In a word, yes.
In their early days, destination festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Bonnaroo each had a distinct flavor: Cutting-edge hipster bands, less-mainstream alt-rock, rootsy alt-rock and jam-band hippie overtones, respectively. This year, though, they're all starting to blend together.
That, combined with the emergence of a slew of new festivals, in Colorado, Michigan and New Jersey, puts the destination festival on the threshold of uniformity: How different can the lineups be when there are so many festivals vying for the same big-name acts? Not very, The New York Times reports today.
That's worrying some music-biz insiders. Says one, "If every one of them is just a McFranchise, there's a specialness that will be lost."
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