“Music/City is a resounding success. The book is elegantly written, combines multiple methods, and joins sociological imagination with musical insight… Academics, musicians, and city leaders will all learn from Wynn’s sensitive analysis of the promise and pitfalls of festivalization” –American Journal of Sociology
“Fyre debacle shows how small acts get burned in the modern music festival economy,” (with Alexandre Frenette) The Conversation, March 4, 2019
“Gentrification? Bring it,” (with Andrew Deener) The Conversation, October 11, 2017 (in CNN, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Salon, Business Insider)
“Are there too many music festivals?” Washington Post April, 2017
“Pop Up Culture,” Australian Broadcasting Company’s Future Tense November, 2016
“For Economic Development Gold, Listen to the Music,” Governing Magazine October, 2016
“Festivals,” WAMC National, The Academic Minute, July 25, 2016
“Death to Concrete Culture,” WGBH Boston/PRI’s Innovation Hub, June 24, 2016
“Why cities should stop building museums and focus on festivals,” The Conversation, May 12, 2016 (reprinted in the Associated Press’ The Big Story, New Statesman‘s CityMetric, The Des Moines Register, and Raw Story)
“How Music Festivals Shape Cities,” The Atlantic’s CityLab, February 3, 2016
“Welcome to Austin, Don’t Move Here,” The Guardian, March 14, 2016
Promotional Blurbs for Music/City:
“Wynn’s Music/City provides important new insight into the role of music in shaping the culture, economy, and attractiveness of cities. Combining a sociologist’s eye with the ear of a musician, Wynn shows how music festivals like the Newport Folk Festival and Austin’s SXSW, have become increasingly important platforms as much for cities and their economies as for the careers of musicians. Wynn’s book is a must read for mayors, economic developers, downtown leaders, and urbanists who endeavor to build and live in more attractive, vibrant, and economically successful cities.” –Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class
“In Music/City, Wynn takes on an important, ambitious, and well-executed project that cross-cuts a number of fields. The result is a compendious book with something for everybody. The characters we encounter here are charming, and the quality of the research as valuable. Music/City has broad appeal—to sociologists and musicians alike.” –Howard S. Becker, author of Becoming a Marihuana User
“In Music/City Wynn stitches together an entertaining and enlightening look into the social, economic and historic elements that go into city based music festivals. As a professional musician who rarely sees festivals from any perspective but the stage I found Music/City jam-packed with fascinating and indispensable information. Wynn has created a must read for music fans and festival goers the world over while also generating a how-to for the prospective host communities.” –Tegan Quin, singer-songwriter for the Grammy–nominated band Tegan and Sara
“It’s common knowledge that festivals are increasingly important to the music business, but before Wynn, no one had really examined their full impact and potential. With Music/City, his innovative, street-level research gives us new ways to think about the culture, community, and economy of our large-scale, high-volume gatherings.” –Alan Light, former editor-in-chief, Vibe and Spin magazines
jonathan r. wynn 