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.

Tokyo

Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō, "Eastern Capital") (Japanese: [toːkjoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/), officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan, and is both the capital and largest city of Japan. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868; at that time Edo was renamed Tokyo. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi).

Tokyo Music Festival

The Tokyo Music Festival was an international music contest that ran from 1972 to 1991. It was organised by the Tokyo Music Festival Association. The first edition of the Tokyo Music Festival took place on 13 May 1972 with 12 participating countries.

Grand Prix Winners

1972: Izumi Yukimura ( Japan)

1973: Mickey Newbury ( United States)

1974: René Simard ( Canada)

1975: Didith Reyes ( Philippines)

1976: Natalie Cole ( United States)

1977: Didith Reyes ( Philippines)

1978: Al Green ( United States)

1979: Leah Navarro ( Philippines)

1980: Dionne Warwick ( United States)

1981: The Nolans ( United Kingdom)

1982: John O'Banion ( United States)

1983: Lionel Richie ( United States), Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes ( United Kingdom)( United States)

1984: Laura Branigan ( United States)

1985: Kool & the Gang ( United States)

1986: Miami Sound Machine ( United States)

1989: Hideaki Tokunaga ( Japan)

1990: Wilson Phillips ( United States)

1991: Smokey Mountain ( Philippines)

Dash Berlin

Dash Berlin is a Dutch trance music project created in 2007 by Jeffrey Sutorius, Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn. The front man of the group is the DJ Jeffrey Sutorius, the 10th most popular DJ in the world according to DJ Mag in 2013. Sutorius initially started playing drums influenced by his late father who was a drummer in a jazz band, before discovering electronic music. He worked at BPM Dance and Mid-Town Records specializing in vinyl, with both stores becoming meeting places for many established Dutch DJ's. Molijn and Kalberg, who were deejaying as Pronti & Kalmani at the time, have credited Sutorius as a vital source of inspiration for some of their biggest records during that time.

Kalberg and Molijn have been contributing to the international dance scene for over ten years, with award-winning and platinum-selling hits for dance acts such as Alice Deejay, Vengaboys, Candee Jay, Pronti & Kalmani and Solid Sessions. Their track "Better Off Alone" was one of the first trance records that became big in the United States and was later sampled by French superstar DJ David Guetta in his song "Play Hard" and one of America's biggest rappers Wiz Khalifa in his breakthrough record "Say Yeah". They also have been working together with DJ Sander Kleinenberg on classic tracks like "This Is Miami" and "The Fruit" and remixes for major artists such as Justin Timberlake ('Rock Your Body' Remix winning the award for 'Best Remix' at the Dance Star USA Awards), Janet Jackson, BT, Usher, N.E.R.D., Lenny Kravitz, Junkie XL, Röyksopp, Mylo and Annie Lennox.

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.