Festival looks to Internet to boost attendance

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Faced with declining attendance, one of the state's largest music festivals went to cyberspace for advice.

The 3 Rivers Music Festival, a three-day event that had its lowest attendance last year of about 50,000, decided it would post a list of artists and bands on its Web site and ask music lovers to vote for who they would like to see this spring.

The winners were jamband Widespread Panic and rapper Nelly.

The festival announced this week it had booked the nationally known artists for the event April 22-24, the first-time the festival has been able to announce acts before Christmas.

The festival, which has made a profit just twice in its five years, draws anywhere from 50,000 to 90,000 people each year. Surveys have shown 20 percent to 30 percent of those attending the downtown event travel an hour or more to get the festival.

Festival organizer Virginia Bedford said she hopes the two main acts will draw people from even greater distances.

With more than 10,000 votes cast in a few weeks, Widespread Panic, known for its live performances and devout fan following, was the top vote-getter with more than 2,500 votes.

And though hard-rockers AC/DC received more votes than Nelly, the festival's commitment to a diverse lineup for all ages and races secured a spot for the rapper, who has had hits with "Country Grammar" and "Hot in Herre."

The festival wasn't obligated to book the winning acts, but wanted to see if it was going in the right direction, said Bedford, who came up with the unusual idea.

"Last year was just a booking nightmare," she said, noting the festival failed to get the Allman Brothers Band, Foo Fighters and Willie Nelson. "So many people that we wanted were just not available."

This year already looks different.

Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of the concert industry trade publication Pollstar, said the festival probably isn't the first to use the Internet to poll an audience, but he was surprised it had announced two big time acts.

"That's actually pretty impressive that they've got some talent lined up, especially those two acts lined up this far in advance," Bongiovanni said.

He said providing a menu of artists to vote for was a good idea because "if you leave it up to people, they're going to be putting in Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones, acts that you can't possibly get." And, he said the event made a good decision hiring booking agent Jim Mallonee, vice president of House of Blues Concerts Southeast.

Mallonee said in 25 years of entertainment industry experience, he has never heard of a festival asking fans to vote on the Internet.

"It's very unique and I'm glad they're doing it," Mallonee said. "At first, I kind of scratched my head, but right now, from what I see, it makes a tremendous amount of sense."

Not only has the poll given a good idea of who to book, it's given an idea of who not to get, too, Mallonee said. The festival is still seeking votes for other artists, which are arranged on the site by genre, Bedford said.

But adding an Internet poll and hiring a booking agent aren't the only changes. The event will have fewer stages this year, and the date has been moved earlier to avoid conflicts with other events like the Masters and Heritage golf tournaments and the Carolina Cup horse race in Camden.

Bedford said she's still hearing complaints, though. Someone asked her why Clay Aiken was taken off the list and another suggested a combination of bands far beyond the festival's $500,000 budget.

"One thing that they clearly don't understand is how much these acts cost. I'm sure that they would be shocked to know that Clay Aiken costs over $100,000," she said.

On the Net:

http://www.3riversmusicfestival.org/