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Well I am a big festivalgoer and always have fun and love music very much. So I was wondering all the aspects of throwing one because it is something I would like to try. Besides money, because I know thats of the up most importance, what are the basics of getting something like this started?
I figured there has to be someone on this forum that has either been involved with the behind the scenes aspects or has helped get a festival going.
You will need a location, permits, security, and insurance. Then you will need promotions and someone to book the bands. I think you already figured out the important aspect though, it is the money. I would expect to have upfront expenses of at least half a million bucks.
Post by autumnsredtears on Aug 13, 2009 10:47:22 GMT -5
there's tons of aspects to cover. Even just from the stage part, you need a good, loud pa system, a way to build stages (or however all that is done), people who know how to run a good sound system, lights and people who know how to run lights, security for the stages... man there's lots of things. Friend of mine inherited some 200 - 300 thousand and we were thinking about how to get something like this started, but when it boiled down to it, we just don't know the right people and don't know enough ourselves to even start one. If you have the time and are willing to put the effort, do it!
On a side note, we're considering opening a venue if a big warehouse building or something pops up for sale around here.
Post by suspendedzen on Aug 13, 2009 13:07:35 GMT -5
It seems like it's pulling teeth to get permits in some areas. No matter how good it will be for that area (the people coming in and seeing your town/region is a great pr tool, all of the cash spent at gas stations/restaurants/hotels/last-minute supply shopping/etc, the permit fees, possible donations to local charities) the old canards about "dang kids" and "hippies" tend to abound.
I would seriously reccomend talking such an idea over privately with sympathetic locak politicians first.
This is where u can book some good bands. If u do, please send me two vip backstage passes for hooking you up. There are some of my favorites on there. Doesn't look like they would cost too much either.
I've done lots of "behind-the-scenes" stuff before, but never multi-day events. How to put things together really depends on the wheres and whos and what-nots. I've worked for people who needed to rent everything and needed special permits and all that from the ground up BS and I've worked for bars where we called someone, told them our set-up, got a contract, and they showed up. It's loads of fun, though.
If you are serious about throwing a music festival you should start by booking some shows in your area. This will give you some experience in booking acts plus it will give you some credibility when booking bands for your first time fest.
Well, I've never done any concert or festival organizing myself, but I would advise that you do some serious brainstorming about what kind of festival you want to throw. How many people are you hoping to attract? Will you focus on a particular genre (or subgenre) of music? How many performance areas do you want? Will it be a camping festival? Will it be a single day event, or spread out over several days? Where will it take place, and at what time of the year? It's good to go over all sorts of things like that in advance, so you have more of a set idea of what you want and don't want. You should study some already existing festivals and see how they run, too.
Then, as everyone else has said, you need funds to get not just the bands, but also permits, promoters, sponsors, advertising, employees and other logistics. If you don't already have a ton of cash to put up front, you may have some tough luck - especially if you plan on getting a loan from the bank. You will also need a lot of time - not just to do all that work, but also because you'll need to book everything well in advance. I'm sure the organizers for Bonnaroo have already started their negotiations with next year's biggest acts, and that's still over nine months away.
Best of luck with all this, and if you do decide to go forward with it, make sure to fill us in on the details!
This is where u can book some good bands. If u do, please send me two vip backstage passes for hooking you up. There are some of my favorites on there. Doesn't look like they would cost too much either.
Post by autumnsredtears on Aug 31, 2009 19:10:22 GMT -5
Although this is jumping the gun most likely, i do happen to be very good friends with bassnectar's tour manager's cousin, so i could help you out if Bassnectar would be of interest to you. I'm going to throw in a brag here, because well... it's awesome. He's throwing free tickets to SHAMBALA my way. www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/
A Thieve's Parade 2/24 Conspirator 2/26 Kevin Smith 3/11 Keller 3/17 Papadosio 3/18 JJ Grey 3/25 Bela Fleck/Edgar Meyer 3/26 Toubab Krewe 3/27 O'Death 4/11 Budos Band 4/22 EOTO 4/28 Summer Camp 5/6-29 All Good
Post by lordrockinhood on Oct 27, 2009 12:28:17 GMT -5
"So there I am, in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, at about 3 o'clock in the morning, looking for one thousand brown M&Ms to fill a brandy glass, or Ozzy wouldn't go on stage that night. So, Jeff Beck pops his head 'round the door, and mentions there's a little sweets shop on the edge of town. So - we go. And - it's closed. So there's me, and Keith Moon, and David Crosby, breaking into that little sweets shop, eh. Well, instead of a guard dog, they've got this bloody great big Bengal tiger. I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shopowner and his son... that's a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business, really. But, sure enough, I got the M&Ms, and Ozzy went on stage and did a great show."
