Seaside JAZZ Festival

[TreeFrog]

QM-

I don't believe that any of the many posts about this festival expressed even a shred of concern about what the musicians would be paid. They richly deserve every penny they earn, and most of them don't earn nearly enough.

We did, however, have other concerns about the festival.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Hey, y'all,

Aren't you used to paying for great music? Whatsamatta wit y'all? Musicians have to eat, buy gas, etc. don't you get it?

Huh?

QM

No, other than paying $75 for 8th row seats to see Willie Nelson (for my birthday present to myself), I haven't paid money to listen to good music since I bought the last Dread Clampitt CD, and I bought several of those. The bands are paid by collecting money in other ways around these parts. Cannot recall the last time I paid a cover charge to listen to music, though I see many live shows every week. Saw a great one tonight, at Amavida Coffee, in Seaside -- Cody Copeland. Now calling me cheap would make more sense if I went to see the shows and didn't support the businesses. I make it a point to spend a some money with the businesses who pay the bands. If Seaside's recent shows (not a festival by any stretch of the imagination) were open to the public, and vendors were set up, I would have supported the vendors, who were in turn paying money towards the event. Also, I spend money in Seaside throughout the year, so I've been paying for that Jazz Fest all year through the Seaside Sales Tax, which is raised for special events throughout the year.

 

[dgsevier]

We didn't go into Seaside on Sat. or Sun. because we thought it would be a zoo. IMHO the whole thing backfired. Parking was a breeze on Monday as many seemed to stay away for fear of huge crowds. Others stayed away for fear of a bad festival. In the end it was just a bunch of folks wondering where everyone else was. On Tuesday several Seaside merchants I talked to bemoaned that sales were down by 1/2 over last Memorial Day weekend. You win some, you lose some.

 

[dgsevier]

How does the extra % of tax at Seaside for A&E factor in to all of this? Would this be enough to pay the NOLA 'zishians if the production costs were underwritten by a title sponsor, like maybe Heineken?

 

[Kurt]

merged

 

[Smiling JOe]

PS Major bummer to the peeps that are boasting of not paying (Supporting) to see the musical acts.

Not everyone can afford that much money to see a show once a quarter, much less seven times in 10 days. For the record, there are ways to make the costs of the show hidden and collected through other means. With Seaside sales being down by substantial amounts while the tents were up for ten days, the shops could have had record sales, thereby contributing much money via the Seaside Entertainment tax which is collected on all sales in Seaside, except for Ruskin Place. You cannot do that if you block people from coming in.

If you are going to call it a festival, make it a festival. To help lure people into every shop, there could be Jazz, New Orleans, and Katrina exhibits in every store in Seaside. Donation buckets could be on the counter in every store. I never even heard a, "Happy Memorial Day," on Monday, much less a plug for a Seaside store. Where is the connectivity? The REP Prom had a more successful campaign, and it was all volunteers working to raise the money, without the benefit of the year-round Seaside Tax.

 

[scooterbug44]

You're cheap if you are scamming a "free" paid concert and justifying it with a smoothie purchase or a 1% tax! If you really wanted to support the event, but couldn't afford the ticket price, you could have gone to one of the free shows and bought a t-shirt, beverages from the sponsor, or made a small donation to help support the event.

Yes, it can be $ to eat, drink, and be entertained in this area, but with the amount of free events, volunteer jobs w/ free entry, vendors who need help staffing, and locals' discounts there is no reason to be blatantly ripping off paid events. :roll:

 

[TreeFrog]

Not everyone can afford that much money to see a show once a quarter, much less seven times in 10 days.

I think it's really important to remember that Seaside (in particular) and 30A (in general) have really small permanent populations. I'd bet 80% of the people in town on Memorial Day weekend are visitors.

And, most importantly, almost all the visitors are families. There simply aren't a lot of folks willing to spend $50 to $75 per kid to catch some tunes, no matter how great the artists or compelling the cause of the benefit.

Of the rest of us, some aren't interested in the particular artist, some don't want to deal with the festival, some can't afford it, some are out of town, etc. And the remaining 37 people bought tickets.

The reason I keep saying the festival should be free and open is that it probably isn't going to work any other way, as just explained. Make it easy for a lot of folks to come, let the merchants have a good weekend without the disruptive tents and lost parking, and find another way to pay for it, as SJ has covered so well in his posts.

And, just maybe, it shouldn't be on Memorial Day or the 4th or the wine event, so as not to disrupt the Seaside merchants' biggest weekends. Give it its own weekend, let it become its own event.

Awright, I'm done. :leaving:

 

[scooterbug44]

I do think it would have been more successful if they were charging $20-30 a day or similar (I know the price kept me away), but I think a totally free event is unrealistic.

If it was a kids/family issue, what do they typically do with them during events like the Wine Fests, Seabreeze Jazz Fest, or Mountainfilm?

 

[Kurt]

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.