Seaside JAZZ Festival

She compared a 30-A jazz fest w/ another 30-A jazz fest. Apples n apples IMO!

Thought she did a pretty good job of summing up everything we discussed in this thread in the editorial. ;-)

I believe that Ms. Wheeler accurately articulated points that many of the posters on this board have stated. I do agree that comparing the Seaside event to an established one like the Seabreeze festival is a challenge; however, the comment above that I truly have a hard time digesting is the one from #1Volunteer in that "Prior to the event (and in hindsight), I don't think anyone with the event thought they we're going to pull off the best event ever."

Some of the points made by #1 do not make sense. #1 states that the Seaside event did not have a large budget like the Seabreeze fest. I would argue that to book high caliber artists such as The Neville Brothers & Nestor Torres, a substantial budget is needed. Also, to tie into the above statement, one would need established Jazz contacts to book said artists, especially if there was not a large budget. Finally, I do not understand the "full ownership" point. I would think that since the merchants were the ones producing the event, they have complete control over it (just as they do for the other events they produce annually)...am I wrong?

I know many individuals in the event marketing industry and they will all tell you that if they cannot pull off an event that they would consider absolutely fantastic, they wouldn't even waste their time trying. I do not think that going into this inaugural year the individuals organizing the Seaside event were just trying throw something together.

Plus, I do not think the comments about the other items Ms. Wheeler reports on have anything to do with her ability to properly write articles on community events that impact this market. I have a good friend who writes for a major periodical and he covers a political beat, but also write wedding announcements (should he then not be taken seriously as a journalist?).

good points, slcrunner. I would like to add that Seaside also has a radio station which, in addition to having a local audience, can be heard anywhere in the world via internet. Talk about promotion -- In addition to the radio station, Seaside has its own newspaper and many stores and many rental units in which advertising could take place. Seabreeze has only a radio station.

I also question #1's statement about Seabreeze Jazz Fest being open. Last time I checked, tickets were around $100 each.

Sure, Seabreeze Jazz Fest has several years under their belt. I can guarantee you that didn't start out as a flop, while having what should have been a huge draw, The Neville Brothers.

Seaside has a captured audience, especially on a major holiday weekend. Gulf Place rarely fills the rooms.

I think the article was right on, comparing the two events. I guarantee you that tonight's showing of "Sleeping Beauty" will draw a larger crowd than the last four days, combined, of the Seaside Jazz Festival.

I wonder what the real story is behind this? Surely, the people who put it together didn't expect so few people to show up. If so, they would not have had all that parking and shuttle buses.

Then, the question becomes why did they not do some of the obvious things to make it more successful...many of which have been mentioned on this Board--all by people who (for the most part) are not event planners, but are just using common sense.

Vol #1, I think your nasty comment re: Debbie was totally uncalled for...

All of us want to see events in Sowal be a huge success--but, when one isn't, then it seems prudent to look for where improvements can be made; and to do that, one has to first take a long hard look at what happened.

What do y'all think is a reasonable amount for locals to pay to see a national act at an outdoor venue in SoWal? Say a single act with an opening band.

$50 sounds about right to me for a good band and a special night out under the stars. but I've paid $100 on several occasions when it benefited our school, and when I got to see Funky Meters...

um, Vol1 - I agree with you - Ms Wheeler should not have compared seaside jazz to an established jazz festival (it took time to build this festival over the years - no doubt they made their share of mistakes - I do remember the first few years having low attendance). but no need to criticize Ms Wheeler beyond that.

I think it's safe to say that many of the critical points made here (and echoed in the Sun) were made not to tear down the festival. Personally, my comments were made out of disappointment that the festival wasn't going to be the huge success it could have been, if the promoters had paid more attention to the realities of their audience, scheduling, and venue.

