Floydfest Fiasco

festgrrl likes to stay positive. festgrrl likes to promote the fine musical events put on by dedicated folks. And before this year, festgrrl had great things to say about Floydfest in Virginia.
Not anymore.
festgrrl can, sadly,  no longer recommend this fest.
This year, the festival was hit by extreme weather, which is, of course, challenging. And it turned the fest site into a chaotic mudfest. That's nature and that's nobody's fault.

The trouble with this year's Floydfest was not the weather. The trouble was that the fest logistics were horribly managed, adding frustration and even danger to the experience. Job #1 is health and safety for festival-goers. And on these most critical missions, Floydfest failed.

The trouble started way before the rain hit. When we arrived at noon Thursday, we expected to drop off our camping gear on trailers and shuttle up to the fest site as usual. A 30-minute endeavor in my experience in six previous Floydfests. Wow were we surprised to end up in a six-hour line that was a complete debacle.

First, we had to lug all of our stuff -- surprise! -- for THREE HOURS in the hot sun, no water offered, people with kids and gear, having to carry EVERYTHING in 3 lines that inched forward slowly in a hot field. This was a supposedly new and improved system to "check bags" for the short ride up the mountain. Those three lines became a chaotic full-crowd rush when the gear trailers appeared. No volunteers were keeping order. No volunteers had information, they didn't even have directions to the other parking lots when people needed information.

Once that 3-hour nightmare was over, we all had to walk to another field, where we faced hundreds of other concertgoers in ANOTHER THREE HOUR line just to get on the bus for the short drive up the mountain.

And then, once on the bus, we all were shocked to pass a field chock-full of empty, idle busses! The local newspaper later said there weren't enough drivers to use all the buses. Nice planning, Floydfest! You knew how many tickets you had sold and what was required to handle the crowd size, and you fell down on the job completely.

No one had prepared for any of this -- getting there at noon and not getting to the site until 6 pm. Once we got to the top of the mountain, we saw a a giant pile of stuff, and no one available to locate our gear.

Since the fest site has limited space, Floydfest set up remote camping areas a short drive away. After the day's shows ended, people told me they had to wait as long as three hours to get a bus back to their campsite. The festival made a major error in that they did not provide separate buses for folks who were camped in the fest's designated offsite lots. Every time they needed to go back to their camp, their fate was tied up with the giant crowds coming and going to the whole fest -- day ticket holders, etc.

People who had VIP passes -- $700 --  were promised convenient onsite parking, but when they got there they found out they had to park way far away, despite the significant coin they spent.

And then a disastrous rain happened -- a flash-flood rain, an epic rain. That's never fun. So Floydfest shut down all comings and goings. The parking lot where we had started our journey became a dangerous mudbog and people had to be towed out. People with day tickets couldn't come to the fest\at all. OK, we get that part, it's bad weather, and it's unfortunate.

The conditions became truly treacherous at the fest site, with slick mud in key walking routes. At first, they brought in hay to make things safer. And then, they just...didn't. They didn't bring in hay or gravel or anything Saturday night, and people were slipping and falling and getting hurt. They didn't bring in hay to make things safer until Sunday night -- after the fest ended.

People who bailed on Sunday morning had to wait in giant muddy lines for buses. The fest extended musical performances Sunday night and urged people to stay so that the parking areas could dry out a bit more. That made sense.

When they announced that shuttle buses would start to get people off the mountain at 9 a.m. Monday morning, many people lined up starting at 8 a.m. We were sure there would be lines of buses ready to get us off, but... there weren't. One bus at a time lumbered up, and long lines once again snaked through the fest site.

The organizers can say there were just so many people this year, and that the weather was bad, and yada yada, but the truth is, they created a logistical fiasco and we all paid the price.

Floydfest Coming Right Up!

Floydfest, in Floyd, Va., is one of the nicest fests around. Happening the weekend of July 28, it has a beautiful site in the Blue Ridge Mountains with great stages, including a wonderful world music village. It is very family friendly, with child care (for a fee) and a cool kid's stage. The workshops are intimate.You can see my previous post on it here.

You should know: Tickets that allow you to park where you camp are sold out. You have to either camp at an off site campground they have set up or take all your stuff on a shuttle bus they run up to the fest site. From there, you have to haul it to wherever you can find to camp.

You can also find nearby cabins with a good web search.

