TY - SER AU - Alyssa E Brown AU - Donne, Keith AU - Fallon, Paul AU - Sharpley, Richard TI - From headliners to hangovers: Digital media communication in the British rock music festival experience PY - 2020/// PB - Sage N2 - Extant tourist experience literature focuses on ‘live’ space and time activity, while pre- and post-components are often neglected despite the opportunities offered by increasing use of digital media communication (DMC). Focusing especially on the pre-festival experience but also addressing peri- and post-phases, this study examines the role of DMC in tourists’ experiences at British rock music festivals. Interviews with festivalgoers revealed three core and inter-related themes: information, emotional response and communitas. Initial engagement with DMC enabled planning, generated feelings of anticipatory excitement and created a sense of communitas. Online activity reduced peri-festival but continued to enhance the live event experience, while the virtual communitas was extended at the post-festival phase UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797619885954 ER -