after the 1997 Depeche Mode album, Ultra. Ultra Music Festival coincides with the annual Winter Music Conference, which is also held in Miami.

Ultra is held in Downtown Miami in Bayfront Park. It was a one-day festival from 1999 to 2006, a two-day festival from 2007 to 2010, and was a three-day festival in 2011 and 2012. In 2012, a record 155,000 people attended the festival. In 2013, for the first time in festival history, UMF took place across two consecutive weekends. In 2014, the festival returned to a one-weekend format, taking place on Friday, March 28 through Sunday March 30th. Presale Tickets went on sale online May 21, 2013 selling out in a matter of seconds; standard priced tickets sold out on the last day before the event.

Other Ultra festivals are held in Ibiza, Spain; Buenos Aires, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Seoul, South Korea; Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; Split and Hvar, Croatia; Bangkok, Thailand and Tokyo, Japan. In December, 2013 Ultra Worldwide announced to first edition of the festival in Bogotá, Colombia to be held on February 20 & 21 2014. Most recently Ultra announced Road to Ultra Thailand and will be Held at Bitec Bangna convention center on September 26, 2014.

Ultra Music

Ultra Music is an electronic music record label in North America, comprising Ultra Records, Ultra Music Publishing, and Empire Artist Management. The label was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is the owner. As of January 23, 2013, Ultra merged its operations with Sony Music in a deal that brought all of Ultra's artists, music catalogs and licensing rights into the Sony fold in exchange for Sony's investment in Ultra and promoting Moxey (who will retain ownership) to the newly established role as president of Sony's Dance/Electronic Music division under CEO Doug Morris. As of January 2013, the label's physical releases are distributed by RED Distribution in the United States.

Ultra's roster includes, among others, Rosette, Axwell, Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Kaskade, Pitbull, Calvin Harris, The Bloody Beetroots, Wolfgang Gartner, Benny Benassi, Edward Maya, Headhunterz, Congorock, Rebecca & Fiona, TOKiMONSTA, Mt Eden, Adrian Lux, Mysto & Pizzi, Mayra Verónica, Inna, Fedde le Grand, Basshunter, Kerli, Margaret Berger, Alexandra Stan, Brass Knuckles, John de Sohn, Bynon, and Project 46. Ultra has featured releases from the aforementioned artists and many others such as The Crystal Method, Timo Maas, Sasha & John Digweed, 4 Strings, Panjabi MC, Despina Vandi, and Junkie XL. Ultra Music is No. 11 on YouTube for Most Viewed Channels of all time.