Festival Activism

David A. McDonald (Edited by), Andrew Snyder (Edited by), Jeremy Reed (Edited by), Oladele Ayorinde (Contributions by), Filippo Bonini Baraldi (Contributions by), Louise Barrière (Contributions by), Eric Fillion (Contributions by), Jennie Gubner (Contributions by), Deonte L. Harris (Contributions by), Steven Hatcher (Contributions by), Ajay Heble (Contributions by), Serene Huleileh (Contributions by), Kimberly Marshall (Contributions by), David A. McDonald (Contributions by), Ruthie Meadows (Contributions by), Miguel Moniz (Contributions by), James Nissen (Contributions by)

9780253074263

Hardback, published 7 October 2025

336 pages, 19 b&w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg

For decades, festivals have been important sites of inquiry for folklorists and ethnomusicologists alike as celebrations of culture. Moving beyond traditional discussions of staged culture and multiculturalism, however, this edited volume explores how festivals may be mobilized as strategic forms of direct action.
Festival Activism is a diverse collection of case studies from scholars, performers, and arts administrators, all of whom deftly argue that festivals do more than simply celebrate culture; they also shape culture, creating new forms of aspirational community with direct political effects. Specifically, this volume addresses the many ways festivals provide resources for imagining and enacting social change, alternative citizenship, and long-term political transformation, revealing how performers, participants, and organizers encounter and challenge the myriad forms of violence that frame their worlds.
With its emphasis on activism, direct action, and social justice, Festival Activism points toward a new paradigm in festival research, one that focuses on decolonial and justice-oriented methods to illuminate festivals' latent political potential.

Introduction: Festival Activism, by David A. McDonald, Andrew Snyder, and Jeremy Reed
Disruption
1. Carnival Arts and "Freedom Dreams": An Ethnography of Culture, Power, and Black Political Struggle in London's Carnival Scene, by Deonte L. Harris
2. Rethinking Relational Geometries in Musical Events in Europe: Artistic Devices and Activist Implications, by Filippo Bonini Baraldi
Refuge
3. An Accessible Carnival: Festivity, Inclusion, and Disability in Rio de Janeiro, by Andrew Snyder
4. The Festivalization of Feminism, DIY Music, and Intersecting Identities at Ladyfests, by Louise Barrière
Renewal
5. Love Songs that Protest: Sentipensante Music Making as Postneoliberal Activism in the Neighborhood Tango Festivals of Buenos Aires, by Jennie Gubner
6. Al-Balad Theater: Festivals as Sites of Social Action and Community Development in Neoliberal Jordan, by Jeremy Reed and Serene Huleileh
7. Resignifying Traditional Festive Culture for Progressive Ends in Portugal, by Miguel Moniz
Deliberation
8. Another Possible World: Transnational Activism at WOMAD, by James Nissen
9. Babaláwo and Bataleras: Translocal Academic and Ritual Activism at the Festival of the Caribbean (Festival del Caribe) in Eastern Santiago de Cuba, by Ruthie Meadows
10. Festival Study as a Framework for Dialogic Social Justice: A Perspective from Johannesburg, by Oladele Ayorinde
Futurity
11. Festival Futurity at the Palestine Music Expo, by David A. McDonald
12. "The Many Ways We Are Alike": The Perils of Multiculturalism in Boise's World Village Festival, by Kimberly J. Marshall and Steven Hatcher
13. Afterword: The Work That Music Festivals Do, by Eric Fillion and Ajay Heble
List of Contributors
Index