Rothbury unveils Think Tank program

By Nick Frazier

Every big music festival pays lip service to sustainability and green practices, but the upcoming Rothbury Festival (July 3-6, Rothbury MI) is looking to differentiate itself by devoting a complete program of panel discussions, workshops and hands on activities to the environmental awareness.

The festival today announced details for the Think Tank program. Sessions run all afternoon Friday, Saturday and Sunday in three venues around the JJ Ranch site. A distinguished faculty of environmental leaders—Eban Goodstein, Hunter Lovins, Stephen Schneider and lots more—will host the panels.

Typical session topics include "The Path to Energy Independence and a New American Energy Revolution" and "How America's Youth Are Driving the Energy Revolution." Several of the sessions feature a "focus on the festival" in looking to apply global topics to the festival experience.

Some sessions will also feature musical guests such as Michael Franti, Citzen Cope and others. The nationally syndicated radio program eTown will provide coverage from the conference that will air on XM and 240 radio outlets following the festival.

Speaking of music, the festival also announced more additions to the music lineup, most notably Trey Anastasio (formerly of Phish). Also added: Kraak & Smaak, Underground Orchestra, DJ Harry, Pnuma LIve and Fiction Plane.

The complete lineup, which is headed by Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic and John Mayer, remains one of the best music menus of the summer, so you have to wonder how many Rothbury attendees are going to sacrifice seeing bands for attending the Think Tank. The detailed music schedule has not yet been posted by the festival, so it isn't possible to see what the conflicts will be.

Hopefully, for many attendees, the conference sessions will provide a change of pace and they will take the time to attend a couple of the panels. Rothbury deserves credit for devoting resources and attention to raising awareness, and it will be interesting to see what kind of impact the conference has on the festival audience and the rock music market generally.

Rothbury aims to make a splash with water park

By Nick Frazier

With the recent release of the venue map for Rothbury music festival, to be held in Rothbury, Michigan on July 3-6, the focus is on the festival venue. The Double JJ Ranch, a large family camping and golf resort, offers a substantial number of attractions that make Rothbury more than “just another music festival.”

One example: a water park! The Gold Rush Water park is a staple of the resort will be open during the festival. Alas, nothing in this world is free. For $20, you get admission to the water park, a ride from the festival grounds to the park, plus a towel and shower. The park features multiple water slides, a wave pool, lazy river and several child-oriented areas.

I suppose the water park will be an attraction to some festival attendees, but I can't imagine many will want to sacrifice an afternoon of music for the experience. The greatest benefit of the park to festival-goers may be the showers, but $20 is pretty steep for that, especially since showers are also available in the campground for festival attendees.

With all the ways to spend money at Rothbury, cavorting on the water slides is just the latest enticement from festival promoters to draw a big crowd for the first-time festival. Expect to hear about more ways to enhance your festival experience (and spend your money) as the event approaches.

FN sets details for Whistler and Jackson Hole fests

Festival Network fleshed out its strategy for producing quality new events in resort locations by announcing details this week for two new properties, Whistler Music Festival and Jackson Hole Music Festival. Both festivals will present mainly rock lineups, but the emphasis is on performers like Elvis Costello and Wilco that will attract an older and better-heeled audience than some of the mainstream rock festivals.

Both events take place at major mountain resort destinations and will offer an attendee experience that reflects the upscale positioning. No camping facilities will be provided, since the tourism associations partnering with Festival Network on the events are mostly interested in filling condo rooms during the summer season. Both locations offer plenty of good off-site camping options.

The preliminary lineup for the Whister Festival shapes up as a diverse set of artists that could appeal to more discerning festival-goers. The list starts with Elvis Costello, who will apparently take a night off from a U.S. tour with The Police, for the Whistler engagement. Others named so far are The Roots, Broken Social Scene, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Medeski Martin & Wood, Bedouin Soundclash and Serena Ryder.

The event will be held July 19-20 at The Tube Park at Base II on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, the ski resort 75 miles north of Vancouver BC that will host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It is flying into direct competition from Live Nation Canada's Pemberton Festival, which runs a week later in the same market. Pemberton will present Coldplay, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Nine-Inch Nails, Jaz-Z, The Tragically Hip and lots more on two stages.

The shootout for the British Columbia market in July is a microcosm of the competitive North American festival market as a whole in 2008, in which a half dozen or more big new festivals are launching first-time events during a period of economic slowdown.

Festival Network's Jackson Hole event has a slightly alt-country tilt, with Wilco and Son Volt among the headliners and The Avett Brothers on the bill. The Black Crowes also get headliner billing, and Medeski, Martin & Wood, Backdoor Slam and Kaki King round out the preliminary lineup. Additional artists will be announced for both festivals in the coming weeks.

The Jackson Hole event takes place in a natural outdoor amphitheater at the base of the Bridger Gondola in Teton Village, adjacent to Grand Teton National Park. According to Festival NetworkCEO Tom Shepard, Jackson Hole embodies the qualities the company wants to define its festivals—"presenting a diverse array of artists for the refined musical ear in a unique destination setting."

Two-day tickets are $120 for Whistler and $130 for Jackson Hole. Single day passes are also available and VIP packages including accommodations will be announced soon. Visit the Festival Network site for full details.

Monterey Music Summit pushed back to October

                                   Photo Credit: Tampabay.com
After being given a conditional permit to hold the second edition of his festival, Monterey Music Summit, at Laguna Seca Recreation Area, presenter Joe Fletcher has decided that the conditions are just a bit too costly (or unnecessary). According to a release from the festival's PR firm, Fletcher plans to relocate the festival to an unknown Monterey, CA-area location in October of this year.

