The age of the music festival is passing

Level 2 l Intermediate
1 Warmer
Who do you think are the five biggest music artists and bands in the world today?
_________________________ _________________________ _________________________
_________________________ _________________________

Compare suggestions with your classmates.

2 Key words
Match the key words with the definitions below. Then, find them in the article to read them in context. The
paragraph numbers are given to help you.

acts album chord headline promoter

lack peaked pinnacle stage fright ultimate

1. someone whose job is to arrange and advertise concerts _________________________ (para 1)

2. a situation in which you do not have any, or enough, of something that you need or want
_________________________ (para 2)

3. reached the highest standard of performance, before becoming less successful _________________________
(para 3)

4. singers, bands or other people or groups who perform on stage _________________________ (para 3)

5. to be the main performer in a show or at an event where other people are also performing
_________________________ (para 3)

6. a collection of several songs or pieces of music recorded as an MP3 file, on a CD etc

_________________________ (para 5)

7. fear felt by actors or singers before a performance _________________________ (para 7)

8. three or more musical notes played together _________________________ (para 7)

9. as good as possible _________________________ (para 10)

10. the most successful or exciting example of something _________________________ (para 12)
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NEWS LESSONS / The age of the music festival is passing / Intermediate

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The age of the music festival is passing
Level 2 l Intermediate
Move over, Glastonbury: promoter 7 Talking at Hay, Goldsmith also revealed some
says the age of the music festival of the secrets from his long career in the music
industry. He said that Keith Moon put dynamite
is passing down a Sydney hotel room toilet to unblock it.
Tracy McVeigh And, he said that John Lennon had stage fright
30 May, 2015 just before an appearance at Madison Square
Garden in 1974 – he was pulled, vomiting, out of
1 The age of the big British summer music festival,
his dressing room and pushed out on stage. “It’s
including Glastonbury, is drawing to a close,
bizarre how common that is among artists. It’s
according to the leading rock promoter and
odd how afraid they get but, as soon as the first
manager Harvey Goldsmith.
chord is hit, they’re fine,” he said.
2 Goldsmith has produced and worked with most of
8 He also gave the answer to a long-running
the western world’s biggest music stars, from the
rock ’n’ roll mystery: why Elvis Presley never
Who, the Rolling Stones and Queen to Madonna,
performed outside North America. Presley’s
Bob Dylan and Luciano Pavarotti. He says the
long-time manager, Colonel Tom Parker,
biggest problem is a serious lack of major new
admitted to him, he said, that the real reason
bands to follow on from the old ones.
why Goldsmith’s attempts to bring the singer to
3 “The age of the festival peaked about two years London had failed was Parker’s own uncertain
ago,” he said, speaking at the Hay Festival of immigration status.
Literature and Arts in Wales. “There are too
9 “He explained that it was because he was an
many festivals and there are not enough big acts
illegal Dutch immigrant. He didn’t want to risk
to headline them. That is a big, big problem in
leaving the US – it was him, not Elvis,”
our industry. And we are not producing a new
said Goldsmith.
generation of these kind of acts – like the Rolling
Stones, Muse, even the Arctic Monkeys – that 10 And, his ultimate rock ’n’ roll performer? “Freddie
can headline.” Mercury had to be our most powerful stage
performer, the best live performer we’ve ever
4 There were about 900 music festival events in the
had. At Live Aid, he went out and saw that
UK between May and September 2014, he said,
audience and just grabbed it.”
and there is no way they can all continue. “There
is going to be a growth in events where it isn’t just 11 But, nobody has found the next Queen yet, he
music but with poetry or books or magic shows. said. “We’re not producing a new generation of
There will be lots of small combination festivals this kind of act. Coldplay is probably the last one
that give something extra – not people standing and that was ten years ago.
around in a big field unable to go to the toilet
because they might miss the band.” 12 “So, with no big acts to headline, there are no big
shows. Glastonbury has got to the point where
5 Clearly, the way music is delivered has changed, it can’t find any more big acts and that’s the
he said. “People don’t seem to want to listen to pinnacle of the festivals. They are really over.”
an album any more. And, most rock bands built
their reputation on albums – they might take three © Guardian News and Media 2015
albums to become really good at their art, to First published in The Observer, 30/05/15
become great, but young people don’t want that.”
6 Goldsmith, 69, also revealed that he is working
with Robin de Levita, the Dutch producer of
the Who’s 1970s rock musical Tommy, at a
new 1,100-seat theatre in Wembley, London,
where the first stage adaptation of the teen book
and movie series The Hunger Games will be
performed in June 2016.
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NEWS LESSONS / The age of the music festival is passing / Intermediate