One of my favorite acts I saw at Floydfest a few years ago -- and they will be playing this year -- is Cyro Baptista and Beat The Donkey. Here's a look at these crazy folks!

Floydfest is Fantastic

Sept. 1, 2008

I went to Floydfest in July in Floyd, Va. It is one of the cleanest and coolest music festivals in the southeast. The mountain setting is so gorgeous. Headliners were Donna The Buffalo, Rusted Root, Railroad Earth and The Avett Brothers. The Avett Brothers, from Concord, NC, killed it!

They have just been signed by Columbia, and you can see why. For my money they are some of the finest songwriters working today. On stage, they are possessed! Their roots as a punk band are more than evident when they start it crank it up, whipping their heads around, falling down on the stage, jumping around. The lyrics are sly, bold, delicate, and searing. I just can't get enough of these guys. It was a particularly sublime show, right at sunset in the mountains. The crowd knew all the words, making it even more intimate. Now that The Avetts have signed with Columbia, I wonder how long we will get to see them in these smallish venues.

Check out the Avetts' new disc, Gleam II. Like the first Gleam, it is a soulful, stripped down melodic treat.

Also fantastic at Floydfest: The Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band. It's actually a small band - the Reverend on bottleneck guitar, his wife on washboard, and his brother banging on a pickle bucket. But Lordy what a sound they make! They'd be moving along on a gospel tune or a blues tune and - wham! - they'd make a crazy racket and charge toward the edge of the stage like maniacs. Absolutely hilarious! I loved "Your Cousin's on 'Cops'" They reminded me a little of Rev. Horton Heat. I wasn't the only one bowled over by the Reverend: the crowds for this band got bigger with every show during the weekend.

I about had to have my hip replaced after seeing Yo Momma's Big Fat Booty Band from Asheville, NC. in the wee hours Friday night. These boys take a page from Funkadelic's George Clinton and Bootsie Collins. Loud, funky, pimp-attired and truly relentless. They made everybody get down on the floor at one point. Anybody who was still standing had to vouch that they had a knee problem. It was sweaty, bootilicious fun, the kind that makes you forget everything and just DANCE.

Josh Phillips, the adorable dimpled front man for the group, sat in Friday night even though he has -- sadly -- left the booty band. He says all the shouting in the booty band was wearing his voice out. He played a Floydfest afternoon set with his new group, Josh Phillips Folk Festival. I bought his pre-mix CD of six songs and it is very rootsy, folky reggae, real good. He's got a new CD coming out, watch for it.

My advice is to get advance tickets for Floydfest next year. The camping is great, the scene is clean and mellow, and the music is stellar. One cool aspect is the World Music village, which offers bands from ... around the world. You gotta hike down the hill, but it is worth it. This is also where the only fire pit at the festival is, and where all the late-night drumming and dancing action is.

Festgrrl's Important things to know:

CAMPING - You have to buy a car pass to camp out of your car, and you will likely still have to haul stuff to your campsite. The cars are in a field with RVs. If you wanna camp in the woods (I recommend it), you have to haul your stuff. So bring backpacks or a little hand cart or something.

If you don't buy a car pass, you park a little ways away and take a shuttle bus. When you get there, you will have to hike your stuff in to camp.

I use DANCIN DAVE's FESTIVAL camping (Google Dancin Dave), and when I get there, my tent is all set up and I have fabulous Dave to visit with. It is WAY LUXURIOUS, but behind the sometimes loud beer garden stage.

DRINKS - You have to buy beer in a beer garden and drink it there. You can't buy beer at the main stage at all. You have to listen to whomever is the beer garden stage band while you drink your beer.

On the other hand, there are no checkpoints to check your backpack or your cup anywhere in the festival. Like I said, it is a mellow scene.

ART - If you like art, and have money, Floydfest is a great art show, a cut above most fests I have been to. I have brought home treasures all three years I've gone.

KIDS - This is a very kid friendly event. The crowd is in no way obnoxious. They have a kids village and a kids parade. This year, they had a fantastic balloon art maker. One year, they had the kids do an advice booth for adults. I kept thinking up problems to bring to them because they were having so much fun telling the adults what to do!

WEATHER - This year was gorgeous, but some years it is mighty misty and foggy and chilly in the evenings. Pack accordingly.

MASSAGE - They offer 'em, get one! Then go dance some more!