Bayfest (Mobile)

Last updated
BayFest
Bayfest.png
GenreMusic
Datesearly October
Location(s) Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A.
Years active1995–2015
Website http://www.bayfest.com/

BayFest was an annual three-day music festival held in the heart of downtown Mobile, Alabama. Founded in 1995, the festival offered a variety of music including pop, jazz, classic rock, alternative, R&B, rap, gospel, and modern rock. It was based at Bienville Square. The Launching Pad stage during Bayfest focused on local and regional talent. The event encouraged "going green" by providing for recycling throughout the grounds.

Contents

After perceived poor lineups, fewer acts and increasing ticket prices caused some years of diminishing interest, organizers for Bayfest announced its ending two weeks before its planned 2015 festival. [1]

History

Alabama at Bayfest in 2014. Alabama at Bayfest 2014.jpg
Alabama at Bayfest in 2014.

Growing from an initial attendance of 50,000 people in 1995, BayFest became known for its array of musical talent suited to a wide variety of tastes. In 2003, the festival included over 125 live musical acts on nine stages and had an average attendance of more than 200,000 people during the three-day weekend each year. [2] Throughout the past fifteen years, acts such as 3 Doors Down, Alice in Chains, B.B. King, The Beach Boys, Big & Rich, Collective Soul, Hootie & the Blowfish, Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Ludacris, The Temptations, Travis Tritt, Stone Temple Pilots, Uncle Kracker, and Velvet Revolver have performed at BayFest. [3]

The 2008 lineup included Better Than Ezra, Bow Wow, Buckcherry, Eric Church, Kid Rock, Nelly, Puddle of Mudd, Sister Hazel, Three Days Grace, and Wynonna Judd. [4] During its first eleven years, BayFest was voted six times as Mobile's "Best Annual Event" in Mobile Bay Monthly magazine, surpassing the city's celebration of Mardi Gras. It was named as one of the Southeast Tourism Society's "Top 20 Events" several times beginning in 1995. [3]

In its later years, as happened with similar festivals elsewhere in the U.S., the event suffered from declining interest. Tropical Storm Karen adversely affected the festival in 2013. [1] Financial concerns briefly led organizers to reschedule the 2015 event to the Grounds in West Mobile, before deciding to remain in downtown Mobile despite their difficulties. [5] On September 16, 2015, organizers announced the event's ending, as well as the cancellation of its planned 21st festival. [1]

Organization

The festival was organized each year by BayFest, Inc., a non-profit organization consisting of more than 1000 non-paid volunteers. [6] All ticket sales were invested directly back into the festival for upcoming events. [2]

Lineups

2013 Lineup

Bayfest 2013 took place on October 4-6, 2013.

2012 Lineup

Bayfest 2012 took place from October 5-7, 2012 and the lineup included: Journey, Luke Bryan, Bush, Pretty Lights, Big & Rich, Buckcherry, My Darkest Days, Pat Benatar, Loverboy, Ledisi, Al Green, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Chris Cagle, Eric Benét, Ruben Studdard, Willie Nelson, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Rose Royce, Charlie Wilson, Brandon Green, Tank, Mimosa, The Campaign 1984, and Dennis Nelson.

2011 Lineup

Bayfest 2011 took place from October 7-9, 2011 and the lineup included: Korn, Blake Shelton, 3 Doors Down, Duran Duran, Hinder, Eric Church, Toby Keith, Ludacris, Drowning Pool, Anthony Hamilton, Theory of a Deadman, Shaggy, Wiz Khalifa, NEEDTOBREATHE, The Campaign 1984, and Dennis Nelson.

2010 Lineup

Bayfest 2010 took place from October 1-3, 2010 and the lineup included: Godsmack, Shinedown, Mötley Crüe, Nelly, Five Finger Death Punch, Saving Abel, Lady Antebellum, Adelitas Way, Papa Roach, Sick Puppies, Skillet, Fuel, Tonic, Rehab, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Grayson Capps, Evans Blue

2009 Lineup

Bayfest 2009 took place from October 2-4, 2009 and the lineup included: Stone Temple Pilots, 3 Doors Down, Steve Miller Band, Train, Ludacris, Chevelle, Cage the Elephant, Cavo, Halestorm, Pop Evil, and Meat Puppets.

2008 Lineup

Bayfest 2008 took place from October 3-5, 2008 and the lineup included: Darius Rucker, Kid Rock, Three Days Grace, Candlebox, Eric Church, Nelly, Blake Shelton, Better Than Ezra, David Nail, Sister Hazel, Saving Abel, Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D., and Bow Wow. Akon, T-Pain, Jessie J, and BuckCherry.

