Headliners Jason Isbell and Todd Snider highlighted the two-day Monterey Bay Americana Festival's debut year in 2013.
Despite great performances at a great venue, the Fairgrounds, Dan Miller's first attempt in the music fest production world drew some pretty small attendance numbers.
But Miller isn't the quitting type.
He tweaked some things, moved other things around and got rid of some things all together.
Miller's idea for the Monterey Bay Americana Festival's second go-around in 2014: Book the biggest musician you can—Dwight Yoakam—and cut the event down to one day.
The turnout was just about as low as the first year's.
But Miller is stubborn, full of heart and loaded with ideas, which could be a dangerous combination.
We'll just have to see if his plan for the third round the Monterey Bay Americana Festival turns out to be the money shot.
Miller went even bigger with the changes, starting with the name: Monterey BaconFest2015 (presented by Monterey Bay Americana Festival.)
We're also back to a two-day format (11am-7pm June 27 and 28.)
Here's why Miller may have finally hit a homer, or at least a ground-rule double: cost and lineup.
You can't beat $10 per day for a roster that includes Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Grammy Award-winners and some of Monterey's greatest talents.
Day 1: Albert Lee, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, The Silent Comedy, The Easy Leaves and Delany Ann.
Day 2: Jim Lauderdale, Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real, Midnight North, Lauren Shera and Mike Beck.
On top of that Miller went ahead and threw on a pile of bacon.
"There will be the Best in Bacon competition, among our vendors, with $3,000 in cash prizes. Come enjoy a day in the sun with great music and everything bacon. There will even be a Bacon Bar serving Bacon Marguerites and Bacon Bloody Marys among other bacon embellished drinks."
Tossing bacon into the mix may be cheap, but it may also be a genius move.
We will just have to see.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.