Please respond with what you believe SHOULD be the festivarian nature at Folks Fest, based on an experience this year. I’m going to try to describe it in a neutral way to find out what people think!
Saturday night this year - Brandi Carlisle (9pm)
Brandi started her set, and 3-7 people (mostly women in their mid-thirties) in the middle section behind the sound booth (in the low-backed chair section) stood up and were dancing, and therefore blocking the stage for the section behind them. Several people in the section behind them asked them to sit down. It was spoken and yelled, and some people shined their headlamps at them. Two separate men, (1st was mid-sixties and 2nd was mid-twenties) went up to ask them to sit down. They refused and kept dancing. After a few more songs a couple of the women left the area and the rest sat down.
I’m curious - what do you think? What kind of festival do you want to attend?
A. The women were blocking peoples’ view and it was rude to refuse to sit down.
B. The women should keep dancing and the people asking them to sit down were rude.
I’m gonna go for B on this one, mostly because it was a headlining act. At very other venue I go to, if someone is dancing in front of me, I stand up. As I recall, the whole place was on their feet for Dispatch, and lots of people were for Ani.
I can see an issue in the daytime when the music is more mellow.
Plus, yelling at people and shining headlamps at them sends a nasty vibe. IMHO people should be able to freak out to the music, that’s why we’re there.
I think the problem is that the designated dancing area on the right is too small. So my answer is “C”-- they should have a larger dance area, maybe one on the left and one on the right. Then everybody who wants to dance won’t have to block of view of the people who don’t like to dance.
I want to attend a festival where dancing is encouraged but the rights of the lazy people are respected.
We definitely need a larger designated dancing area. But until we get that, expect to see dancers everywhere.
It is The Rule Of Festivals that no matter where you sit, someone will stand in front of you. Learn Tolerance.
Where did you expect people to dance? During that show it was almost impossible to move in that crowd. Planet Bluegrass Ranch is not a concert hall. We will not all sit with our hands folded and our ankles crossed.
My suggestion is that when your view is blocked by dancers, you get up and dance too, if you are able.
I can’t say that I wouldn’t have been yelling “down in front” but in hind sight it is easy to see that it is not going to help.
And remember, they had this flood thing and it is a miracle that the event even happened. Let’s give them a little more time to adapt to the new circumstances. The people of Planet Bluegrass seem to be very sensitive to the needs of Festivarians and I suspect that they have already picked up on this and they are already making plans to accommodate the dancers. If you want to express your concerns to the people who can fix it, contact Planet Bluegrass. I’ll bet you get a positive response.
Learn tolerance? It seems that you only want tolerance to flow in one direction. To you, people who don’t like to dance are “lazy” and should “get up and dance too.” Where’s the tolerance there?
The dance area is definitely WAY too small…never understood going to a fest to plant yourself in front of the stage and SIT DOWN…but that’s me and the rules at Planet Bluegrass are different. So, I think the answer to the question is unfortunately A. I never bother going into the tarp area so I can always stand and dance and don’t deal with this problem…
BUT - the problem starts to be people feel entitled to sit down and ask everyone in front of them to also sit down in areas where that isn’t the “rule”…I was watching Ellis at the Wildflower Pavilion last festival, I was outside, not under the roof but along the side of the venue and I was standing up and gasp dancing. One person who (along with many others) had chosen to set up a chair OUTSIDE of the pavilion asked me to stop dancing and sit so he could remain seated but see the show. I smiled and said no, invited him to go inside where he could avoid the horror of a dancing hippy, and he wasted a good bit of the next couple songs making comments and giving me serious side-eye. Sorry fellow music-lover, but if I am following the rules and trying to get my dance on, you might actually have to stand up.
So, we should all try to remember to smile, be decent, and remember that there are limits that we should ALL try to fall within to keep this fest as wonderful as it already is :thumbsup
I vote for mostly B. There is plenty of time to sit but many folks will sit during even the most high energy music. Plus, the dance thing on the side becomes a jammed crowd trying to see the headliner and ends up not even good for dancing. Usually by that time people have already been sitting for hours and hours. Get up a bit and move around! Shake your butt and everything else. You will still be alive tomorrow.
Actually since the topic is Folks Fest vibe I have to say that I find a lot of things more distracting than someone dancing. People’s kids fighting or crying or just being loud and obnoxious on the tarps all around us is one thing. Another is incessant talking especially during quiet music. Goes like this: “oh my Godddd, it is so great to see you. My husband has a new job, we are remodeling our dog house, my youngest sprained his finger, blah, blah, blah, blah.” As the day goes on and people drink more, it gets worse. When the music starts, you would think people would quiet down, but no, they talk louder to hear each other over the music. That is my least favorite thing.
Get up and DANCE… you’ve been sitting all day! If you’re looking for a mellow vibe for the headlining act… save yourself the entrance fee, stay home, and put on her record.
I feel ya! Hard to contain at times however, this Fest is noted for turning it down a notch, easy and slow, like the dog days of summer winding down. Its a cool easy vibe. And I would say rock it out at all the Fests PBG has to offer and by the time Folk fest rolls around, you too will have this groovy slow easy feelin. Summertime!
What a gift to be moved to dance, always should have room to feel free to dance where there is music. Joy! Just flat out joy. More room for joyous feet!
I vote B, and full disclosure, I was one of the gals you are referring to! I’m impressed with your memory and spot-on description of the “incident”. Although you did miss the fact that I was 8 months pregnant with a very large baby and looked like I could go into labor at any moment. Our crew has been going to the festival every year for the past five years and we love it, almost as much as we (most of us) love Brandi Carlile. I toughed out the heat, crowds, uncomfortable seating (for a giant pregnant lady), and complete sobriety all day/night long for a rockin’ good time with one of my favorite artists. You can imagine our complete shock when we jumped to our feet when the HEADLINER came on and people IMMEDIATELY shouted very rudely at us to sit down, e.g., “you make a better door than a window!!” I was one of the people that left the area because I did not want to sit down and the negative vibes shooting at my back were too distracting. I will say, the dancing areas are small and do not provide good viewing/sound. I would have much rather stayed in my original seating area but at least I was able to enjoy the show without the fear of darts coming at me.
