NEWS
THE HALFTIME REPORT Thu, Apr 22 2010
With Half A Year Past And Half A Year To Go To The Next Roots 'N Blues' 'N BBQ Festival, The Organizers Take Stock
By John Robinson
Inside Columbia, April 2010
She absolutely loved it,” Kevin Hopkins gushed. He remembers escorting guitar sensation Ana Popovic around downtown Columbia after her electrifying set onstage at last September’s Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ Festival. “Here I was, walking around with Ana, people taking pictures and getting autographs. It was awesome.”
How did Hopkins get such a plum assignment?
He booked her into the festival.
Hopkins is a talent agent for Intrepid Artists, based in Charlotte, N.C. But he has roots here. “It’s a thrill for me to come back to Columbia to this great event, and I owe it all to Richard King. He took a crazy jam band kid and put me on the right path.”
“Kevin’s genuinely interested in music,” says King, longtime owner of a pair of successful Columbia music venues. “A few years back, we brought Kevin on staff because he was so enthusiastic. He fit right in, booking bands at Mojo’s. He’s the kind of agent you want when you’re working with bands from around the country.”
Roots.
Roots matter to Steve Sweitzer. He’s won awards for ads he created while working in Los Angeles and New York. But a few years ago, he returned to Columbia to start a music booking agency with King, called Thumper Productions.
He also co-founded Woodruff Sweitzer advertising agency, which found itself helping plan a birthday party.
“In 2007, Boone County National Bank had its 150th birthday,” Sweitzer recalls, “and we were looking for a way to share the moment with the people of Columbia. We brainstormed ideas, and one theme kept resonating: ‘Other banks have branches. We have roots.’ ” Brainstorming percolated, as brainstorming does. And the bank’s gift to the city became a two-day celebration called Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ.
Mother Nature delivered two perfect late summer days and the 2007 event served up a feast for all five senses. The sweet smell of wood smoke wafted over crowds that pulsed, elbow to elbow, bathed in sights and sounds amplified by nearly two dozen Grammys standing onstage. Shouts of praise echoed for weeks after the throngs of people drained from downtown, and the tents and the stages folded and disappeared. Musicians raved and barbecue contestants approved. The festival was a hit. And during the post- concert depression, the only troubling pillow talk was of the “$64,000 Question” variety: “Will the bank throw the same party next year?”
According to Sweitzer, the actual price tag neared 10 times that much. To the rescue came a cadre of sponsors enjoined to bankroll the encore event and enjoy another chorus of bravos from crowds and concessionaires, contestants and musicians.
Most know only parts of the story, painting the big picture with a dangerously inadequate grasp of the details. So at the halfway point between last year’s festival and the next, Sweitzer spent an afternoon filling in the blanks, revealing the layers of ingredients that go into such a sumptuous stew, an event that’s so much fun, even the cops were smiling.
“We want to make this event sustainable,” Sweitzer says. Even with a great roster of sponsors, it became evident to planners last year that the festival would need to charge admission. “This event costs $750,000 per year,”
he says. “Even though we work very closely with the city of Columbia, we pay for everything: police, fencing, trash removal, even water.” And, of course, the musicians.
“Our goal, hopefully, is to break even,” he says. “So we charged admission to two stage venues. Ten bucks for a day pass, $15 for the whole event. It was important to us that the Flat Branch stage remain free.”
Do the math: With a minimum of movement between the two gated venues, ticketholders could get their cost-per-show down to 83 cents a band. When was the last time anyone paid 83 cents a pop to see a succession of 18 musical heavyweights?
That turns out to be easier than it sounds, as Sweitzer explains: “After each show in our first year, we asked the artists, ‘Is one hour onstage good for you?’ The overwhelming response was, ‘One hour into the set, we’re just gettin’ started. So now, artists play an hour and a half.” That makes it easier to get a quality look at three bands playing simultaneously.
Ticket prices produce another benefit: Less trash, more recycling. “It’s something we learned from planners who’ve been doing events for a long time,” Sweitzer says. “If people buy a ticket, they value the experience” and take better care of their surroundings.
Sweitzer says the festival team learns from each experience, “but not just our own experience. We formed a mentoring relationship with Memphis. They host some world -class events, like Memphis in May. If we see a bump in the road, we consult our Memphis mentors.”
One of those bumps was barbecue. “People wanted to taste the contestants’ barbecue,” Sweitzer says. “And when they couldn’t, they blamed us. Truth is, beyond the issue of health codes, the contestants themselves are neither equipped nor inclined to feed people or sell a product. They come to compete, and that’s their entire focus. The good news is there are rows of vendors with great food, including barbecue.”
Oh, and the nitpick about booking bigger names for headliners? “If you want Clapton or BB King, your ticket price will be closer to $150 instead of $15,” Sweitzer says. “We want fans to come hear the best band they never heard of.”
Amen. A big part of this festival focuses on roots artists, like 95-year-old Pinetop Perkins, and Hubert Sumlin, a big influence on the styles of BB King and Clapton. Folks get a chance to see legends like Sugar Blue, who has played with Willie Dixon and Stan Getz, Frank Zappa and Bob Dylan.
“When we were putting together the lineup in year one,” Sweitzer recalls, “Music Maker Revue was on the top of my list. Since that first year, they’re on the top of everyone’s list here in the Midwest.” And that’s a good thing, because Music Maker Relief Foundation presents the “true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music” onstage to do what they do best: play the blues. “They don’t want a handout … they want a gig,” Sweitzer says.
And the crowds love ‘em. So do the musicians. In fact, the event has become “a true artists’ show” according to Dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas. Taj Mahal agrees, “This show is among the best in the country … any country.”
Columbians have a right to be proud.
The festival manages to put an average of nearly 20 Grammy Award winners onstage each year. “But if you’re looking at Grammys,” Sweitzer suggests, “you should include all those artists nominated for a Grammy, too.” Look no further than the Grammy-nominated SteelDrivers, whose members admit that “Columbia feels like home to us.” It should. SteelDrivers Mike Fleming and Mike Henderson trace their roots to college days in Columbia, in seminal groups like the Hell Band and the Bel Airs.
Now looking forward to October’s festival, Kevin Hopkins pitches bands to Thumper Productions. The Preservation Hall echoes one of Kevin’s recommendations: the Honey Island Swamp Band, a dazzling collection
of seasoned musicians, all Katrina survivors. And rumors persist that Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks may make an appearance.
While the musical lineup takes shape, there’s good news. Ticket prices will remain the same. The half-marathon will be back. And there will be one more ticket entrance, at the corner of Eighth and Locust.
Personally, I can’t wait to park my bike with a hundred others in the PedNet parking lot and blend into the crowd. And while I’m listening to Dan Tyminski or Ralph Stanley, out of the corner of my eye I’ll be watching the cops enjoy themselves, too.