Festivals are always a fun subject, among musicians.
Unless you're among that top 10% "Big Print" group of artists, they mean a lot of hauling out to remote locations, getting dumped onstage in broad daylight (a terrible disadvantage with some kinds of music) with production values approaching zero; trying frantically to make an impression upon people at a time when they're basically wandering around trying to find their friends. Or food.
You have no room for being "present" in the moment, a hard time-limit, and the next band after you looking over your shoulder waiting for you to be done. An hour after your last note rings out, it's like you were never there.
The festival itself cares about its brand, and nothing about yours; so bands with really good management only do one in a year, specifically targeted for their genre-market, or none at all. The money and impact is honestly 10-100x better playing at whatever nearby club there might be the night before the fest begins.
If you're on a label, they'll tout it to you as "exposure" or "discovery" as a way to elide the tiny compensation for all that work, and it's not unusual for them to dump out the bottom of their rosters into the small print of these festivals as a brutal Darwinian test for those groups.
That's the other reason why you'll see so many different bands on different lineups. Not every one of them survives as a signee after.
Dang! This is a real good read. Lots of info packed into this one. I’m usually an observant person and I never really looked into festival lineups across the board this way. This is a little eye opening for me. That being said, glad that festival uniqueness is becoming a thing. Hopefully the trend continues as it’s clearly needed.
Congrats on the new podcast! And I agree with the point that major festivals are “diversifying” to the point where they are starting to feel the same. My faves are NOLA Jazzfest and ACL. Is SXSW considered a festival? 🤷🏻♀️ I’d love to attend jam band fest Lockn if they start back up again. And Electric Forest in northern Michigan is supposed to be rad for EDM fans. Sticking to one genre allows the associated culture, styles, brands, and flare to differentiate the experience from other fests.
Most of our time at Jazzfest is spent in the clubs vs the festival itself. We love supporting the bands this way and the experience is so much better— no hot sun or rain, cheaper drinks/no bar lines, and access to bathrooms vs porta potties.
this is a great idea executed beautifully. thanks for the thorough reporting. i linked out to a Pollstar piece in a my current newsletter. Live really is the most exciting cultural space right now.
Festivals are always a fun subject, among musicians.
Unless you're among that top 10% "Big Print" group of artists, they mean a lot of hauling out to remote locations, getting dumped onstage in broad daylight (a terrible disadvantage with some kinds of music) with production values approaching zero; trying frantically to make an impression upon people at a time when they're basically wandering around trying to find their friends. Or food.
You have no room for being "present" in the moment, a hard time-limit, and the next band after you looking over your shoulder waiting for you to be done. An hour after your last note rings out, it's like you were never there.
The festival itself cares about its brand, and nothing about yours; so bands with really good management only do one in a year, specifically targeted for their genre-market, or none at all. The money and impact is honestly 10-100x better playing at whatever nearby club there might be the night before the fest begins.
If you're on a label, they'll tout it to you as "exposure" or "discovery" as a way to elide the tiny compensation for all that work, and it's not unusual for them to dump out the bottom of their rosters into the small print of these festivals as a brutal Darwinian test for those groups.
That's the other reason why you'll see so many different bands on different lineups. Not every one of them survives as a signee after.
Dang! This is a real good read. Lots of info packed into this one. I’m usually an observant person and I never really looked into festival lineups across the board this way. This is a little eye opening for me. That being said, glad that festival uniqueness is becoming a thing. Hopefully the trend continues as it’s clearly needed.
Congrats on the new podcast! And I agree with the point that major festivals are “diversifying” to the point where they are starting to feel the same. My faves are NOLA Jazzfest and ACL. Is SXSW considered a festival? 🤷🏻♀️ I’d love to attend jam band fest Lockn if they start back up again. And Electric Forest in northern Michigan is supposed to be rad for EDM fans. Sticking to one genre allows the associated culture, styles, brands, and flare to differentiate the experience from other fests.
Most of our time at Jazzfest is spent in the clubs vs the festival itself. We love supporting the bands this way and the experience is so much better— no hot sun or rain, cheaper drinks/no bar lines, and access to bathrooms vs porta potties.
this is a great idea executed beautifully. thanks for the thorough reporting. i linked out to a Pollstar piece in a my current newsletter. Live really is the most exciting cultural space right now.