ABSTRACT
Music has long been a significant component of rituals, festivals and other community events. Most music festival research has focused on music genres as forms of representation that are linked to specific groups or communities. The significance of music in the festival format is that music can be viewed as processes or performances that act out, create and negotiate various forms of identity. The focus on the relationship between music, performance and identity has also raised ideas about authenticity and authentic practices, in which music practice and performance are often linked to geographically distinct locations and communities. Liminal events are most often understood as offering some contact with the sacred or divine, and hence facilitate the individual's transformation into a full participant of the community or group, exemplified in anthropological literature by ceremonies of initiation.