2007 Lineup

Bayfest 2007 took place from October 5-7, 2007 and the lineup included: Velvet Revolver, Alice in Chains, Blue Öyster Cult, Big & Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Ludacris, Daughtry, Hellyeah, Flyleaf, John Miller, Luke Bryan, Willie Clayton, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Sparta, Operator, The S.O.S. Band, Chaka Khan, Brick, Barry Richman, and Dennis Nelson.

2006 Lineup

Bayfest 2006 took place from October 6-8, 2006 and the lineup included: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gretchen Wilson, MC Hammer, Keith Anderson, Shinedown, Evans Blue, 10 Years, Al Green, Michael Bolton, Gary Allan, Trick Pony, Hinder, Blaine Larsen, and The Wreckers.

2005 Lineup

Bayfest 2005 took place from October 7-9, 2005 and the lineup included: Widespread Panic, Grand Funk Railroad, Jason Aldean, The Grass Roots, Hot Apple Pie, Craig Morgan, Dark New Day, Elvin Bishop, The Lowdown, Kool & the Gang, and Adam Holt & The Blues Congregation.

2004 Lineup

Bayfest 2004 took place from October 1-3, 2004 and the lineup included: The Beach Boys, The Charlie Daniels Band, Travis Tritt, Collective Soul, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Uncle Kracker, Ruben Studdard, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Josh Turner, John Miller, Brad Cotter, Regina Belle, Buddy Jewell, The Commodores, Will Downing, Andy Smith, Dr. Hook, Edwin McCain, Emerson Drive, The Movement, Debbie 'The Delta Diva' Bivens and Dennis Nelson.

2003 Lineup

Bayfest 2003 took place from October 3-5, 2003 and the lineup included: Village People, Keith Urban, John Miller, Sugar Ray, Ludacris, Blue October, Trace Adkins, Andy Griggs, The Gap Band, Default, Billy Currington, The Manhattans, and Bobby "Blue" Bland.

2002 Lineup

Bayfest 2002 took place from October 4-6, 2002 and the headliner was Stone Temple Pilots.

2001 Lineup

Bayfest 2001 took place from October 5-7, 2001 and the headliner was Live.

1998 Lineup

Bayfest 1998 took place in October, 1998 and the headliners were Creed and Candlebox.

1996 Lineup

Bayfest 1996 took place from October 4-6, 1996 and the headliner was Widespread Panic.

Related Research Articles

Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place during March in Miami, Florida, United States. The festival was acquired in 2005 by Andres Cisneros Phelps, a tour promoter and event organizer. Was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckcherry</span> American rock band

Buckcherry is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry (1999) and Time Bomb (2001), before dissolving in 2002. Buckcherry's first album Buckcherry was DreamWorks first album to go gold. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry with a new lineup and released a new album in 2006, 15. It contained Buckcherry's biggest crossover hits to date, "Crazy Bitch", and their first Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit, "Sorry". The band continued to record albums, releasing five between 2008 and 2019: Black Butterfly in 2008, All Night Long in 2010, Confessions in 2013, Rock 'n' Roll in 2015, and Warpaint in 2019. Their ninth and most recent album Hellbound was released on June 25, 2021.

Slope Day is an annual day of celebration held at Cornell University historically during the last day of regular undergraduate classes, but has moved to the following day as of 2014. The Slope Day Programming Board (SDPB) is responsible for organizing the event, selecting artists, and managing the Slope Day's execution. Though Slope Day has gone through many phases, in recent years focus has shifted to live music and catered food and beverages on the Slope.

Rock Fest is also a block on VH1 Classic

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTBZ-FM</span> Radio station in Houston, Texas

KTBZ-FM is a commercial active/alternative rock radio station licensed to Houston, Texas. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves Greater Houston. The KTBZ-FM studios are located in Uptown Houston, while the station transmitter is located near Missouri City, Texas; KTBZ-FM has an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts.

Moondance Jam is an annual rock and classic rock festival held in mid-July in the Leech Lake/Chippewa National Forest Area near Walker, Minnesota. It is recognized as Minnesota's largest rock festival and a major classic rock festival in the United States. The Jam has gone from being a party for a few hundred family and friends back in 1992 to a rock 'n' roll and camping celebration that entertains tens of thousands today mainly because it has maintained a clean, safe and friendly atmosphere along with open festival seating for general admission ticket holders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latitude Festival</span> Annual Music Festival in Suffolk, England

The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the festival went ahead as part of the government's live event pilot scheme, and was the UK's first full-capacity festival since 2019.