The reason for the costly permit is everybody's favorite Southern Californian rapper-entrepreneur, Snoop Dogg. Appeals from local residents, who cited Snoop's violent lyrics and suggested that his connections with various gangs would be strong enough to attract a critical mass of opposing factions to the festival, led one member of Monterey County's Board of Supervisors to vote against the permit and the four other members to attach a security proviso before allowing it.

The proviso, according to the Salinas Californian, mandates the following measures to be taken in order for the festival to go on as planned, with Snoop at Laguna Seca: presence of undercover Monterey County Sheriff's deputies at the festival, a ban on all firearms except for those used by on-duty law enforcement, extra searches for Snoop Dogg, his entourage and vehicles; last, but not least, metal detectors for everyone going into the venue. The press release mentions "heightened security demands... noise restrictions (and) production costs" as major factors for the rescheduling, along with "minimal demand for camping."

In response, Fletcher has decided not to do any more festivals on land controlled by Monterey County. Understandably so (my apologies if you thought that this was going to be a standard un-biased news item).  The events that have Fletcher and the festival is pure lunacy, and I feel like I almost shouldn't explain why it is, for it might be insulting to your intelligence.

Snoop was an active member of the large L.A. street gang the Crips in high school (the late 80's) and has faced numerous recent charges for gun and drug possessions. However, he's also a 20 million album-selling father of three and has done a track with the Game, who has an affiliation with the Bloods, who have a major historical rivalry with the Crips. 

In addition, Snoop is the only performer at the festival with any ties to a major street gang like the Crips whatsoever, so its doubtful that many members of any gang would show up in the first place. Laguna Seca is pretty well removed from the San Francisco and L.A. metro areas, so it doesn't seem like a good place for some major showdown to occur, no matter who would perform there.   

Let's just hope that the griot of the L.B.C. maintains his wits and opts to play in October. 

No word on how the lineup will be impacted by the announcement.

Ticketholders will be contacted by inticketing.com for refunds. 

-- Ross Moody

Bonnaroo schedule announced

                                                            Photo Credit: Showclix
Friends, start your meticulous planning again. The official schedule for Bonnaroo 2008 (June 12-15 in Manchester TN) has been announced. Spread out over 7 stages, the schedule chart at Bonnaroo's website makes the blockbuster festival look a bit more modest than did the single huge mass of artist names that was published earlier.

Part of the modesty has to do with the fact that no one is even playing on the What (main) or Which (1st support) stage until Friday, the 13th. Spooky.

With the Vampire Weekend as the veritable headliner (latest show on the "mainest" operating stage) on Thursday, Metallica will come right after Chris Rock (yes, he's not playing in the comedy venue) on Friday at the What (main) Stage. For my money, that's about the most exhausting live entertainment 1-2 punch anyone could put themselves through. First Rock's pummeling verbal assault, and then Metallica's equally mind-lacerating sonic onslaught. Let's hope there aren't to many seizures-- from psychotropic substances or non-drug-induced sensory overload-- on Friday.

Pearl Jam and Phil Lesh and Friend's will no doubt bring maximum jams on as they round out Saturday on the What Stage, though at 1:00 a.m. people might want to just chill out a bit and focus on Sigur Rós's cosmic art-rock, in the That Tent (the 3rd support venue). There will be plenty of jamming to catch on Sunday, with Derek Trucks ending the That Tent's run, and Widespread Panic headlining. 

As far as comedy goes, performances will come mainly in the form of three-set blocks. My personal favorite (on paper) is the trio of Jim Norton, Michelle Buteau and Brian Posehn, who can be seen late Saturday and Sunday afternoon. 

So head on over to the festival's website, and get that excruciating process of who you will and will not see over with. At least the site offers a customizable schedule option, which means you won't have to look at any program handed out on the first day of the fest and be reminded of the sets you'll have to forego to see your very favorite performances...

Vibes to gather on Connecticut shore

Deadheads and jam music fans from around the east coast will converge on Bridgeport CT July 31 to August 3 for the 13th edition of The Gathering of the Vibes, which returns to Seaside Park for the second consecutive year and fourth time overall. The Bridgeport park includes 370 acres of lawns, glades, fields, a skate park and two miles of Long Island Sound beach front.

The festival's lineage as a gathering of Grateful Dead fans is reflected in the headliner role for Phil Lesh & Friends plus lineup slots for Bill Kreutzmann Trio, Dark Star Orchestra, Donna Jean & The Tricksters, New Riders of the Purple Sage, David Gans and emcee Wavy Gravy—all performers with close association to the original jam band.

Other performers include The Black Crowes, The Neville Brothers, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival, Sam Bush, Taj Mahal and lots more.

The festival hosts a "Green Vibes" program featuring a variety of non-profit organizations and charities. Visit the festival website for complete details and ticket information.

2008 Treasure Island Fest lineup announced

                                   Photo Credit: Static Multimedia

The lineup for the 2nd edition of the Treasure Island Music Festival, slated for September 20-21 in San Francisco, has just been unveiled by organizers APE and Noise Pop. While still following a general format of having a more "exotic" (electronica, worldbeat, hip-hop) collection of artists concentrated on the first day and a more pop/rock scene on the second, the festival has arguably grown in terms of the big-name artists its attracted, with Justice and The Raconteurs headlining.

Other banner names include Tegan & Sara, Vampire Weekend and TV On The Radio. And, of course, this lineup certainly isn't final. To get more info, go to the festival's website.