[Dixielandjazz] Rehoboth, A Successful "For Profit" Jazz Festival;.

[Stephen Barbone]

List Mates:

The Rehoboth Autumn Jazz Festival is a good example of a Jazz Festival
that makes money, and appeals to a broad section of music lovers from
OKOM to Smooth Jazz to Blues to Rhythm and Blues. Following is an
overview of how they do it.

QUOTED FROM THE LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.

"In October, cool breezes fill the ocean air. At the local beaches, the
roar of the ocean  becomes more apparent as visitors head back home for
the fall and winter. But not in  Rehoboth Beach. On the weekend of
October 16-19, 2003, Rehoboth becomes alive  with music and festivities
that attract young and old alike for the 14th-Annual Rehoboth  Autumn
Jazz Festival."

"Whether at the Bay Center in Dewey Beach or at the Rehoboth Beach
Convention  Center or area restaurants and bars, visitors will be able
to hear the sounds of jazz  from an incredible assortment of
entertainers. The Jazz Festival attracts over 10,000  people, young and
old annually and is an event that puts Rehoboth on the map for
exceptional  entertainment."

"'We're trying to appeal to everyone'" said Rehoboth Jazz Festival
Director Dennis Santangini. And that though was echoed by Sydney Arzt
owner of Sydney's Blues & Jazz Cafe in Rehoboth Beach; 'It's all about
the music' she said and, a statement that became the theme of Rehoboth
Autumn Jazz Festival 2003."

"This year's Jazz Festival will start off with a cabaret-style concert
on Thursday from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM, featuring a Taste of Area
Restaurants with samplings from some of the area's top chefs and a
headline concert by the Barbone Street Jazz Band. Very popular with
Rehoboth audiences throughout the year, they perform in a manner similar
to New Orleans Jazz and Dixieland bands and will appear with their swing
dancers at the opening event."

"The festival continues its lineup Friday through Sunday with
appearances by headliners George Benson, Norman Brown, Jonathan Butler,
Gerald Albright, Brian Culbertson, Kim Waters, Chuck Loeb, and Jeff
Kashiwa. Also appearing will be Saffire, the Uppity Blues Women, Deanna
Bogart, Big Bad VooDoo Daddy, Keisa Brown and The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
conducted by Buddy Morrow.. In addition to main stage-ticketed events,
the entire beach area gets involved in the production of over 60
different events including wine tastings, art displays, film
presentations and jazz brunches, lunches, dinners and happy hours, with
music."

MY COMMENTS:

All events are ticked individually. Highest prices at main venues were
for James Ingram's concert in the 800 seat convention center. Cheap
seats were $79, best seats were $89, for this 90 minute show. The major
venues are Rehoboth Convention Center, 800 seats, Dewey Beach Bay Center
500 seats and The Atlantic Sands Hotel with 350 seats. Typical concert
length is 90  minutes. Most of the "main events" were sold out well in
advance, the exception being Ingram's concert which while well attended,
did not sell out.

Other headliner events tickets in these venues varied from $22 for Big
Bad Voodoo Daddy to $49. (Barbone Street performance was $35). Food and
drink, not available in the Rehoboth Convention Center are extra at
Dewey Beach and The Atlantic Sands, as well as at the smaller venues.
(Restaurants, Clubs etc.)

MANY local area restaurants also become music venues and present smaller
jazz/blues groups, mostly local from Philadelphia and Washington DC
areas during the festival. They institute a music charge that varies
from $5 to $30 in order to do so. This adds lunchtime, another 15 jazz
venues at lunch and dinner time in addition to main venue performances.

There are also FREE concerts presented at the Rehoboth Band shell on the
beach during the afternoon. Young jazz musicians are featured here.
mostly from various local high school and college bands.

The Festival makes money, the restaurants make money, the local
merchants make money and the performers make money. Everybody makes lots
more money than at your typical OKOM Festival in the USA. All with just
10,000 attendees, who have no problem paying a reasonable ticket/cover
price to see quality entertainment.

Perhaps those of us who are involved in "OKOM Festivals" might well
consider the success of broad gauged "jazz festivals" such as Rehoboth
(DE), Clifford Brown (Wilmington DE), Berks (Reading PA), or the various
JVC Festivals. And perhaps we might ask ourselves whether we are selling
our music too cheaply at typical OKOM Festivals.

We pride ourselves on a core audience of enthusiasts who spend thousands
of dollars to attend OKOM Festivals. They say, we love the the music and
will go out of our way to hear "the real thing". They are dedicated
fans, etc., etc., etc.

Yet we see MAJOR jazz musicians (you know who you/they are) playing at
festivals where audiences buy an "all event" ticket for $65.  And then,
some in the audience bitch because the breaks were too long between
sets, or the venues too far apart to hear everybody and that they felt
cheated because they couldn't hear 24 hours of music over the weekend,
only 20!!!

Wow, shouldn't we be asking ourselves: "What is wrong with this
picture?"

Is the U.S. audience for OKOM really made up of aficionados, or are they
just Cheap. Or are OKOM bands and OKOM Festival Organizers just not
professional enough to get fair value for their products?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone