Why a festival, more so than an iPod?

"Music," say Cross, "is above all a communication system for the creation and maintenance of social relationships. A body of people listening to one piece of music is able to have both the same experience – that of the group – and each one a unique experience – that of the individual. But their shared affiliation with one rhythm acts as a kind of social glue."

Robertson agrees. "Wellbeing – a healthy sense of oneself, and pleasure in oneself – comes when your internal identity is broadly congruent with that which you find outside," he says. "I believe this is a profound model of healthiness, and so it's not surprising that we would seek out shared experience that matches our own internal aesthetic." "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3656733/Can-music-make-us-happy.html