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The age of the music festival is passing
Level 2 l Intermediate
3 Comprehension check
There is at least one mistake in each statement below. Correct the mistakes.

1. Harvey Goldsmith is a 74-year-old promoter, performer and manager.

2. He has worked in the UK with many of the western world’s biggest music stars including Queen, the Who,
Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Madonna.

3. In 2014, there were almost 100 music festivals in the UK.

4. He says that, in the future, festivals will have to offer only music.

5. According to him, the most recent big group was probably the Arctic Monkeys.

6. At Live Aid, Goldsmith told stories about John Lennon putting dynamite down a toilet and having terrible
stage fright.

7. The Rolling Stones are his ultimate rock ‘n’ roll performers. He says their performance at Live Aid was one of
the best ever.

4 Phrases
a. Complete the sentences using phrases from the article.
b. Talk about what the phrases mean.
c. Use the phrases to talk about other things.

1. The age of the big British summer music festival is __________________________.

2. There is __________________________ major new bands.
3. He also gave the answer to a __________________________ rock ’n’ roll mystery.

5 Discussion
Which one of these performers would you most like to have seen in concert? Why?

Elvis Presley Freddie Mercury Johnny Cash Amy Winehouse

Michael Jackson Jimi Hendrix Whitney Houston Kurt Cobain

Have you ever seen any music legends in concert?

Have you ever been to a music festival?
What kinds of festivals are there in your country or where you live?
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NEWS LESSONS / The age of the music festival is passing / Intermediate

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The age of the music festival is passing
Level 2 l Intermediate
6 The ultimate music festival
Work in groups to plan a three-day music festival. You can include any artists or bands in the line-up. Who
will you include? Who will you choose to headline each day?
Compare your ‘ultimate line-up’ to that of other groups.

7 Webquest
Find out who headlined each day at Glastonbury 2015.
Where exactly is the Glastonbury festival held? How would you get there from where you are now?

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NEWS LESSONS / The age of the music festival is passing / Intermediate

CA O
H
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The age of the music festival is passing
Level 2 l Intermediate
KEY

2 Key words

1. promoter
2. lack
3. peaked
4. acts
5. headline
6. album
7. stage fright
8. chord
9. ultimate
10. pinnacle

3 Comprehension check

1. Harvey Goldsmith is a 69-year-old promoter,

performer and manager.
2. He has worked in the UK with many of the western
world’s biggest music stars including Queen, the
Who, Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Madonna.
3. In 2014, there were almost 900 music festivals in
the UK.
4. He says that, in the future, festivals will have to
offer extras like poetry, books or magic shows.
5. According to him, the most recent big group was
probably Coldplay.
6. At Hay, Goldsmith told stories about Keith Moon
putting dynamite down a toilet and John Lennon
having terrible stage fright.
7. Freddie Mercury is his ultimate rock ‘n roll
performer. He says his performance at Live Aid
was one of the best ever.

4 Phrases

1. drawing to a close – ending

2. a serious lack of – nowhere near enough
of something
3. long-running – having continued for a long time
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015

M W P
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NEWS LESSONS / The age of the music festival is passing / Intermediate

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