Example: Woodstock (1969)

1) Grove:  see the article on Festival for historical context.  Festivals are listed by Country at the end of the article in part 7. "List".

2) Check  Music and non-music periodicals (In the drop down menu select either contemporary or historical) indexes: Current or Historical Find databases such as Rock's Back Pages, and Rolling Stone Archive.  

3)Check the Vassar Library Search Online Catalog for a variety of sources:  Woodstock 1969

4) Wikipedia:  Woodstock   Use Wikipedia articles with caution, BUT get ideas from it for references and external links.

5) Get more information by searching the above sources for the names of artists who were involved, their websites, venue sites, etc.

Example:  Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue"  (famous jazz album)

1) Check the name of the album in quotes in the Vassar Library Search Online Catalog for a variety of sources:

2) Artist sites:  Davis "kind of Blue"

3) Wikipedia  Use with caution.  Check references, external links and bibliography.

4) Check  Music and non-music periodicals (In the drop down menu select either contemporary or historical) indexes: Current or Historical Find databases such as Rock's Back Pages, and Rolling Stone Archive.  

for cultural perspectives: 

1. Grove The Band  Cool Jazz  Hip Hop  Political music  Rap
2. Relevant Specialized music reference sources  (not exhaustive)
3. Check  Music and non-music periodical indexes (In the drop down menu select either contemporary or historical) indexes: Current or Historical Find databases such as Rock's Back Pages, and Rolling Stone Archive.  
4. Wikipedia articles --use with caution.  Check references, bibliographies, external links.