National acts, local stages

Music fests deliver sounds of summer to your door

From Donna Freydkin
Special to CNN Interactive

(CNN) -- Forget about driving hundreds of miles to see your favorite performers live on stage. Instead, let the music come to you. Thanks to the scores of music festivals held across the nation, chances are that some of the world's best-known bands could be performing right down the street from you.

Modern music festivals are more than just concerts -- they are musical and social events. As part of their efforts to give something back to the community, many of the festivals donate part of the proceeds to local causes, and give non-profit organizations exhibition space.

But for music fans, today's summer music festivals are attractive because they provide a sampling of some of the best musical entertainment around, at prices most of us feel compelled to sing about. Couple that with food vendors, hand-made crafts and children's' entertainment and on-site campgrounds, and little wonder that most of the biggest shows sell out weeks, if not months, in advance.

Pollstar, which tracks the concert industry, reports that people spent an estimated 1.3 billion on major concert tickets last year. However, because of the fluid nature of city festivals, the exact number of them is hard to pin down.

"City music festivals are great musical deals and excellent boosts for the local communities that host them. They're a magnet for bringing people into the area," says Pollstar Editor-In-Chief Gary Bongiovanni. "Their capacity is so huge, and that may be one of the reasons for the lower ticket prices you see."

Blues on Beale Street

Take Memphis' Beale Street Music Festival. It was in Memphis in 1901 that musician W.C. Handy wrote the first blues song. Some 40 years later, an aspiring young musician by the name of Elvis Presley spent his teenage years at the blues bars dotting Beale Street, soaking in the unmistakable tunes of the city.

Today, the festival that celebrates the legacy of its home city has metamorphosed into one of the country's premier blues fests. First held in 1977, the Beale Street Music Festival packs more talent into three days than many of us could otherwise see in a lifetime.

Held in early May at Tom Lee Park at the foot of Beale Street, the festival has hosted the likes of Ray Charles, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Dylan and Gladys Knight. This year, for a $32 dollar three-day pass, purchased in advance of the show, viewers can take in over 50 acts representing a myriad of musical styles. This year's lineup includes such well-known acts as the Doobie Brothers, Ben Folds Five, Paula Cole, Buddy Guy and the Neville Brothers.

"We do carry a broad spectrum of bands because we like to maintain an atmosphere at the fest that is expressive of the music Memphis has generated, such as blues, rockabilly and gospel," said marketing coordinator John Doyle. "Two things differentiate us from other festivals -- the rich music selection and the spectacular Memphis venue."

Doyle says that attendance has been steadily growing throughout the years, as has artist interest. Artists, he says, regularly request to play at the festival.

Part of the festival's proceeds go toward an international education program that helps expose American children to other countries, and vice versa. Each year, the festival selects an 'honored country' -- Portugal, this year -- and sends about 10 American students there on an exchange program to study abroad, bringing 10 Portuguese students to the United States to study as well.

Birmingham hosts City Stages

In nearby Birmingham, 25 bucks with let you groove to The Phil Collins Big Band, Dixie Chicks, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Semisonic, The Gap Band or Rosanne Cash. At the 10th annual City Stages festival, 270 bands representing all conceivable musical styles transform Birmingham's Linn Park into an enormous live stadium. The festival is scheduled for mid-June this year.

"We bring top talent to Birmingham, of course, but we also help showcase local talent, which is ever growing," explains City Stages Marketing Director Guy McCullough. "But for three days in June, our goal is simply to provide the best music festival in America."

The festival was born in 1989, when a small group of people came together to produce a musical festival celebrating Alabama's Reunion. That first year, 38,000 people attended the event. Last year, more than 265,000 music fans descended on the state's capital, and this year's turnout promises to be just as impressive.

Granddaddy of all jazz fests

The granddaddy of jazz and blues takes over New Orleans in the spring of every year. Perhaps the best-known jazz festival in both the nation and the world, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival dates back to 1970, when it was a four-stage event designed to celebrate the cultural heritage of its home city. After seven financially turbulent years, the festival broke even in 1977 and scored a profit in 1979.

Today, it has evolved into a 10-day musical and culinary behemoth, featuring more than 4,000 musicians who perform for crowds of over 450,000 people. The heritage part of the fest consists of over 100 varieties of fiery Louisiana cuisine. The jazz part of the fest, of course, is self-explanatory. This year's lineup includes John Fogerty, Zydeco Playboys and the Ellis Marsalis Trio. Tickets run between $12 and $16 for the heritage fair, and $20 to $35 for the evening concerts.

