FESTIVALS
Rock fests are bigger than ever
By Chris Riemenschneider
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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Once, it looked as if the demand for giant outdoor rock festivals had gone up in flames (literally) with Woodstock '99, the fest that notoriously became known as three days of overflowing porta-potties, overpriced pizza and oversold campgrounds.
Behemoth rock festivals, however, quickly bounced back. Nationwide, there are more of them now than ever before, from big-kahuna events such as Coachella and Bonnaroo, to terrific copycats like Austin City Limits and Chicago's revamp of Lollapalooza.
Several ambitious new rockathons are entering the landscape this summer, including All Points West in New Jersey and Outside Lands in San Francisco.
"The festivals themselves have gotten better and better, and fans have responded favorably," said Charles Attal, co-founder of C3 Presents, which books Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. Ticket sales for both were up this year, even before the lineups were announced, he said.
For a lot of 20- and 30-something fans, these outdoor events have become anchors to plan vacations around (and blow their savings on).
"It's about the whole experience as much as it is the music," said Kevin Jewitt, 31, a data analyst from Minneapolis who figures he spent about $1,000 to travel to Indio, Calif., for last year's Coachella festival.
Tickets to Coachella start at $90 for a one-day pass and reach up to $269 for three days, comparable to most fests. Despite the cost, Jewitt not only plans to hit Coachella again this year, but also Lollapalooza.
"I think a lot of people go to (a festival) just to say they've done it," he said, "and they wind up having so much fun they do it again and again while they still can, before they have families or too many other demands."
The trend at most major festivals now is to offer more high-end options. For hefty prices, organizers are offering fans ways around the two big deterrents at these fests: enormous crowds and unpredictable weather (either sweltering heat or sheets of rain).
Bonnaroo, for instance, sells VIP packages for two people for $1,170, which includes upgraded showers, food buffets and bleacher seats for the music. Coachella now offers $700 to $4,000 "premium camping" packages complete with air beds and air-conditioned tents.
"The range of our clientele is expanding, and we want our events to be just as great an experience for the people who want a little more," said Attal.
Even before the buzz of a U.S. economic recession, there was talk that the festival market might soon reach overload. Attal's company put off its inaugural Vineland festival in New Jersey until next year because Coachella organizer Golden Voice planned All Points West around the same time and place this year.
"We won't know until the end of this year if the market is starting to oversaturate," Attal said, "but we're still planning to go full steam ahead."
