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Live Music Seaside JAZZ Festival

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kurt said:
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.
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$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... :wub:

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.
 
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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. :D
Thank you.
 
#1Volunteer said:
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...
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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.:wave:
 
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