Document Type
Senior Thesis
Publication Date
5-2024
Abstract
With the return of arena concerts after the COVID-19 pandemic and the hyper-availability of social media communities to those who were not previously inclined to be fannish, there has been increased strain on the metrics of what makes a successful concert attendance, and further, how those metrics reinforce identity as both a real fan and a member of the fan group. This research focuses specifically on the act of arduous overnight queueing for general admission shows, referred to in the populace as “Camping Culture," aiming to answer the question of what is the motivation to undergo significant effort to experience the optimal concert as defined by the superfan. Interviews were conducted with music fans who have a strong attachment to one or more artists and regularly attend concerts under General Admission tickets. Additional research was collected through survey data, and observational fieldwork where the researcher acted as a participant-observer in concert queues at local shows. Both fan-artist and fan-fan relationships and interaction rituals are noted, and analyzed utilizing Durkheim’s theories of religion (1912) as well as subsequent framework by Löbert (2012) which categorizes these rites and rituals within the perspective of concert-attendance as a religious participation. Findings suggest that while the initial motivation to join the queue is the promise of a primary interaction with the sacred object (in this case, the artist), ultimately what keeps fans coming back are the secondary interaction rituals, forming bonds with other fans.
Recommended Citation
Ryan, Natasha, "The Kids from Yesterday: An Examination of the Motivations and Social Role of Camping Culture in Music Fandom" (2024). Sociology Student Papers and Posters. 1.
https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/sociology_student_work/1
Copyright
The author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Included in
Other Music Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons
