File photo courtesy of Long Beach Folk Revival Festival.
The fifth and last Folk Revival Festival for who knows how long, featuring headliners Lucero and Billy Joe Shaver, took place on September 16 at Rainbow Lagoon Park. Organizers announced today that they will be cancelling the 2018 event due to decreased attendance and limited resources.
“In 2017 we saw a lot more competition to our event with multiple new festivals & events popping up the same weekend, and with the recent announcements of major event producers moving into Long Beach to set up operations we decided that there just isn’t room enough for a family-run community event of our size,” the announcement stated.
Other larger events surrounding the folk fest included Summertime in The LBC at the Queen Mary in early August and in November, ComplexCon and Tropicalia. Not to mention the home-grown Music Tastes Good in late September. Goldenvoice is likely one of the “major event producers” the letter refers to, with a new partnership with the Queen Mary announced in December.
It’s not all sad news, however, as the team promised to continue putting on its Folk Revival Monthly Jam Session during this “temporary lull”. Keep up to date with the monthly event and other happenings through the festival’s Facebook page here.
The Long Beach Folk Revival Festival was created to showcase local talent, with over half of the more than 20 musical acts who performed during its inaugural festival heralding from the city. Alyssandra Nighswonger, Bearcoon and Paperplanes were just a few of the musical artists who initiated the event in November 2013.
“The support and love we have received from our fans, friends, supporters, & community in this endeavor has been overwhelming and we love you so much for that,” the letter continued. “We could NEVER have done this festival without our volunteers and amazing staff as well as our Long Beach folk family. We will hold you in our hearts forever!”