LOCKN 2023 Rumor Mill Starts Here

Thanks, all intel is good intel...

Hmm, I've been to every year of Lock'n and despite issues with entry, calendar changes, weather, etc., I've always had a good time (although it took them 4 years to sort out the port-o-john situation). All of the confusion in 2021 made for a rough year for Lockn patrons. After 2 years of pandemic, music of any kind was welcome and I quickly got over any bad vibes with the solid lineup for the 2nd weekend TTB and MKB. It was a bit sad to see Lockn as a mere shadow of previous years. It was like 1/10th the festival it was before. I'm disappointed there's no Lockn 2022 in any form. Lockn could do a lot better job with PR and keep followers informed on some level. Patrons have MANY, MANY choices for which and how many festivals they will attend each year, regardless of dates. If they choose another fest because there's scant communication or assurance Lockn will even happen, that choice may be permanent.

The rumor I’m gonna make up this week is:

Lockn 2023 July 28th, 29th & 30th:
A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Watkins Glenn
Friday: Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Oteil & Jaimoe bring The Brothers Lineup from MSG
Saturday: Phil & Phriends, Trey, Page, Mayer, & Molo
Sunday: Warren Haynes’s Last Waltz Band, maybe get Robbie to show up.

That would qualify as something big and worth whatever obscene price they’re gonna charge.

Phish and Goose will be the headliners. That is all...

PS my post is not based on any sort of Intel, just seeing which way the wind is blowing...

I could really get behind a “Southern Rock” heavy festival too.

Headliners: TTB, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule
2nd Tier: Marcus King, Blackberry Smoke, Lynyrd Skynyrd

Get Billy Strings for late night sets, Keller for the afternoons and maybe have DSO, JRAD or Oteil & Friends to keep the Deadhead vibe alive too.

Maybe have Phil show up & put together a “Friends” show with people already on the lineup. Or maybe have a tribute set for Marshall Tucker or Charlie Daniels as the “Big Thing”.

It seems like it’d be doable, booking wise & attendance wise, and I think it would be successful financially.

Nope if Pete could have afforded it he would have done it this year. Next year will be twice as expensive since it’s their last big cash grab.

What would be nice would be, if they had their own stand alone weekend with onsite camping. A simple Friday & Saturday Two-Nighter instead of them doing a single night at Jiffy Lube during their tour. They can sell 20,000 tickets on their own for Lockn’s Site. So just book them on their own. They could have a campground band or an opener for Saturday but they wouldn’t need it to sell tickets.

I mean… are they gonna make that much more money at Jiffy Lube??? You could sell it as all GA ( except VIP) for $199 and sell 20,000 tickets and that’s not counting camping revenue. 20,000 at $199 probably averages out to the same as they get for pavilion + lawn at most places. Especially when they start selling those 4/$100 lawn ticket deals.

I feel like they need to have a “Save The Date” announcement in the next 6 weeks and a lineup announcement shortly thereafter, if they’re gonna try to hold a large event this year. They’d probably need to announce any smaller events they’re holding too really soon as well if they go that route.

To be honest they should have done that 6 weeks ago. I'm starting to lose interest personally...