While the Seaside Jazz Fest announced this was their "first ever event", it was actually the 4th of it's kind. The Seabreeze Jazz Festival's first two years were in fact...at Seaside (in the Lyceum). (Year #1 we did partner with the DSA ...Downtown Seaside Association) And yes...out of the 10 years...they were the least attended due to size constraints. Year #1 we had 800 attendees...followed by Year #2 with 1200. At this point, our event had outgrown what Seaside had to offer. And many seem to forget the Florida Jazz Festival that the Seaside Merchants were also part of in 2002. That event did feature Al Jareau ...yet did not come close to covering expenses. So no...this jazz festival is not "virgin territory" for Seaside or the DSA. Of course, weather is a huge factor for success of any outdoor music festival. In 2001, the Seabreeze Jazz Fest was met with rain, wind, and 45 degree temperatures. We all refer to that year as the "Shiverfest" as guitarist Larry Carlton had to blow dry his fingers to play between sets. Even with the bad weather, we had close to 800-1000 people in the rain, in their chairs...set to stay and enjoy the music. It was this year we decided to move the event into April (from March) where the weather is usually more predictable. The weather was not a factor for the Seaside Jazz Festival, which put the odds much in their favor. Regarding our event (Seabreeze Jazz Festival), many do not know WSBZ only has a staff of 6-8 individuals that organize and run the event. We are a locally owned, family-run radio station and all 6 of our kids are involved with also working the event (handing out programs, armbanding, merchandising, and such). We do hire security, food service, and others to make the event happen...but no....we are not some mega-corporation with pockets of dough just to throw at this. We do own the event...and do not have to answer to a Board of Directors or angry merchants -- which is a huge plus. In a case like this or any large resort with layers of management, you can never win the game in making all the players happy. In our event...the key is the festival must make money to pay expenses and raise money for music scholarships and Music in the Schools (our local charity effort). There is a learning curve in anything new. The key is know what you can charge and what you should spend. Two weekends is alot for any new festival to attempt.

I guess it is a good thing that they didn't attempt the five-week "festival" which they had once talked about.

...I guarantee you that tonight's showing of "Sleeping Beauty" will draw a larger crowd than the last four days, combined, of the Seaside Jazz Festival.

approx 600 last night. great turnout. don't miss Stinky Cheese Man tonight in Cerluean Park in Watercolor. 7:30

My sincere aplogizes to Mr. Wheeler regarding my comments on her "who's doing what" stories. My personal feelings were faster than my fingers and clouded the intent of my comments. I will stand by my 2 cents worth regarding the comparison of the events.

Joe, by "Open Venue" I was refering to a location with not soooo many rules and restrictions.

As a local beach-boy and a lover of any live music, I hope they (Seaside, DSA, Merchants, etc...) will be open to what went wrong (and I think they will) with the event and how to do things differently. I hope they do keep it and tweek somethings; Prices, 1 wk-end event, merchant participation, more food vendors, artist, not so many tents, etc...

As Ms. Wheeler correctly stated "Live and Learn".

I do love the Sowal fourm and the opportunity to live in a country where we all can share our 2 cents.
Thank you.

As a local beach-boy and a lover of any live music, I hope they (Seaside, DSA, Merchants, etc...) will be open to what went wrong (and I think they will) with the event and how to do things differently. I hope they do keep it and tweek somethings; Prices, 1 wk-end event, merchant participation, more food vendors, artist, not so many tents, etc...

I think many of us are in agreement with your above statement. We want it to be successful.

Who woulda known....?

We were down last week and Memorial weekend and never knew a darn thing about the festival or the ruckus following it, but as for us, I'd pay up to $100 for a weekend of real jazz musicians, although the list I saw with the Neville headliner didn't strike a jazz chord with me. For my $100 (but not $150) give me some name jazz guys with an all star Sunday band comprised of all the guys from Fri and Sat nights, plus the headliner and you got me forking over some dough. I didn't like the tent corral idea, too non-inclusive, and there was little enough cross promotion throughout the burg to really motivate us. Anyway, sorry it fizzled and hope that all learned a lesson from it - better luck next year.

- better luck next year.

"Please make plans to join us
May 15-17 and
May 22-25, 2009
for the 2nd Annual Seaside Jazz Festival"

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