Post by homerjay1987 on Oct 29, 2009 20:55:40 GMT -5
I have a couple friends who threw a music fest down at shawnee national forest about this time last year. they had connections on security, the venue, but mostly the main thing is that they had a connection on someone who has put on concerts around the area for the past 10 years (the guys who throw MOE summercamp)...you alomost defenitly need someone who has previous interactions with a few bands.
Post by homerjay1987 on Oct 29, 2009 20:57:02 GMT -5
you also need to sign on bands that are planning their tour around your area (unles your just getting local artists, then just make sure they're not booked somewhere else allready
I have also had many dreams of starting a music festival. being a business student and entrepreneur it is something I want to do in my lifetime. I do have a question tho, how much money do fests pull in from advertisers and sponsors? In other words, what is the cost of me wanting to put on a completely corporate-less music fest?
To add to everything already said, If you don't have any experience running music fests before, don't attempt to run one (atleast anything larger than a small one). Instead, hire someone who does have the experience and connections to pull it off, it's almost always worth the extra money spent
I actually started a music festival. Personally, if I want to see the big bands, I go to Bonnaroo or other shows. It is very difficult to even book larger acts for a start up festival just due to the fact that when they sign on to say, Bonnaroo, they have to sign an agreement that they will not perform at another festival within such and such a distance for x amount of time.
Now, to get on with what I have to offer.
I am very active in our local arts and music scene, Lafayette, Indiana. A few years ago I was trying to encourage the local "taste of" festival to dedicate a stage to local bands. In the past they had only had a few, and the bands they brought in were generally very poor quality (unbeknown to them).
They shot me down, so I decided to start my own festival. The Layflats Arts and Music Festival. I called the local parks department about this 60 acre park that actually had an amphitheater on the property, which made a great main stage, 1500 seats. I pulled together some local artists to do graphic design work, actually the main artist now runs a media company www.maximummedia.com, and we began working on the concept.
I am fortunate enough to be successful with my main line of work, so myself and my business partner were ok with fronting the dough. Which by the way, was about $15k the first year.
I was already friends with most of the area bands. I decided that what I truly wanted out of the festival was just a fun day of that celebrated the arts of our area. I didn't want to make any money, which really opened up the possibilities of having a successful event.
All the proceeds from the ticket sales ($10.00) went to local childrens charities. I rallied local media, local businesses, local artisans, basically everyone I could put into action was working towards a common goal.
The first year we had 3 stages and about 30 bands. The following year we had 5 stages and 50 bands. This year we moved the festival to our cities center, which included shutting down some streets, taking over a different park, and holding late night shows at all the bars and venues downtown. Collectively we had 13 stages and over 60 bands.
The only bands that I have ever asked to play, outside of the first year, was Justin Townes Earle and Amy LaVere (who was touring with Jusin). They are basically the only bands, outside of some minimal travel expenses, that have ever been paid for their services. All the other bands have volunteered their time for the cause, and the awareness.
Without tooting my own horn, our festival has literally changed the area in which I live. We have bands requesting to play this festival from all over the US. Actually, the other day we got a request from as far away as Australia, for a band that plans to be in the States next year.
I cannot encourage you enough to rally your local arts community and local leaders to support a similar event in your area. If it is the love of music and friendship that drives you, you will be successful.
I can tell you that the popularity of the band rarely matters. I have drawn thousands of people into my little world, and gained many friends that I would have never even met if I didn't start all of this. On more than one occassion, when seeing friends, bands, and random families truly enjoying themselves with huge smiles on their faces, it has brought a tear to my eye.
The level of personal reward is immeasurable. Feel free to message me if you have any questions, and by all means, if you are in the area or would like to experience our event in person, bookmark www.layflatsfestival.com
I agree with an earlier post...start by booking and promoting some local area talent and work your way up. I am decent friends with a killer cover band who does their own promotion and booking and it is a lot harder than it looks (Pfreak Show is the band, go see them immediately if you have not done so yet!).
Some experience will help you but in the end, money-permits-equipment-and people to help will be the hardest first step.
The next step could be tricky...Travis in an above post gets local acts for his Layflats festival and the procedds go to charity so that helps with not having to shell out money for acts and time. However, to get a pretty good successful show, you need some connections inside with bands and management and you'll probably have to fork over some cash for acts (especially cash upfront).
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