Eagle Rock Music Festival Will Be Scaled Down This Year

The 2013 Eagle Rock Music Festival will be scaled down in size and scope compared to previous years, one of the festival's organizers told the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council on Tuesday. 

"We think it peaked the last couple of years. It just got really big and became a bit of a concern not only for the community and the businesses but for the center as well," Center for the Arts Eagle Rock Development Director Renée Dominique said. "So we’re paring it down a bit, trying to go back to the roots of the music festival."

As part of the paring down, this year's event will feature around 35 bands, as opposed to the 70 that played last year. There will also be fewer stages and an end time of 10 p.m. instead of 11 p.m. The event is set to take place Oct. 5. Click here for details and the band lineup. 

"I think we’re done about 10 o’clock. You know, the people that are coming in after 10 are probably not having our community in their best interests," Dominique said. 

Dominique also took the council and audience through the history of the festival, which is entering its 15th year and is organized by Center for the Arts Eagle Rock. She explained how it grew from a small neighborhood affair to an estimated 100,000 people having attended the event the last few years.  

"It started as bands playing in front of businesses with cars whizzing by. In 2006, we closed the streets for the first time, to make it safe," Dominique said. "That was the first year that people could stroll through the streets and experience the music festival. Since 2006, the festival has grown to have citywide appeal. It’s the biggest music festival and one of the favorite music festivals for music lovers because it’s a non-corporate ticketed event. It still remains a community-free event. The center asks for a donation but no one is turned away for lack of funds."

Several members of the council expressed happiness at the festival being a smaller affair this year.

"I’m glad to hear that you are paring it down a little. It’s gotten to the point where it was hard to walk," ERNC member Michelle Frier said.

Dominique appeared before the council to ask for some funding for the festival, which she said cost over $200,000 to produce last year. Council President Michael Nogueira left the room midway through the discussion and abstained from voting after Council Vice President David Greene asked if his business, Sir Michael's Party Rentals, was a vendor for the event. Dominique said that Nogueira was been both a sponsor and vendor for the event, but that the money she was asking for would not be used to pay vendors. However, Nogueira quickly stepped out of the room when the issue was raised. 

The council has traditionally granted funds for the event, and voted in favor of giving the center $5,000 to help pay for printing costs. This was less than the $7,500 given last year, but was an easier amount to grant because anything more than $5,000 requires a city contract which leads to a lot of red tape, Atkinson explained to the council. 

Dominique seemed to agree that keeping the cost under $5,000 was preferable for some reasons. Last year's funds were used to pay vendors, and one vendor was not paid until last month, nine months after the festival, Dominique said.  

Stay tuned to Patch for full details and coverage of the 2013 Eagle Rock Music Festival. 

Correction: The quote from ERNC member Michelle Frier in this article was inadvertently misattributed to Council Treasurer Ashely Atkinson.