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Summer Music Festival: Why Not Here?
From the Britt Festival website:
Nearly 47 years ago, Portland conductor John Trudeau and his friend Sam McKinney visited southern Oregon with the dream of starting a music festival. The former hillside estate of Jacksonville pioneer Peter Britt was perfect. Being musicians, they immediately noticed an amazing resonance to the hillside’s acoustics. Combined with the gorgeous view of the valley in the distance, they decided the hillside would be the perfect site for concerts.
In the summer of 1963, volunteers erected a makeshift stage of plywood and strung tin-can lights above. A small chamber orchestra was assembled and the Northwest’s first summer outdoor music festival was born.
Britt offered classical music exclusively until the present pavilion was constructed in 1978. The new facility enabled expansion to the current multi-disciplinary format. Bench seats were added in 1987 and the handicapped access and restrooms were built in 1993.
With a maximum capacity of 2,200, Britt is financially able to afford world-class artists while maintaining an intimate atmosphere. The Britt Park is publicly owned by Jackson County and maintained by the Parks Department. The Britt Festivals Association is a non-profit performing arts organization which utilizes the Britt Park under a long-term lease with Jackson County.
Recently we drove to Oregon to enjoy a concert by Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Lithia Motors Amphitheater at the Jackson County Fairgrounds, as part of the Britt Festival offerings. On a warm late-summer evening, we sat in comfortable seats facing the amphitheater which backed up to large ponds on the fairgrounds. We purchased a bottle of Oregon wine and slid it into the bottle holders on the seat backs in front of us. Before the band took the stage, we chatted with other concert-goers nearby and watched the very efficient and noticeable security staff guide patrons to their seats. When CS&N began to play, the mainly over-50 crowd was wildly appreciative during their 2-1/2 hour concert. We didn’t see any patrons out of control, intoxicated, unruly, or destroying property - and when we remembered back to the 2008 season, when we saw performances at the Britt Amphitheater by Tower of Power and the Doobie Brothers, we couldn’t recall any problems with unpleasant guests.
On the drive home the next day I thought about this incredibly successful and diverse music series based in the small town of Jacksonville. In addition to the popular music performers (name a well-known artist and they’ve probably played Britt), there is a classical music series as well as student concerts and workshops. From May through September, Britt Festival provides income and jobs locally to Jacksonville, Medford, Ashland, and the environs via tourist bucks. On our very brief turn-around trip, we spent nearly $300 (tickets, lodging, food, etc.) that went out of state.
Why couldn’t we have a similar festival here? Shasta County has no shortage of available outdoor space that could be turned into an amphitheater with parking. Redding is on Interstate 5, which tour buses fly down on their way from Portland to Sacramento, as well as being the crossroads of Highways 299 and 44: easy access for visitors from all parts of Northern California.
Yes, it’s hot here in the summer, but some well-placed misters would alleviate the worst of the heat. Wouldn’t the amphitheaters be used only in good weather and stand empty the rest of the year? Possibly - but so are baseball diamonds and football fields.
But don’t we already have enough concert venues? Well… we have the wonderful Cascade Theater, which holds 1000 people. And there is the much less wonderful Redding Convention Center, which seats around 2000 people, is designed to be multipurpose rather than dedicated to music, and has some truly awful acoustics. For a city of over 100,000 people, that is woefully inadequate. It should be embarrassing to City and County officials who are trying to promote Redding and Shasta County to out-of-area businesses.
I don’t have solutions or answers to how this might get off the ground - but the Britt Festival started small, with plywood stages and tin-can lights. We have local talent and entrepreneurs who would like to see the Redding performance scene promoted and made into a destination for music lovers.
How do we start?
917 views
I saw a jazz concert on the grounds of Bishop Quinn School a couple summers ago. We thought it would be hot and miserable - outside in summer! The concert was in the evening of a very hot day.
We sat on a sloping hillside on the grass in the shade, watched the stars come out and listened to great music. It was beautiful! I’ve hoped since then that someone would present more music at that venue. It was smallish, but very comfortable and has parking and facilities in place. There are few neighbors to be bothered.
A music festival is a great idea!
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yes, Yes, YES!
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There are wonderful places in Shingletown to have such a venue. Out of the heat, but just a short drive from Redding. In the woods and away from residential neighborhoods that might be bothered. Just a thought!
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A good place to locate a music festival would be on the land that Turtle Bay Park sits. Plenty of parking close by, next to the river and freeway access. The music festival might even support it’s self.
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A local music festival would be a grand event to have. I would like to suggest that the ticket prices be affordable. My husband and myself cannot afford to go the the events at the Cascade or the Civic Center. We have retirement income only.
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I want to remind everyone that we have a really great, fun summer music series - Marketfest. The park is shaded. There are gigantic mist fans. There is food - good food, wine, and beer. Extremely family friendly. Lots of kids activities. And fantastic, touring bands. A little something for everyone, and different each week. All you need to bring is a chair.
