Two local music venues made a comeback in recent days: the July 31 Sheryl Crow concert at the new Elmwood Park Amphitheater – billed as a shakeout for larger acts – seemed to prove that the renovated facility could handle a crowd of 4000-plus. The concession and bathroom lines were manageable; parking nearby did not seem to be a huge problem.
Crow showed up earlier in the day and spent some time with her two young sons at the Science Museum of Western Virginia. She was in fine voice and rocked an appreciative crowd that was warmed up by rising star Caitlyn Smith.
Roanoke City Parks and Recreation handled the logistics for the superstar’s appearance, with Jefferson Center responsible for selling the tickets back in April. Jeff Center staffers were also on hand on the 31st to help with the stage operations.
Roanoke Mayor David Bowers tried to lead the crowd in a sing-along beforehand when he took to the stage with other City Council members. “We want to prove to promoters they can come in with big acts and have it be a success [for all parties involved],” said Bowers before the music got underway. “They’re going to have a great time.”
Parks and recreation director Steve Buschor said the city has already received feelers from promoters about bringing big name acts to Elmwood Park – and Buschor said no, Parks and Rec. does not want to be in the music booking business on a regular basis.
Just up the road on the Floyd/Patrick County line FloydFest 13 concluded its 5-day run a few days before Sheryl Crow came to Roanoke. The annual music festival was a scaled-down model this year: less tickets were intentionally sold and in fact even with fewer passes offered the event still did not sell out.
There is also a theory that with the second annual Lockin’ Festival about to take place in Nelson County (Tom Petty and Willie Nelson are headliners) that some with limited bucks for an all-weekend music and camping festival might have been saving their dollars for that event. Additionally, some may have been turned off by last year’s logjam and muddy conditions (the weather was fine this year) but those on hand seemed to be having a good time of it.
That left more elbow room for patrons (about 10,000 per day said co-founder Kris Hodges versus 14,000 last year). An improved shuttle system and more efficient ways to get people to the music venues and their campsites also worked much better. “This has been a transformative year for us,” said Hodges on the final day. “We knew we were going to have to do that to go forward. We did that to swimming success.”
The music choices on ten stages was as eclectic as ever, from big-name acts like blues-rock guitarist Buddy Guy and reggae scion Ziggy Marley to lesser-known bands – more than a 100 performers in all. “I’m very proud of the team and our efforts. By all accounts every patron has had a wonderful time.” Many returning performers remarked from the stages that FloydFest has become one of their favorite annual tour stops.
– Gene Marrano
