Doug Thompson reviewed Floyd Fest Six in the latest edition of the Floyd Press. I must say that it was less than glowing and, further, it was right next to an article about the Blue Ridge Parkway Police's heavy handed treatment of fest goers. Taken together the I started to wonder if the Press was reporting on the same festival I performed at!I should state first that I am a Doug Thompson fan. I appreciate his efforts to highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly that make up the Floyd scene. I have infrequently been the subject of Doug's writing and photography and am always tickled when he wastes a little ink on me and my endeavors. He helps raise awareness about Floyd's music and arts scene here and in the wider world and we all appreciate it.
I quite enjoy when Doug writes with a particularly pointed pen, even when it's dipped in a bit of poison. His efforts to hold the town and county's government's feet to the fire are highlights of my Floyd Press reading.
Floyd Fest just completed its sixth and most successful year. It is, perhaps, natural that Doug's article and the comments of folks in general take on a more critical tone. For 5 years Floyd Fest was the little engine that could. There were many times when it barely could and sometimes when they wondered if they could. But through hard work, perseverance and a loyal, generous and supportive volunteer and audience base they've done it for six years. Most of us cheered them on and after year 5 we all saw that they could and would "make it."
The problem is, however, that when you "make it" (or even when you haven't made it but others perceive that you have), folks, especially your friends and neighbors, start to look for negatives. Maybe it's human nature, when those we know succeed we often wonder what's wrong with us and why we haven't made it. It's natural that the larger and more successful an event is, the more there is to criticize. There is also more to celebrate.
Although I feel that Doug believes he was trying to give a balanced view in his recent Floyd Press article, I felt it was more critical than it had to be. Maybe it's the company he keeps or the fact that he broke his foot covering the event. Let's face it FF is not for everyone and not everyone that goes will go again. But it is an asset to our community. It's an event that increases the visibility of the entire area's music and arts scene, locally and worldwide. It may not create a boom weekend for area business, though the B&Bs probably did well. But it puts Floyd on people's radar and they come to town before and after the event and throughout the year. I know this because I own a business in town and ask my customers how they found us.
In re a comment one attendee made in Doug's article about "second tier" acts, I personally would be thrilled if he/she was including me in that category! However, since he/she was clearly looking for headliners I doubt he/she ever saw me. Though others may have felt "cheated" by the lack of names they recognized, many more were quite pleased to "discover" acts like the WIYOs, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the Red Stick Ramblers, and many more high quality acts that may very well headline future festivals because of the buzz generated at Floyd Fest.
On his blog, Doug demands "What Now Floyd Fest?" Having barely finished counting the receipts and picking up the site, Doug demands to know how FF is going to "evolve?" I find this confusing. The fest site and stages have changed significantly year to year. This year alone there was significant improvements to the Hill Holler stage, artistic sculptures and to landscaping. The staff and volunteers were never better organized than this year. Indeed, the fact that the lineup was weighted to acoustic acts was a major change that I personally enjoyed.
We often mistake what "evolve" means. We think it implies that something "gets better." Problem is we all have different ideas of what "better" is. Some folks Doug interviewed want more headliners. I hope Kris and Erika don't bend to that criticism. The headliners mentioned are people you can see at other festivals. Until this year you could see many of them at Floyd Fest. Some local businesses want to get more direct traffic from the fest, but the town is away from the event. They're not considering the residual traffic they do get from FF. People will always complain about prices of tickets and food. The free market system will sort that ou
t.
To "evolve" really means to adapt and succeed in your environment. FF has done that this year more successfully than any other. The little festival that could has set reasonable attendance goals and come close to them and made an asset of its size by highlighting bands on the verge of success (or worthy of more attention). Through the Workshop Porch stage, Virginia acts that perform traditional music of the region get heard and build their fan base. FF broadens attendee's horizons, I don't believe they are trying to serve up the same fare as Bonaroo.
I'm sure none of this has come without a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears by the staff and volunteers. I'm sure mistakes were made, how could any endeavor that big and creative not have hit a pot hole or two? But Kris and Erika are dedicated to putting on a world class event and being a part of our community. They give back plenty as far as I'm concerned. FF success helps raise the entire town's prospects.
I know Kris and Erika well enough to know they can take criticism and listen to reasoned argument. But before we start bitching about the Parkway stormtroopers (a situation I know Erika tried her best to derail before the fest), and all the things we wanted that weren't there, we should acknowledge their efforts and success. FF has evolved and I'm confident it will continue to do so as long as there is an audience for what they do.
BTW, as I mentioned Doug broke his foot while shooting video and pictures at FF. Doug, I hope you mend quickly and continue to fuel the fires of community discussion!
Folks give me a hard time about my infrequent (some would say almost non-existent), blogging. I agree that I am a pretty shabby blogger and am humbled by the output of my brother and sister bloggers in Floyd like Fred First, Doug Thompson, David St. Lawrence and Colleen Redman. They blog daily, sometimes hourly. My wife, who cares for a disabled man in our home 24 hours/day, even out-blogs me! It's amazing! Why can't I keep up? Well that's simple. Despite my baby-boomer generation status and its reputation for diligence and hard work, I'm a slacker!
