[Dixielandjazz] Sacramento Jazz Festival Name Change

Wed Aug 24 13:08:35 PDT 2011

Mike Marois Mike.Marois at HireLiveMusic.com wrote regarding the recent name change of the Sacramento Jazz Festival:

> To me the title of the press release should be "R.I.P. Sacramento Jubilee".
> This is what happens when you don't follow your mission statement and let
> outsiders influence your direction all driven by the almighty buck.  

Mike,

We are still following our mission statement.  By presenting a successful Music festival, we are able to continue to present Traditional, Classic Jazz.  

I remember years ago when I was very much against having any type of music in the festival except for OKOM, Steven Joseph told me that every time he walked by a venue playing Blues or Zydeco, he stopped and said thank you.  This was because those people were purchasing tickets and enabling us then to present our kind of music.  

Facts are facts.  The older people who came to the festival 40 years ago are now either dead or about to die.  They can no longer come to the festival.  

We have done everything possible to introduce younger people to our kind of music.  In order to continue to have a festival, we have had to sell tickets to people who do not like banjos, tubas, or Jazz.  Sometimes by having a Zydeco band, someone who comes to see that band ends up seeing a Jazz band and likes it.  

For many years Igor's Jazz Cowboys was our top draw, both in attendance as well as CD sales.  Now a Zydeco band, Tom Rigney and Flambeau is our top draw and has been for 7 or 8 years.  

Bands do not play for free.  Companies do not rent us chairs, tables, tents and any number of things we need to put on a festival for free.  It takes the "All mighty buck" to put on a festival, whether you like it or not.  Business is business.  

Office space, telephone lines, computers, fax machines, lights, heating, air conditioning, wages, storage space, printing, paper clips, staples, advertising I.e. radio, TV, bill boards, newspaper, and many other necessary expenses, all cost money.  

We are not the Government.  When the government needs more money, it either borrows it or prints more.  No one is going to continue to loan us more money and the Secret Service would frown on us printing our own.  Thus, we have to sell tickets.  It is a fact of life.  

How long could you run your household or business  while spending more money each year then what you take in?  How long would the banks, or anyone else continue to loan you money?  

I am sorry, but we have to "Get real..."  Things are what they are these days.  It is not the "Good Ol' Days" any longer.  

Many OKOM festivals have gone away in the past 10 years or so.  Pismo Beach used to have two festivals a year and sold out both of them.  Now they have one per year and do not sell out.  

Jazz In The Olympics and Orange County have just gone away and there are several more that are presently on the edge.  

I know of one which would be broke now if it wasn't for someone with mucho bux supporting it.  We work very hard to get sponsors and underwriters but everyone is looking for a handout these days.  Companies are really stretched thin and grants are hard to come by.  

  I hope you would agree that having a music festival with OKOM, Swing, Western Swing, Blues, big band and yes, even some Rock 
, is certainly preferable to not having a festival at all?  And I hope you realize that if we closed our festival as Orange County and Puget Sound just did, a promoter in Sacramento would pick up the Memorial Day weekend and have a festival with no Classic Jazz at all.  

> What
> will happen is within 3-5 years there will be a token jazz band, more than
> likely a pick up group, to tie the festival back to it's roots.

Not as long as present company are involved.  However, who knows what will happen in 30 years.  I won't be here and neither will most of us.  We will have no control at that point.  At least now we are surviving.  That is more than I can say about a lot of festivals.  

Best,

--Bob Ringwald

> -----Original Message-----
> From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
> [mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Robert Ringwald
> Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 15:49
> To: Mike Marois
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Sacramento Jazz Festival Name Change
> 
> When forwarding any email, use  "Netiquette." Delete all names, email
> addresses, forwarding tags, etc. Just forward the content.
> 
> 
> For Immediate Release
> Media Contact: Mike Testa
> 
> August 23, 2011
> (916) 919-3422
> 
> 
> mtesta at cityofsacramento.org 
> 
>                          
> 
> 
> 
> New Name to Reflect Evolution of Sacramento's Jazz Festival
> 
> 
> 
> One of Northern California's longest running and most successful music
> festivals is changing its name. Once known as The Dixieland Jazz Jubilee and
> more recently as The Sacramento Jazz Festival, the venerable event will be
> known simply as The Sacramento Music Festival when the 39th edition kicks
> off Memorial Day Weekend in May of 2012.
> 
> The name change reflects how the event has evolved over the years into a
> festival featuring many more musical styles than just jazz. It also
> indicates a sincere effort to broaden the appeal of the four day event by
> shifting some of the focus to other popular forms of American music such as
> Blues, Rock 'n Roll, Country, Rhythm and Blues, and Zydeco.
> 
> While the Sacramento Music Festival will still be organized and presented by
> the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, members of the organization realize
> that to continue to grow the event's popularity, other forms of popular
> music are vitally important. By featuring bands better known by the
> mainstream public, the festival will attract new demographics while allowing
> the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society to continue their mission of
> re-introducing traditional jazz into schools. Not only will increased ticket
> sales present more opportunities to impact schools' musical curriculums, a
> younger audience enticed to the festival by more mainstream music will be
> exposed to a variety of musical genres including traditional jazz.
> 
> "The roots of traditional jazz have had a tremendous impact on modern
> music," said Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society Executive Director, Vivian
> Abraham. "As we move forward, the Sacramento Music Festival will be honoring
> the past and celebrating newer musical trends as well. We expect nothing
> less than The Festival to continue as one of the nation's best all-around
> music celebrations."
> 
> 
> 
> - Continued -
> 
> Page 2
> 
> 
> 
>            With its new name intact, The Sacramento Music Festival's 2012
> edition will, as always, be primarily staged in Old Sacramento. The 2011
> event featured over 400 performances in 20 venues by over 70 bands. Next
> year's festival will be similar in size and scope.
> 
>            "Our hope is to be able to begin to book nationally known groups
> from the more mainstream genres like Rock and Country," says Mike Testa of
> the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau, a partner in presenting The
> Sacramento Music Festival. "We have one of the most unique settings in the
> country in Old Sacramento and the more we can branch out and attract new
> people to the event, the better for everyone."
> 
>            Updates on the 2012 Sacramento Music Festival will be posted
> throughout the year at www.SacMusicFest.com as well as via Facebook and
> Twitter. Sponsorship information may be obtained by contacting The
> Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society at (916) 372-5277.
> 
> 
> 
> # # # # #
> 
> 
> --Bob Ringwald
> www.ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 530/ 642-9551 Office
> 916/ 806-9551 Cell
> Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV
> 
> I joined a health club last year, spent about 250 bucks. 
> Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there!
> 
> 
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