X-Fest is an annual music festival held in various venues throughout the United States by Clear Channel Communications radio stations. It features alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal, grunge, and industrial rock bands.

Buzzfest is the name of two unrelated music festivals held in Houston, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Buzzfest in Houston is a bi-annual show hosted by the radio station 94.5 The Buzz while the Buzzfest in Nashville is an annual show hosted by the radio station 102.9 The Buzz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voodoo Music + Arts Experience</span> Music and arts festival in Louisiana, US

The Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, commonly referred to as Voodoo or Voodoo Fest, is a multi-day music and arts festival held in City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocklahoma</span>

Rocklahoma is an annual American three-day rock festival held in Pryor, Oklahoma. The festival features 4 official stages, as well as many unofficial campground parties and performing acts and onsite vendors. It is currently billed as one of the many festivals that make up AEG Entertainment's World's Loudest Month concert series. There were an estimated 100,000 people at the first annual Rocklahoma held in 2007. The Third Annual Rocklahoma had over seventy bands on four stages, including favorites from previous Rocklahoma festivals, Beautiful Creatures, LA Guns featuring Tracii Guns, Bang Tango, Lillian Axe, Gypsy Pistoleros and Faster Pussycat. Included on the side stages are bands from all over Europe. Coffee table books for Rocklahoma 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 have been published and are available on the web.

Rogers Sarnia Bayfest was an annual music festival held in Centennial Park in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada each July, from 1999 to 2012. At its end, the event was attracting approximately 100,000 visitors.

Country Jam USA is a 3-day annual country music festival held in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The first festival was held in 1990, making Country Jam USA one of the longest-running festivals in the country.

Lazerfest was a music festival, created by the Lazer 103.3 radio station in Des Moines, Iowa. The festival featured rock artists such as Five Finger Death Punch, Halestorm, Falling In Reverse, Young Guns, Devour The Day, and We Are Harlot. The 2015 festival was held Friday, May 8 and Sunday, May 10, 2015, at the 7 Flags Event Center in Clive, Iowa. The festival was discontinued after that.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hangout Music Festival</span> Music festival

The Hangout Music Festival is an annual three-day music festival held on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama. The main stages are the Hangout Stage and the Surf Stage, as well as the Boom Boom Tent and more. The festival generally takes place on the third weekend in May. It is the first major music festival held on the beach in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live Fest</span>

Live Fest is a bi-annual music festival held at The O2 in London. According to its organizers, it is the largest indoor music festival in the United Kingdom. In the first festival on 23 July 2011, some of the headlining acts included Zane Lowe, Tinchy Stryder, Roll Deep, The Hoosiers, and Funeral for a Friend. Prominent genres of music at the festival include urban, pop, rock, and indie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Chip Campground</span>

The Buffalo Chip Campground is an event venue in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The campground is a place for motorcycle enthusiasts and music festival visitors each year, and has been since its founding in 1981. Host to a 10-day Concert Series and thousands of motorcyclists each August during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the Buffalo Chip provides a music festival, various other forms of entertainment, and full service tent, RV and cabin camping on almost 600 acres in rural Meade County. The motorcycle and music festival also features entertainment including multiple disciplines of racing, exhibits, beauty pageants, dance performances, bike shows, world-record-breaking stunts, midget bowling, and military tributes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hangout Music Festival line-ups</span>

The Hangout Music Festival is an annual three-day music festival held at the public beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama. It was founded by A.J. Niland and Shaul Zislin in 2010, and is produced by Huka Entertainment. The event features many genres of music, including rock, indie, hip hop, and electronic dance music. It is the first major music festival held on the beach in the city.

Twin Cities Summer Jam was a music festival in Shakopee, Minnesota that took place each year in July at Canterbury Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgefest (Dallas)</span> Alternative-rock music festival in Dallas

Edgefest was an annual alternative-rock music festival concert held in and around Dallas, Texas from 1992 to 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lawrence Specker (September 16, 2015). "BayFest 2015 organizers: Festival is canceled, effective immediately". AL.com . Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Behind the Music: BayFest's Economic Impact" (PDF). "The Business View". "Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce". October 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  3. 1 2 "About BayFest". "Bayfest, Inc.". Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  4. ↑ "Mobile Bayfest 2008 Lineup". Press-Register. 2008-09-05. Archived from the original on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  5. ↑ Lawrence Specker (March 26, 2015). "BayFest chief: 'It is a downtown event, that's where our heart is'". AL.com . Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Countdown to BayFest". City of Mobile. 2006-07-14. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.