Published in the Marquee Magaazine,
Volume 2, No. 6
AUGUST,2004
From The Publishers
Who says the music scene slows down in the summer? Believe it or not, I have heard that more than once, but the people from whom I've heard it aren't the people I run into at places like RockyGrass, which was held the weekend that the finishing touches were being put on this issue.
I've been to RockyGrass several years in a row now, and I've always been blown away by how smoothly the festival runs. But what I did not realize is that there are few things that could throw the Planet Bluegrass staff off their game.
Case in point, Friday night saw torrential downpours at the Planet Bluegrass Ranch in Lyons, Colo. It seemed like it rained more in just a few hours than the area usually sees in a year. The rain caused mudpits, puddles that you could lose a tour bus in, and forced musicians to hide with their instruments to protect them from the weather. But what the rain did not do was dampen the spirit of the crowd, and my belief is that it was due in large part to the staff at Planet Bluegrass.
Through it all, they stayed on top of the weather the best they could and kept the show moving. But more than that, they all kept smiles on their faces. Thatıs a huge deal in my book. Had the people working in the rain gotten a poor-woe-is-us attitude, it wouldnıt have taken long for that to spread through the crowd. Instead, it seemed like everyone just ended up laughing at the rain and kept right on enjoying the festival.
The entire staff of Planet Bluegrass should hold "How-To" conferences for other festival promoters to help teach them how itıs done.
I will not begin to list individual thank-yous or names of the staff for fear of leaving someone out, but everyone from the owners to the volunteers need to know that their hard work, attention to detail and ability to keep a big smile are not things that went unnoticed.
While the students come back to school this month, August is far from handing summer over to autumn. With a wealth of both indoor and outdoor shows, music-goers are going to remember once again this month why we live here in the first place. So, to the nay sayers who claim that summer is a slow time, I say youıre just not trying hard enough. Flip through the calendar and then try to narrow down how many concerts youıre going to see. Itıs not as easy as it sounds.
See you at the shows
