When people attend music festivals it is usually in the hope of attempting to live at a higher level than they do in their ordinary day to day lives. For the sincere worshipper at the mosque, church, or temple the same is true: time spent at the religious ritual site is supposed to bring participants the chance to live life at a higher level, more so than the mundane tasks of daily life. In my own experience at the music festival Osheaga, I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of joy that I couldn’t seem to shake off throughout the three-day festivities. I had never felt so connected to people and music – at the same time. Whether it’s time spent at a music festival or a more traditional religious ritual site, people leave the confines of ordinary life to seek a version of life at a higher level. Ideally people leave the festival site exhilarated and inspired with the sounds of the headline act ringing in their ears as they crowd into the Metro for the trip back to their accommodation, just as pilgrims would retrace their steps weary but renewed by their visit to the holy site. 

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