No one is loud, overly intoxicated or destructive. Marketfest is a very low-key, community focused, fun, slice of life place to hang out in the summer.
Did I mention that it’s FREE thanks to the Board and staff of Viva Downtown Redding? I’m fortunate to be a part of it as a Board member and children’s art coordinator.
Hope to see you there next summer.
Adam Mankoski
HawkMan Studios
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Grammalyn Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Adam, has anyone considered extending Marketfest a few weeks? I think it would be wonderful to go when it wasn’t so hot. I am a big fan of Marketfest - that’s where we get to see everyone we know!
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Gary Tull Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Yes Mr. Mankoski, we are all aware of Marketfest ; a nice weekly event staged on Thursdays during Summer featuring music, food and beer in beautiful downtown Redding right next to the railroad tracks. That’s all fine and I hope it continues.
However, we don’t have anything comparable to the Lithia Motors Amphitheater or the gorgeous Britt Festival grounds up in Jackson County, Oregon.
What a great idea; an outdoor Music Festival venue in the Redding area, imagine! Big name artists, nice grassy grounds sloping toward the stage, well thought out parking and restroom facilities, plus, our local hotels and restaurant operators loving the extra business.
And by the way, I have never noticed a problem with loud, overly intoxicated or destructive behavior at any of the Britt events we’ve been to. Their security team doesn’t put up with it.
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NOT summer. NOT summer… too hot, could even be dangerous to the health of concert-goers. Late Spring or early Fall… like NOW…. would be wonderful. I truly think the season in which it’s held would possibly make or break it….
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Barbara,
I’ve sat on many board and committees. And the rule of thumb is always….your idea you lead the pack on bring it to fruition. So, when is our first meeting. Lets get this ball a roll’n.
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Barbara Rice Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Troy, I am the worst person in the world to have on a committee. I offend people, I’m impatient, swear a lot, and don’t suffer fools gladly (and my definition of fool is pretty extensive). Other than those obstacles, sure.
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I think Marketfest is a great community event and a lot of fun with such a wide variety of things to see and do, but it’s concentrated in a rather narrow park and there isn’t any seating unless you bring your own. It’s not a substitute for a true concert.
Redding is big enough to have a venue dedicated solely to live music. After all, the Sleeptrain Amphitheater is literally in the middle of farmland, miles from any town, and the crowds come to the concerts in droves.
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Great ideas, and wonderful discussion. I hope it continues and becomes a reality. I would definitely drive to Shingletown to beat the heat, but would bring my squirt bottle of water to stay cool in Redding. It works to keep cool (sort of) at the Mosquito Serenade.
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Grammalyn…Love your idea of extending Marketfest. It stops just when the weather is comfortable. pjp
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I had almost the same idea 18 years ago when I was traveling to Sacramento and San Francisico to see the Blues Festivals in those cities. I was the Chairman of the Shasta Blues Society and thought we could have a Blues Festival too. It can be done. It’s been a lot of work but the Blues by the River Festival has remained an annual event for the past 18 years. The Lake Redding Park is a wonderful site with lots of shade and the Sacramento River to cool things off a bit. If only the City would build a nice stage like Anderson has done. We have many great local musicians playing all different kinds of music to contribute to a new festival or series. I’d help out if something gets off the ground.
Go for it, Barbara or Adam or ?
Cheers, Rick Larsen
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I was involved in the Shasta Dixieland Jazz Festival as a member of the Board of Directors for a decade. That festival died for lack of local support in spite of bringing some really quality musicians here from all over the world. The last year I was involved, we put on the festival within our budget, got the sponsorships we needed and sold the out of town people the tickets we had planned on in our budget. It was the local people who stopped buying tickets. We wound up having to sell the equipment (mostly sound systems and drum sets) to pay our bills.
We saw this trend coming a few years before the end and attempted to head it off by taking Dixieland out of the name and expanding the music styles available. We even got a grant and brought in The Kingston Trio. All that did was alienate the hard line Dixieland folks.
The cost of an enterprise such as is being suggested is enormous. The biggest items in our budget were cost of transportation and lodging for the musicians. Frankly, many of the motel owners pitched in and made us the best deal they could without losing their shirts, but it was still very, very costly.
Having said all of that, I have been thinking about this for some time and very much favor the idea. If we are going to do this, we should include every possible interested group. Barry Hazle and his society for the preservation of way cool music, the blues society, the Rivercity Jazz society, Dave Short and his bands, the old time fiddlers, the band and orchastra from the College, North State Symphony and on and on.
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Troy: Your comment today is why you are on my list of “Those I am Blessed To Know”
Barbara: Sounds like you and I would get along just fine. Well, probably not. But at least we would understand each other. I third the motion and offer my volunteer services.
Canda: Thank you for mentioning the Mosquito Serenade, which starts in June of every year at the Anderson River Park. This concert series is free, which is nice for folks these days. Musical therapy is good for the soul.
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