Taking respite from the midday heat on a tour bus behind the scenes at Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music Festival in June, the three principles of C3 Presents were asked why they came to Tennessee for this event, not one of their own. Was it a fact-finding mission or just for fun?
“We came for fun,” C3 partner Charles Attal said without hesitation.
Friendly competition is one thing. But the Austin-based C3 is making plenty of noise in its own right in the festival space, an area that may well be the most important part of the live music business in the coming decade.
There’s a land rush going on in the U.S. music festival world, and live music producers far and wide are staking their claims in what they hope is prime real estate.
C3 Presents, producers of the successful Austin City Limits (ACL) Festival and Lollapalooza in Chicago, has been a leader in the space, adding a new event to its portfolio with the Vineland (N.J.) Music Festival in partnership with Festival Republic, first tipped Nov. 27 on billboard.biz (and alluded to at Bonnaroo).
More festivals are coming. Billboard has learned of new events for San Francisco, New York, Michigan and Denver in the works by major festival producers, and existing festivals like Bamboozle in New Jersey and Los Angeles and Bumbershoot in Seattle will continue to grow with financial backing from corporate promoters.
Click here to read the full article, including high ticket grosses festivals produce, the importance festivals play in artist development, tips on how to build a successful event, and new festivals on the horizon.
