I remember not so long ago, I made the claim that I was really going to try to do better at maintaining these posts and keeping up with the official blog of the Real. Texas. Festival.
Failure ... big time.
So I'm going to make the same commitment at this time. I'm really going to try to keep up with the official blog of the festival. And this time, we are going to call everyone's attention to the operative word in that statement.
That would be "try." I can try to do a lot of things ... I can try to run a 3 and half hour marathon this December. That certainly doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen.
So, off we go ... let's get caught up.
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Big Doings
The Real. Texas. Festival. was certainly big doings in 2010. There were 25,000 people who attended this year ... the biggest crowd ever. And, that might be a safe estimate as our "kids-get-in-free" promotion seemed to be a very popular feature. It's one that will undoubtedly be back for 2011.
Is this the line for the shuttle?
Talk about your popular phrases ... This one was heard a lot. As has been the case for the Real. Texas. Festival. since the beginning, we battled some rain. This year was perhaps the most rain we've ever had to deal with. In 2008, we fought rain on Friday night, but it was gorgeous on Saturday. Now, Sunday was brutal with a nice 45 degree day with a 30 mile per hour wind straight out of the north.
Still, it was dry.
At the 2010 Real. Texas. Festival. in April, it rained hard ... and I mean hard ... for several hours on Friday and it rained substantially Saturday morning. The rain took out our general admission parking areas in the grass to the north of the main stage just outside the fence perimeter.
So, it was all shuttle all of the time. Well, actually, some decided they would brave the wet ground and park in the grass anyway during the Cross Canadian Ragweed concert. But for the most part, it was shuttle only for rodeo patrons and festival attendees.
And the shuttle service wasn't the ideal situation for ingress and egress. People let us know about it ... boy did they let us know about it. And, rightly so.
But I cautioned one festival attendee who was particularly angered about the shuttle service and the long waits in line (sometimes more than an hour). He said he doesn't intend on ever coming back to the festival because of the poor fan experience he sustained because of the shuttle.
It never was, nor will ever be, our intention to shuttle every single person who attends the festival. That was a Plan B and in large part, Plan C, execution. I asked the person not to judge us on the activation of contingency plans. That's what they are ... contingency. They are plans you hope you never have to use because they are not as ideal Plan A. That's the one you put in place to get the job done ... it's why it's called Plan A.
All things considered, the shuttle service did exactly what it was designed to do ... bearing in mind, it was never designed to accommodate all festival guests.
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Friday Night
The rain hurt us for Kevin Fowler's headlined show. Saturday it wasn't so bad. I have a theory.
Friday night, folks got off work and checked the weather forecast. It called for up to an 80 percent chance for rain and thunderstorms throughout the night. As it turned out, it didn't rain one drop on us all night and it was beautiful. It was a little damp and soggy, but gorgeous.
Baseball and Weather men -- I'll take names of professions where you can only be successful 30 percent of the time and still keep your job for $400 Alex.
Rain was in the forecast all weekend long, but it's different when you get off work, look up at the sky and see nothing but clouds. Folks aren't as apt to head out to an outdoor concert event when they see nothing but gray clouds and skies.
Saturday, when everyone rolled out of bed around 9 or 10 (and that might be a little early for most) the rain had stopped for the day and they saw nothing but blue skies and sunshine.
And, it was Ragweed after all.
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800-lb Gorilla
Cross Canadian Ragweed is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to the Texas Red Dirt music scene. There is no question.
We thought they would be a great draw, but we had no idea. Of the 25,000 people who attended the festival, there is little doubt that 20,000 of that number was on Saturday.
And, as it turns out, CCR may be retiring on top as the champ of the Texas Red Dirt music scene.
They announced earlier this summer that they were taking an indefinite break from touring. After being on the road constantly for more than 10 years, it was just time.
They will be doing a show in Lewisville this September as part of Western Day and it might just be their last one for a while. What a lucky break for Western Day, huh?
In fact, we had already made the determination to bring them back for next year's event, but that's not going to happen.
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What's next
Real. Texas. Festival. 2011 is set for April 29 and 3o. If those dates sound familiar to you, the MS 150 Bike Ride is that weekend as well. We're starting to talk about sponsorships and headliners for the event.
Who would everyone like to see? And remember, let's be realistic. We're not quite ready to go booking George Strait, Paisley, Chesney, Underwood or Rascal Flats.
And, I'm a little disappointed that my first two draft picks are already off the board. Miranda Lambert just keeps on with her meteoric rise. She's more than a little rich for our blood.
Ragweed has taken itself off the board with the announcement of a break from touring.
So we are pondering several names to fill our top four spots at the festival ... among them at present are Eli Young Band (perhaps the leader in the clubhouse on our wish list), Pat Green, Kevin Fowler (always a favorite) and Jonathan Tyler and Northern Lights. We're also looking at bringing back Mark McKinney and Grupo Vida from last year as well.
Let us know what you think. Check out the festival on Facebook and as always, stay tuned to the blog.
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