Denver City Council to Make Final Decision

Denver city officials and residents of Denver came together to discuss plans for an upcoming music festival set for September 2018.

KDVR reported that the event is planned to take place at Overland Park Golf Course near South Broadway and West Florida Avenue.

Residents and planners shared points of view about the festival. It is logical to want to have additional security and recycling programs setup for any large-scale event.

AEG and Superfly will be promoting and planning the event. After covering events produced by their teams, I am confident they will do a professional job.

Overland Golf Course is a short drive south of Denver. The location reminds me of the racetrack used for JazzFest in New Orleans.

The festival may or may not have a camping option. A soft date for September 2018 is currently set, but that is a little later in the year in my view to have camping. My suggestion is to not have camping, and keep the residents happy.

To cutdown on the sound, the event should consider setting art installations that double as audio barricades from residential areas.

Now, keeping fans happy.

After years of covering different events around the country, I have developed an understanding of what works consistently. My best examples are the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival. Both have a long running histories, and continue to find ways to keep things fresh.

That being said, they both play to unique audiences. Their brand draws in audiences from all over the world. When AEG launches this new festival, they need to have a draw factor in addition to an amazing lineup. Some of the rumored acts will draw large numbers, but cementing a foundation and building a similar formula to success events, will help stimulate additional areas of Denver and beyond.

Chicago has Lollapalooza, New Orleans has JazzFest. Denver will have a convergence of the three events that I have mentioned in the near future. The reason I say this is because what made Bonnaroo great was providing a space that was not the mainstream, major record label’s current big push, artificial, hoax of a musician. It was hard-working musicians from New Orleans that had been playing music their whole lives and never got a single push from a major record label that drew the biggest Bonnaroo crowds. If you want to book a pop act to sell a few tickets, do not put them as a headliner. Maroon 5 is a perfect example of a band that started low on the lineups, and worked their way up to headliners. That formula drives ticket sales.

AEG should partner with all venues in the Denver area, as well as work with Denver Tech Center to see if they want to work out a way for concert goers to attend a job fair or conference. The more they partner with local business only helps the entire effort of the event.

Westworld reported on the meeting that took place in late January. They spoke with Chuck Morris, CEO of AEG Live Rocky Mountains and noted that AEG has made a run of festivals before at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for three years.

The festival will need to connect with board and local audiences to sustain the festival for years to come.