Audience perceptions of Deaf Rave DJ performances augmented with haptic vests at two UK music festivals.

Bossey, Adrian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9874-6323, Curtis, Mandy and Jones, Adam (2024) Audience perceptions of Deaf Rave DJ performances augmented with haptic vests at two UK music festivals. In: AEME Forum 2024 - The Value of Events and Events Education, 3-4 July 2024, Sheffield Hallam University.

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Abstract / Summary

Music festivals generate immersive experiences “addressing the whole of perception” (Lell 2019.66) and can be conceived of as being “social field configuring events” (Duignan 2023:3) which are capable of advancing the global accessibility movement. However, the UK live music industry has been criticised for challenges to inclusivity relating to a range of audience demographics and requirements, including accessibility for people who are Deaf, disabled or neurodiverse.
ICT comprises equipment and resources used to “transmit, store, create, share or exchange information” (UNESCO 2023:1). Haptic ICT deploys tactile sensations to “stimulate the sense of touch in a user experience” (Mass Challenge 2021). Haptic vests incorporate ICT that monitors an audio signal to convert bass sound waves into vibrations that can represent the music. They have been used to augment live music performances across a range of musical genres. Deaf Rave’s vision is to provide a platform for Deaf, Hearing and Disabled Artists, performers and audiences (Deaf Rave 2023). Deaf Rave have incorporated haptic vests in DJ and MC performances to enable audiences to ‘feel’ the music.
AEME funding was obtained to conduct primary research. Empirical evidence was collected and interpreted regarding audience responses to using wearable haptic vests at music festivals. Respondents attended either Boomtown Festival 2023 or Deaf Rave Festival 2023, where they experienced a Deaf Rave DJ performance augmented with a Woojer haptic vest. A total of 54 respondents completed the questionnaire at Boomtown Fair and 87 at the Deaf Rave Festival. Quantitative information regarding perceptions of accessibility, musical appreciation, inclusion, communitas, authenticity and liveness relating to haptic ICT was collected. Initial findings show broad support for the use of haptic technology to improve aspects of the live music festival experience, with limited variance between findings from respondents who self-identified as being Deaf, disabled or neurodiverse and those who did not.
This presentation will incorporate images of the field research. It will evaluate the field research process, sharing the challenges involved. The results and conclusions from the data collection process will be presented, alongside recommendations regarding future opportunities for researchers and industry practitioners.

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