What is it about?

Encores are those curious mini-rituals at the end of a concert in which the performer pretends to play a final song or piece, leaves the stage only to be called back by the audience, and then plays the actual final song. This article examines the history and purpose of the encore ritual and shows that there are not one but four different types of encore.

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Why is it important?

Encores have become an expected and ubiquitous part of the live music event and yet has not previously been written about in any detail before this article. It therefore helps broaden our understanding of what is going on in a live music event and adds to the literature on performer-audience interactions.

Perspectives

I wrote this article whilst undertaking my PhD research, which examines live music promoters and venues and involved attending a large number of gigs and concerts. I experienced the encore ritual at classical, rock, and dance events and was intrigued to find out more about it.

Dr Emma S Webster
Oxford Brookes University

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This page is a summary of: “One More Tune!” The Encore Ritual in Live Music Events, Popular Music & Society, February 2012, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/03007766.2010.538241.
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