You’ve got it all planned out: the bands, permits, vendors, venue, sponsors, staff, ticketing and payments system; your music festival appears to be unstoppable on paper. The scary truth, despite your precision planning, is that circumstances beyond your control can and will arise throughout your event. Think Murphy’s Law.
How do you recoup from a severe thunderstorm that floods the grounds during the first day of your event? What are your options when your headliner calls to cancel due to a case of bronchitis? Every event planner’s worst nightmare…
Although the two crises mentioned above seem too unfortunate to ever happen, both occurred at Detroit’s 2015 MO POP Music Festival. And despite the adverse circumstances, MO POP still managed to bring in a huge crowd and provide an awesome experience for music fans across Michigan, including myself. This crew regrouped, reorganized, and improvised their way to a successful festival, while battling the elements and maintaining a positive attitude. Here’s how they did it!
A large, dark cloud slowly moved over the stage where Iron & Wine was playing their third song, and the downpour began. The rain felt refreshing until the stage manager gave the signal to evacuate the stage and cut the band’s set list short after only half an hour of playing. No more music, just thunder and lighting. Everyone ran for shelter. Cue dramatic chaos and unhappy fans.
Beneath the merch and Biergarten tents, weather wasn’t the only thing that the fans felt disheartened about. One of the headliners, Passion Pit, had canceled the day before, not leaving much time for the organizers to arrange a back up band. Many fans had traveled near and far just to see the indietronica band play live. After nearly a three-hour delay, MoPop event organizers rallied to make things right.
Lesson #1: Don’t be afraid to tweak or break your own schedule. AKA Check your ego; keeping people safe and entertained is more important than “sticking to your plan or looking cool”. People don’t care which stage a band is performs on, as long as they play!
The band that began playing was Brandon Flowers (lead singer and songwriter of The Killers) and his entourage. Although they weren’t considered the biggest band at the festival (like Modest Mouse), the crowd started acting like it.. Fans soon forgot about the rain, the thunder, and the delay, as they danced and sang along to the words of the famous Mr. Brightside.
Lesson #2: Headliners are important (who doesn’t love Float On?), but don’t underestimate the power of the performers leading up to your headliners. Although they are not the main act, they are the backbone supporting your music festival.
Lesson #3: When all hope is lost, there is still hope. When times get tough, strive to find creative solutions, not perfection.
Look like this…
The photos speak for themselves, but really, this simple solution made it possible for both stages to be used and facilitated the large fan base that Modest Mouse drew in.
Lesson #4: Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The massive amounts of hay laid down by the MOPOP crew saved the festival’s biggest day of revenue. Although a lake forming in front of your main stage is unlikely, it truly is a possibility. So, have a game plan that can resolve issues like this.
Special thanks to Ryan Garza of the Detroit Free Press for the stunning photos of this event!