Festy 2019

so how does that compare? Change of Direction?

Meh.

If I was a Charlottesville local I'd consider it.

Then decide it's not worth the $120.

Charlottesville is getting its very own world-class music festival.

The Festy, which is celebrating its 10th year this year, is moving from the site of Lock'n in rural Nelson County to downtown Charlottesville and the site of IX Art Park and Three Notch'd Brewery. The festival will take place as usual on Columbus Day weekend, October 11th-13th, and feature 19 bands from blues to bluegrass, reggae to rock & roll, including national acts Dawes, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Samantha Fish, Langhorne Slim, Della Mae, Anders Osborne, Rubblebucket, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad, Kendall Street Company, and many more.

The Festy is family-friendly, and features a giant kids zone and on-site child care, along with craft beer and cider, Virginia wine and artisanal spirits, local food trucks, and a full slate of wellness programming including yoga, guided meditations, massage, and more. The Festy is also environmentally-friendly, and focuses on being zero waste and carbon neutral.

Tickets are on sale now for $119 for three full days of music and mindfulness, and include discounts to 30+ local businesses for the duration of the festival. Kids 12 and under get in free. Last year the Festy had 3,000 attendees, and the festival's promoters expect to host about the same number this year. There will be no on-site camping or parking this year, but the Festival will provide off site parking and free continuous shuttles all weekend long, as well as discounts to local hotels and campgrounds.




GET TICKETS NOW

Of course, Charlottesville is well known for decades as having a proven population of stumblers; "a bunch of drunks in neckties" my mother-in-law used to say. Tents were not part of the program, though. Brick buildings with white columns instead.

"Building Stumblers".....hmmmm.....doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?

I got that letter that Michael Allenby sent via e-mail and remember reading it and also being a bit rankled. I like camping festivals and I resented the insinuation that most people come to music festivals to get drunk (well maybe at Bonnaroo this is true) but most of the people I know drink responsibly because they want to enjoy the music. It's like he bit the hand that fed him all those Festys. I will still probably go, but won't have nearly as much fun without the camping associated with it.

I get why anyone would be annoyed, particularly a Festy vet.  Particularly after gutting the festival (in some opinions).  Particularly since those Tent-Stumblers™ are doing the exact thing they should do - don't drive home high. 

But this one seems to have plucked TOO's last nerve.  That's OK.  We all need to do the 'we're mad as hell..." thing from time to time.  Good for the soul.  

(And just maybe they will get the message.)

It was really stupid of the Festy guys to insult a large chunk of the market in an effort to sell the new product; a marketing person with half a brain would not have let that get by. If there was a problem to be fixed, like loud rowdy youngsters all night in the campgrounds, then there are ways to address it and let the market know about an improvement.

It also suggests an air of snobbery that will likely cost them ticket sales rather than increase them, along with their thinly veiled attempt to capitalize on social issues. WWASUTA types.

A tent-stumblerTM's money is as green as an Uber2Hilton Rider's.

half the fun but 10% of the work of a camping fest, for both the promoters and the crowd.

keep your hips to yourself and you'll be fine

Was doing some laundry tonight and found this little piece of irony in last year's official t-shirt