Lesson 1: What Is a Music Festival?

Ask students to raise their hands if they’ve ever attended a music festival.
Then, ask students to raise their hands if they’ve ever attended a film festival.
For those who have had experiences with either type of festival, ask them to describe to their classmates what these festivals were like.
Then, after students have shared and described their “lived” experiences and seen a couple of video clips of festivals, ask students what components they think would be necessary to develop a Native American “virtual” music and/or video-music festival.
Ask students to make a list of “production teams” that would be needed, e.g., artist selections, publicity/marketing, permissions, budgeting, etc.

Students should sign up for a “team” with whom to work. Students meet in teams to create a form containing a list of duties and responsibilities.

Ideas for production needs may include:

Public Relations (PR): Create a poster to advertise the festival, promotional materials, etc.
Researchers: Explore the database and other sources for Indigenous music, and identify themes your project wishes to explore.
Storyboarders: Work out the visual aspect of your festival, transition, pacing, themes, etc.
Video editor: Edit together selected works agreed upon by the team.
Sound engineer: Ensure sound is of the highest quality available, and edited to match the tone of the project.
Script Writer: Write a script for the MC. What will the MC say as an introduction to the festival? To introduce each artist? To close out the festival?
Master of Ceremonies (MC): Read the script to introduce the music festival, read the introductions, and close out the festival.