Americana Themed Festivals.

Outside the United States Americana themed festivals continue to grow in popularity despite remaining relatively niche events. What is the attraction and appeal of these festivals that makes them endure and prosper in the face of increased competition from mainstream festivals.

There are many aspects of American culture that can appeal to non-Americans which range from the food to the music and cars for example. Whatever the interest there are a sizable number of people who want the opportunity to experience everything ‘American’ despite living thousands of miles away in another country and culture.

History.
The first Americanca festivals emerged in Europe about 25 years ago and included the Kilkenny Roots Festival in Ireland, founded in 1998 followed by the UK’s Maverick Festival (2008) and the Glasgow Americana Festival in 2007. These have been joined by other Americana festivals taking place in countries like Australia, the Netherlands and Canada and the number of events keeps rising.

Content. 
The main attraction of these festivals is the wide variety of typically American style music which can vary from traditional bluegrass and country to more contemporary styles like alt-country, Americana rock, and soul for example. Many events encourage costume dressing up which can include 50’s and 60’s clothing or as diverse as Elvis look a-likes, cowboy attire and even Hells Angels inspired biker rock leathers. There is also a strong affinity for cars and motorcycles that originate from the United States, particularly for the classic car fraternity. The food and beverages on sale will almost certainly be inspired by typical American dishes like barbecue ribs, burgers and hot dogs as well as craft beer. Non-food vendors will specialise in selling Americana products and clothing. Some festivals even set up temporary cinemas to showcase classic films about popular American music and culture. 

Notable Americana Festivals.
Some sizable festivals focus on just the music, typically Cajun, Soul, Rock 'n' Roll, Blues, Roots and Country genres but the following is a selection of events that are perhaps more encompassing of all aspects of Americana:  

• The Maverick Festival UK, a 3-day event in Suffolk with a focus on music and food.
• The Rhythm & Roots Festival Canada – a 4-day event in Ontario for Roots music with an on-site art market.
• Black Deer Festival UK, a 3-day event in Kent that features plenty of music and American food, drinks and memorabilia.
• Static Roots Festival Germany, a 2-day music event in Oberhausen.
• The Kilkenny Roots Festival Ireland, one of the longest running Americana music festivals spread over 4 days using multiple venues in Kilkenny.
• The Take Root Festival Netherlands, a small 1-day event in Groningen.
• The Red Rooster Festival UK, a 3-day event that includes music, food, Hot Rods and vintage clothing.
• Country to Country (C2C) is an international brand (AEG) of American country music festivals with annual events taking place in London, Glasgow and Dublin. 

The Americana Music Association in the UK help to promote all things Americana and their membership includes numerous festivals taking place in the UK and Europe.

For Americana festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Photo by Brett Sayles via Pexels

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