NEW YORK (Reuters) - After
gale-force winds and rain marred last year's event, New York will
host the fourth Governors Ball on Friday, which could be its answer
to Lollapalooza and Coachella and the city's most successful attempt
yet to establish a homegrown music festival.
Grammy-winning rock group Kings of Leon were forced to run
for shelter last year as the festival grounds on Randall's
Island in New York's East River were transformed into a morass
of stinky, sticky mud.
But the three-day event is back with a lineup that includes
hometown favorite The Strokes, rock musician Jack White, French
indie rock band Phoenix and hip hop duo Outkast.
It is all thanks to 20-something friends, Jordan Wolowitz, Tom
Russell, and Yoni Reisman, who quit their jobs in 2011 and
formed Founders Entertainment.
“You’re the master of your own destiny when you’re independent,”
Russell told Reuters. “That’s part of the reason we’ve grown so
organically and been so successful.”
Their first outing was a one-day, twelve-band festival on
Governors Island, which was profitable in its first year, a feat
that takes most festivals years to achieve. The second
installment was moved to Randall’s Island where it has remained
ever since.
Despite the success of Woodstock 45 years ago, New Yorkers
watched as other cities captured the summer music calendar.
Chicago hosts Lollapalooza and more specialized festivals like
indie-rock's Pitchfork, and the retro-punk RiotFest.
Greater Los Angeles kicks off the festival season with the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. New Orleans has
JazzFest while Bonnaroo, in the woods of Tennessee, begins next
week.
Tickets for events like Coachella and Bonnaroo have sold out
minutes after going on sale. But the U.S. Northeast has largely
missed out on the action, although not for lack of effort.
Bonnaroo N.E., Field Day, Vineland, Across the Narrows, All
Tomorrow's Parties and Creamfields, among others, failed to gain
traction.
Even Goldenvoice, the promoters behind Coachella, could not break
into the New York market. In 2008 the group held All Points West in
Jersey City, with British rock band Radiohead headlining, but the
festival was abandoned after its second year. Founders said it
learned from All Points West’s mistakes that New Jersey is no
substitute for New York City.
Governors Ball, which remains solely owned by its three founders,
faces the additional challenge of competing with major companies
like AEG Live and Live Nation that have invested heavily in the
festival business. Despite this, Governors Ball has grown from
18,000 attendees its first year to an anticipated 45,000 daily
attendees this weekend.
“Even though the purchasing of music is at an all-time low, the
consumption of music is at an all-time high,” Wolowitz said.
“People are digesting more music and their palates are more diverse
than ever. A contemporary festival like ours has a lot of appeal.
It’s indicative of how people digest music in the 21st century,” he
added.