A nonprofit foundation, which puts on the festival each year, has developed numerous community projects from surplus proceeds. For example, the Heritage School of Music was created to teach students jazz music.

Reggae rocks California

On the opposite coast, thousands of fans converge on tiny Piercy, California, each year to attend the annual and very unique Reggae on the River festival. The festival traces its roots to 1984, when local residents produced a concert to raise funds for rebuilding a destroyed community center. To this day, the festival continues to benefit the community: 2,000 volunteers produce the show each year, and only local nonprofit organizations are allowed to sell food at the event. They then use their earnings to fund a wide variety of community projects.

"The event builds a feeling of community. For three days, the festival grounds become a self-sufficient little village and for those few days, visitors become family members," says Reggae on the River publicist Mary Giardino. "To some degree, music is almost secondary to the event itself."

Celebrated as much for its music as for its sense of harmony, the festival attracts some heavy-duty reggae perfomers, including past appearances from The Wailers and Alton Ellis. This year, up to 15 bands are performing, such as Steel Pulse, The Congos and Shaggy. A three-day ticket to the event, which starts July 31, costs $87.

Midwesterners not left out

Even the land of cheese has something decidedly hip to offer rock fans every summer. The fifth annual Chippewa Valley Rock Fest in Wisconsin boasts performances from some of the biggest names in music. How about the Pretenders, the B-52s, Eddie Money and the Steve Miller Band for starters? Last year, some 140,000 fans attended the festival.

Charli Stewart, director of sales and marketing, says that each year, the more than 30,000 campers who set up tents transform the festival grounds into a virtual city.

"It's like we're throwing a party, and every year we do get nervous when we wonder whether anyone is going to show up. But then we see the thousands of campers, and it sends chills down our spines," says Stewart. "We do have the best fans. They return every year."

Stewart explains that the festival is able to attract such high caliber stars because it has a reputation "for treating the artists and the fans right." The festival grounds house a natural amphitheater, campsites and parking facilities.

D.C. hosts musical blowout

The nation's capital too hosts an all-day musical blowout that has become a fixed part of the local and national scene. Held in May of each year, the HFStival is one of the best musical values around. Sponsored by alternative radio station WHFS, the festival sold out in 92 minutes this year. For $25, those lucky 65,000 fans with tickets can check out 22 bands, including Green Day, Scott Weiland, Cherry Poppin Daddies and Marcy Playground.

"The HFStival is kind of in a class by itself because it sells out so quickly to a huge number of people," said WHFS Program Director Bob Waugh. "When you can mobilize that many people to buy that many tickets in such a short amount of time, that's pretty impressive."

Waugh says that each year, the station strives to put on a unique show that stands alone.

"Each year we've tried to change the HFStival. We've increased the number of bands and stages, and have improved our video presentation. This year we're expanding the outer stage -- it's a lot bigger than last year's," says Waugh. "But we've always had an element that was unique. Where else could you see Courtney Love and Tony Bennett on the same stage?"

Goin' country

Country music fans also have something to talk about during the summer season. Cleveland, for example, hosts the three-day seventh annual Pepsi Country Music Festival in late July.

"The unique thing about country music is that there are always up-and-coming national artists, and that's what keeps our festival fresh each year," said John Rogers, the festival's vice president of event marketing. "The festival is all about showcasing emerging artists."

An estimated 75,000 people attended last year. Called one of the Midwest's best country events, the festival boasts performers like Sawyer Brown, Aaron Tippin and Deana Carter. After each performance, the stars sit around a table and spend time signing fans' autographs. Those sessions, Rogers says, "give the artists a chance to touch their listeners and establish their own identity. Fans, in turn, get to meet them." Three-day passes to the festival cost $35.

Those willing to spend quite a bit more can take in Country Jam USA, either in Grand Junction, Colorado (June 25-28) or Eau Claire, Wisconsin (July 16-19) to hear some of country music's finest. LeAnn Rimes, Bryan White and Sawyer Brown, among others, perform at both events. Grand Juction attendees can listen to artists including Charlie Daniels, Tanya Tucker, and The Mavericks. The Eau Claire event features such stars as Faith Hill, Clint Black and BlackHawk. Tickets will run you anywhere from $45 to $225, depending on how many days of the event you attend and where you sit.

Watch Showbiz Today on CNN

---

 

---

Sound off on our message boards & chat

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.