Urban vibes in a rural setting: a study of the bush doof scene in Byron Shire

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to consider the politico-cultural significance of the Australian ‘bush-doof’ for contemporary youth. The bush-doof is a localised form of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) party held in a bushland setting. It is argued that the bush doof provides a space for young people to reject forms of commoditised and over-regulated night-time leisure associated with (semi)urban environments. Associated with this is an expression of a shared ecological consciousness that finds its primary form of articulation in the rural setting of the bush doof event. In framing the experience of young doof party goers, Maffesoli’s concept of neo-tribe is used as a means of situating doof parties as opportunities for temporal bonding and sociality. Although neo-tribe has previously been used in studies of EDM, such work has often focused on urban settings. In this article, however, we argue that neo-tribal theory can also be effective as a means of understanding the experience of EDM in regional and rural settings. More specifically, we demonstrate how in its rural manifestation of the doof party, EDM also functions as an important marker of identity and fosters young people’s need for belonging and communitas.