Friends Of The Festival, it’s that time again. Your annual report card is enclosed and you should read over it and make a few notes. The report card is not important from the standpoint of being a tool to improve this year’s Riverbend – it’s over. It’s importance lies in your ability to take the suggestions contained herein and make future festivals better. These are not just the idle thoughts of my tiny mind, but a collection of ideas gleaned from the hundreds of people I spoke with during the festival, as well as hundreds of suggestions sent in by email from readers.
The Music – A+
Well, FOF, you finally did it. You got an A+. Congratulations. Prior report cards have been A’s and A-‘s, but this year you hit paydirt. Not only were the Coke Stage acts stellar, but the side stage acts were great, too. The George Clinton & P-Funk night wasn’t bad enough to bring the grade down of the other 90+ acts. Besides, the wonderful Sunday night performance of the CSO, Joan Osborne, The Waybacks, and John Cowan could offset even the worst performance. I truly heard nothing but positives out of that one – not a single negative, if you don’t count the comments made by people that were sad they missed it.
I don’t know if anyone noticed it or not, but horns made a triumphant return to Riverbend this year. I heard several acts that included the sax or trumpet. I counted over 20 acts that have seen the light and included horns in their repertoire.
The Clock – B minus
I have suggested this before, which probably says more about my street cred then it does about FOF’s desire to follow my ideas, but I won’t quit trying until victory is achieved. Start the music at 6 p.m. The 5:00 and 5:30 shows are very sparsely attended. Many people don’t even get off work until 5 p.m.
Even bigger than that idea is the music going away on the “green” at 7:45 p.m. Fifty gazillion people gather on the green and stare at an empty coke stage until 9:30 p.m. The Tennessee Lottery Stage offers music from 5:30, when only six people are there, until 7:45 p.m. From 7:45 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. when the announcements begin on the coke stage, there is a deafening silence. Come on Riverbend – put an act on the Lottery stage until 9 p.m.
The 11 p.m. shows are really cool! I completely disagree with having a DJ at a live music festival, but having music was a good start. That 1 Guy rocked the festival at 11 p.m.
The Cops – A
The police did an excellent job. I heard of very few incidents this year. They were there everywhere, but very unobtrusive, and friendly. A few people whined about being towed from places they shouldn’t have parked, but that happens every year, and it was highly publicized that enforcement would be up. I saw very few cars in the “tow lot” up by Unum, but did hear of some cars being towed from parking on the freeway cloverleafs and the medians.
The Trash – D (And an A)
I have suggested for the past two editions of the report card that Riverbend furnish more trash receptacles. They fill up about 4 minutes after each night begins, so the rest just ends up on the road and grass. I realize that it isn’t a great idea to put another 5,000 cans out there, as I suggested last year, but something needs to be done. How about a few of those small, 4-yard dumpsters placed strategically throughout the festival site?
So how come the grade of D and an A? The “A” is for the great job of picking up the trash each day following the festival so that it is clean every night when fans arrive.
The Sweep – C
The sweep signals the close of the Strut each year. It’s effective, but intimidating and resembles a person coming at you with a chainsaw to get a mosquito of your arm. I have suggested this before, but it went unheeded – place a marching band in front of the phalanx of police. That would be a bit more friendly, yet still be effective in signaling the end of the Strut.
The Communications – A+
The Riverbend website should win some awards this year. It was really cool, with the line-up being searchable by date, artist, or stage. It had links to artist websites and general information. They also used social media to get the word out, with a great Facebook page and Twitter. They had contests for free tickets and passes. Great job!
The Bargain – A+
A three-day Bonnaroo ticket costs about 9 times as much as a 9 day Riverbend pin. $30 is ridiculously cheap and a great deal. The fireworks show is worth thirty bucks. Go for just 5 nights and the average is just $6 a night. Crazy good deal.
The only suggestion I would add is one I have put forward before. Sell a package deal incentive. It may improve token sales. For example: A pin and 50 tokens sell for $55 when purchased separately. Let’s see a deal for maybe $49 dollars when purchased in advance. Two people could get pins and a hundred tokens for $98. It's a smoking deal for the consumer and great for cash flow, too. Make it an online purchase by credit/debit card for those wanting to finance their Riverbend experience over a 20-year time frame.
The Overall Grade – A
The music drives the grade more than any other item. It may have been the best Riverbend ever for quality music. Sure, it was a disappointment to see some light crowds at the Symphony show, and a couple others, but Riverbend says pin sales were up, so maybe the hot weather hurt some, and the worst economy in several years may have kept people from spending money at the festival.
I loved this year’s Riverbend and put it at the top of all my festival experiences. I only wish I could have seen more performances, but have yet to figure out how to split myself into two or three persons.
Overall winner of best act Coke Stage - CSO, Joan Osborne, The Waybacks, and John Cowan performance of the Beatles Abbey Road album.
Overall winner of best non-Coke stage act – Jimmy Tawater Band. (Local); Janiva Magness (Touring non-local)
What did you think about this year’s Riverbend? What suggestions would you make? Who would you like to see at Riverbend 2011? (Note to folks that don’t go to Riverbend – save your energy and don’t respond. I always get letters from you and they don’t count for much when you start off by saying you haven’t been in 10 years.)
Email Bob Payne at davrik2000@yahoo.com