Country -- I mean -- Summerfest (Milwaukee: food, dating, roach)

[MidwestRedux]

Ok, I'll say it. I hate racial conspiracy theories, but...

I can't help but wonder if their recent lineups reflect an attempt to draw an older, less diverse crowd. Given the problems that have taken place at Summerfest, State Fair, the festival formerly known as Riversplash etc. maybe they look at country music as urban youth repellent?

[ranger17]

Originally Posted by MidwestRedux

Ok, I'll say it. I hate racial conspiracy theories, but...

I can't help but wonder if their recent lineups reflect an attempt to draw an older, less diverse crowd. Given the problems that have taken place at Summerfest, State Fair, the festival formerly known as Riversplash etc. maybe they look at country music as urban youth repellent?

i wouldnt be surprised at the above. Heck, last year while we were still living in SC, their state fair not only had to limit teens after a certain hour but banned anyone wearing camo from entering due to gang issues. I can understand avoiding gang problems, but it was the Carolinas after all, where everyone seems to hunt not to mention the large # of service men and women stationed all over that state including Fort Jackson just down the road from the fair grounds.....

So yes i'd agree that "country's" draw may have something to do with who they sign up, but I could easily see other motives in there as well..

[MaseMan]

Originally Posted by ranger17

i wouldnt be surprised at the above. Heck, last year while we were still living in SC, their state fair not only had to limit teens after a certain hour but banned anyone wearing camo from entering due to gang issues. I can understand avoiding gang problems, but it was the Carolinas after all, where everyone seems to hunt not to mention the large # of service men and women stationed all over that state including Fort Jackson just down the road from the fair grounds.....

So yes i'd agree that "country's" draw may have something to do with who they sign up, but I could easily see other motives in there as well..

I'm pretty sure Summerfest now has a cut off time for unaccompanied minors, though I'm not 100% sure on that.

[Vegas_Cabbie]

Originally Posted by MidwestRedux

Ok, I'll say it. I hate racial conspiracy theories, but...

I can't help but wonder if their recent lineups reflect an attempt to draw an older, less diverse crowd. Given the problems that have taken place at Summerfest, State Fair, the festival formerly known as Riversplash etc. maybe they look at country music as urban youth repellent?

You might be onto something here. It does fall right in the same timeline that the state fair racial stuff happened ... Hmmm

[Milwaukee City]

Numbers don't mean money in terms of summerfest. If you draw a million people a year and most of them are younger people or 20 somethings they aren't going to spend the kind of money a silver fox from Delafield will spend. Summerfest has never been more profitable while under previous leadership it was all about attendance and breaking the magical 1M mark, Don S figured you can make more money and have it less crowded and have it be a better experience. I remember those 1M mark years, you were packed in there like sardines with Jack Johnson and the Ben Folds Crowd which at that time of my life I was one of those people and the average age seemed to be 24.

[cheese plate]

^ An excellent point. Ultimately, it's about money, not attendance figures or artistry.

Festa Italiana: I was working with the board some years back (the most awesome assemblage of goomba stereotypes ever) and watched inner workings. They own some parking areas and so on around the grounds, and everything like that was factored in, so it was more about getting bodies that would pay for parking, pay for food/drinks, and so on. Any suggestion that would raise entry $$$ and/or potentially discourage entry was met with near-hostility. There was also, to put it lightly, an old school thought process that a couple younger members were not be able to overcome. Summerfest used to run more on that "get 'em in here" philosophy, but is more forward thinking now and is looking for "quality" (i.e., less "issues" and more disposable income) of attendees and not quantity at this point, and it looks like it's working for them.

[Vegas_Cabbie]

Florida Georgia Line... Keith Urban... Zac Brown Band...

I thought Country Thunder was in Oshkosh?

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by MidwestRedux

Ok, I'll say it. I hate racial conspiracy theories, but...

I can't help but wonder if their recent lineups reflect an attempt to draw an older, less diverse crowd. Given the problems that have taken place at Summerfest, State Fair, the festival formerly known as Riversplash etc. maybe they look at country music as urban youth repellent?

I've never thought of that before. However, now I'm thinking about it. One thing I do have to think about it this. What would happen if more Blacks started liking country music?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I've never thought of that before. However, now I'm thinking about it. One thing I do have to think about it this. What would happen if more Blacks started liking country music?

Darius Rucker would sell a few more albums.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Drover

Darius Rucker would sell a few more albums.

Rissi Palmer too.

I had to ask because there is a theory that one of the reasons for having country music was to deter the "urban element" so to speak. I had to wonder what would happen if more Black people started liking country music? What would said persons at Summerfest do in response to that?