Abstract

Music and Tourism is the first book to comprehensively examine the links between travel and music. It combines contemporary and historical analysis of the economic and social impact of music tourism, with discussions of the cultural politics of authenticity and identity. Music tourism evokes nostalgia and meaning, and celebrates both heritage and hedonism. It is a product of commercialisation that can create community, but that also often demands artistic compromise. Diverse case studies, from the USA and UK to Australia, Jamaica and Vanuatu, illustrate the global extent of music tourism, its contradictions and pleasures.

Chris Gibson is Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. His research interests combine creative industries, tourism and cultural identities. He has written several books on music, including (Routledge, 2003), and Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places:Aboriginal Music in Australia (UNSW Press, 2004). John Connell is Professor of Geography and Head of the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney. His research interests span mobility, tourism, music and place identities. He has published widely on urbanisation, migration, and tourism. His books Sydney: Emergence of a World City (Oxford University Press, 2000) and Small Worlds, Global Lives: Islands and Migration (Pinter, 1999).

This book is a useful addition to the literature and a pleasure to read. As most academics love to read and music is the food of love, read and enjoy.

Music and Tourism: On the Road Again is outstanding in every way. The authors have done a great job on presenting a very informative and focused analysis of the geography of music tourism. I'll definitely use the book when next I teach the geography of popular music.