Rock Fest's lineup has a modern edge
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By ELIZABETH HOCHSTEDLER
elizabeth.hochstedler@lee.net
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 1:06 PM CDT
For the past 14 years, Rock Fest has focused much of its lineup on classic rock, but this year it’s turning a page and moving to more bands from the 1990s and today.
“I would just say (it’s) a little bit of classic and a quite a bit of modern,” said Mike Asher, executive director of Rock Fest.
Thursday night’s lineup features the classic rock bands Poison and Boston.
Poison, which will be hitting the stage at 8:30 p.m., became popular in the late 1980s through the 1990s with hits like “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and “Nothin’ But A Good Time.”
Boston, the closer, hit airwaves in the 1970s and ‘80s and are known for the songs “More Than A Feeling” and “Foreplay/Long Time.”
But after Thursday, the music becomes more modern with head- liners Godsmack, Stone Temple Pilots and Matchbox Twenty.
“I’ve had a lot of people comment that it’s a pretty well-rounded lineup,” Asher said.
The more modern music is being used to attract a younger audience.
“We’ve seen it’s gotten the attention of the 25-30 year olds,” he said.
The other reason for booking newer acts is because older acts are becoming more difficult to find.
“It’s getting so hard to get good classic rock bands,” Asher said.
Many classic rock bands are breaking up, or their members are becoming too old to tour, but Asher said Rock Fest is not abandoning its attempts to continue to bring classic rock acts in.
“We’re always going to do some classic, but I think it’s going to be as much modern if not a little more,” Asher said. “I think our goal will be to keep it somewhat classic and somewhat modern.”
Rock Fest is using this year as an example to see how well the festival will fare with more modern bands.
“We’re just really testing the waters this year,” Asher said.
So far, ticket sales haven’t gone as well as organizers hoped.
“We’re a little bit soft. I think we’ll be somewhere in the 22,000-23,000 range per day,” Asher said. “I think we’re down like 3 percent maybe.”
But he has hope that more tickets will be sold.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people that are really excited about the lineup, but haven’t bought tickets yet,” he said.
Asher expects more people to buy tickets during the festival. From experience, he has learned that most of the older fans buy tickets in advance, while the younger crowd waits until the last minute.
So far no sections are sold out, not even VIP or the new reserved lawn seats.
The reserved lawn seats come with numbered lawn chairs set out just behind the VIP section. The chairs remain in place all weekend, so concert-goers don’t have to scurry to find a good spot everyday. After the fest is over, ticket holders can take their chairs home with them.
The reserved lawn seats were first tried last month at Country Fest, and Asher said people liked having them.
“That worked out really well for Country (Fest),” he said. “People were pretty pleased to have their seats saved everyday.”
The Reserved lawn seats sell for $245. VIP seats cost $500; four day general admission is $175, and one day general admission is $87.50.
Asher expects Saturday and Sunday to be the most popular of the four nights.
“We’re getting a lot of calls of excitement on Stone Temple Pilots, Matchbox Twenty and Godsmack,” he said.
Godsmack, known for “I Stand Alone” and “Awake,” is returning for its second year in a row at Rock Fest. The band is the clean-up act on Friday.
“They were here last year, and people really liked them,” Asher said.
The Stone Temple Pilots, who are headlining Saturday, are performing in their first tour since the band broke-up about seven years ago.
Matchbox Twenty, known for hits “Bent,” “Mad Season” and “3 A.M.,” closes the Fest Sunday night.
And before the Fest even begins Asher is looking forward to next year
“We’re looking at a rather huge name for next year already,” he said.
There will be no announcement of next year’s acts at Rock Fest, but Asher said he will know within a few days of the end of the fest if the band he is referring to has signed on for next year.
Reach Elizabeth Hochstedler at elizabeth.hochstedler@lee.net.
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