Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Langerado Cancelled: Blame the Venue and Lineup

The Langerado Music Festival, the largest music festival in South Florida, has been cancelled.

The promoters have blamed poor ticket sales due to the sluggish economy. But in reality, it was the abandoning of the majority of its audience that caused the festival's demise.

I went to last year's festival, held in the Big Cypress Reserve and had a great time - along with 25,000 other people. Headliners included Phil Lesh & Friends, The Meters, and many other top-notch jam bands.

But when I saw this years lineup, I knew I'd skip the festival. No offense Snoop Dogg - but I wasn't about to shell out $75 per day for a lame lineup.

On top of the poor lineup, the promoters made another bad decision - moving the festival from the camping-friendly Big Cypress Reserve to a definitely-not-camper-friendly Downtown Miami.

On the Rolling Stone website , people are commenting on the cancelled event. Feller sums it up with:

It’s not the economy - this was a piss poor excuse for a show attempting to draw the masses. Look at last year’s lineup - REM, Beastie Boys, The Roots, Phil Lesh… - does it even compare? I mean, I’m a fan of a lot of the bands that were supposed to play this year, but they keep moving the show every year and, well, is Death Cab really headliner worthy? Snoop is still awesome but, uh, seriously?
A sluggish economy means people won’t spend money on something they’re lukewarm on. Sometimes a mediocre (or at least disappointing) product is the reason people won’t pay.

For those looking for satisfy their jammy festival inner soul, Bonnaroo has put together an amazing lineup. This festival, despite the economy, will sell out quickly - proving that Langerado's main problem wasn't the economy, it was a poorly put together festival.
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