There are no easy answers for City Stages.

Its money problems continue, as they have for the past eight years, and Birmingham's largest music festival is likely to enter 2009 with a debt of $250,000 or more.

That's disheartening news, although organizers say they can handle another shortfall and have posted the dates for the next fest, June 19-21, on the City Stages Web site.

Naysayers have called for the festival's demise, saying enough is enough. Other critics have suggested that it's time for a new group of leaders to take over the fest and reinvent it.

Simplistic solutions -- "get bands people WANT to see" -- have been offered in blunt Internet postings, by folks who are dissatisfied, antagonistic or simply exercising their First Amendment right to vent.

Some of the Web comments have taken what I call the Ross Perot approach: Get a smart business person in there, someone who really knows what he or she is doing, and just fix it.

Continue reading "Grousing's not the way to build a better City Stages" »

City Stages sold half the day passes it had expected to sell this year and is likely to add at least $100,000 to its $150,000 debt, marketing director Guy McCullough said.

"Any way you look at it, this is not a good result," McCullough said in an interview. "It's disappointing, and it's not the outcome that we'd ever seek. But it is one that's manageable."

Organizers won't know the exact shortfall until the fiscal year ends on Aug. 31, he said. But McCullough said he expects it to be six figures.

The City Stages budget is a complicated affair, McCullough said, with revenue coming from a variety of sources which includes sponsorships, beverage sales and public funding. All of the revenue hasn't been tallied, including sales of weekend passes. Also, there's a detailed list of expenses to calculate, he said.

Continue reading "City Stages misses mark on sales of day passes" »

Meant to post this last week before I left town for vacation but I didn't get a chance to, so you are getting it now. When I last left you, I was enthusiastically writing about the upcoming City Stages festival in Downtown Birmingham. And while the festival didn't turn out exactly how everyone wanted it to, there was something inherently right about it. The talent level of the artists was impeccable, the vibe on the city streets was palpable and energizing and the city was, well, alive. In my heart of hearts, I wish Downtown Birmingham had that kind of vibe every weekend. It is a beautiful city with a lot of good things going for it that should be celebrated as often as possible.

 

Continue reading "Top 10 moments from City Stages 2008" »

I hope everyone had a great City Stages. It was a wonderful weekend for me, even though I could only attend Saturday and the last few hours of Friday night.

Even though the festival failed to break even this year, I am grateful for the effort put forth by the City Stages staff and volunteers who put on a terrific show.

Just to give a taste of the acts I saw on Saturday, here's a video montage I put together:

City Stages 2008 Saturday Highlights

And here are some full length clips:

Continue reading "City Stages Redux" »

Supporters loyal in face of festival's latest financial setback

Despite its continued financial woes, City Stages can count on money from the city and state next year, along with the support of Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Carns and at least one major sponsor.

Birmingham's largest music festival won't break even on its $2.85 million budget for 2008, organizers said Thursday, and the festival is likely to add to its debt of about $150,000.

But key supporters remain on its side. Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford has proposed $300,000 for the music festival in a 2009 budget currently under review by the City Council.

The state of Alabama's general fund budget for 2009 includes $50,000 for City Stages.

Carns, who gave the festival $5,000 from his discretionary fund this year, said he would consider a similar contribution in 2009.

Alabama Power, a City Stages sponsor for 20 years, also expressed its continued loyalty to the festival.

Continue reading "City, state earmark funds for City Stages in '09" »

City Stages will not break even this year, organizers say, and ticket sales are to blame.

Sales of weekend passes and day passes are unlikely to reach budget projections of about $1.29 million, Guy McCullough, the festival's marketing director, said Thursday.

All the numbers from City Stages' ticket outlets aren't available yet, McCullough said, so the exact shortfall is unknown.

City Stages, which has struggled financially since 2000, was about $150,000 in debt as its gates opened on June 13, according to the festival's president, George McMillan.

See Mary Colurso's picks for City Stages' best performances as well as video, photos and reviews from this year's festival.

Continue reading "City Stages loses money; organizers blame ticket sales" »

Balloons at The Flaming Lips, City Stages

One week later, music fans are basking in the afterglow of City Stages.

Birmingham's downtown festival really delivered on the talent frontier in 2008, presenting some stellar headliners and exciting up-and-comers.

At the Miller Lite Stage, in particular, the lineup gained extreme strength, eclipsing the mediocre bands and "been there, done that" rock acts we've been forced to endure over the past few years. There's been a stratospheric leap from Three Days Grace to the Flaming Lips, from Ratt to Michael Franti & Spearhead, from Poison to Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals.

The Birmingham News team delivered 50 reviews over the weekend of June 13-15, and most of them resulted in an enthusiastic thumbs-up. The acts covered a wide range of genres and styles, from Andrew Bird to the Wailers, Telluride to Toubab Krewe.

On my agenda: 17 performances, starting with the Unplugged show on Friday afternoon and concluding with the Flaming Lips extravaganza late Sunday evening. Visions of faux Teletubbies still are dancing in my head -- which, frankly, makes it difficult to think -- but I've drawn my conclusions and come up with three awards for Best of Show.

Continue reading "City Stages report card: Best of this year's festival was very, very good" »

City Stages will not break even this year, organizers say, and ticket sales are to blame.

Sales of weekend passes and day passes are unlikely to reach budget projections of about $1.29 million, Guy McCullough, the festival's marketing director, said Thursday.

All the numbers from City Stages' ticket outlets aren't available yet, McCullough said, so the exact shortfall is unknown.

City Stages, which has struggled financially since 2000, was about $150,000 in debt as its gates opened on June 13, according to the festival's president, George McMillan.

The goal was to break even this year, McMillan said. If that happened, he said, the festival could slowly erase its debt in 2009.

That goal is bound to be more difficult now, McCullough said.

Continue reading "City Stages' hopes for a break-even year are dashed; organizers point to ticket sales" »

Several minutes after the Wailers had finished their set at City Stages last night, while Michael Franti's crew was setting up, there was a sudden eruption of cheers from those in the audience who hadn't made a dash for concessions or bathroom breaks. Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips, had walked onto the stage and waved.

It was a simple gesture, but it was one that set the tone for the night: The Flaming Lips love their fans.

Continue reading "Flaming Lips show like nothing City Stages has ever seen" »

If you weren't able to catch all of the performances at this year's City Stages -- is there a single person who could? -- we'll show you the highlights.


Search our database to see 50 reviews by The Birmingham News and video of performances from all three days of the festival.