Coloradans are used to piling into a car to find something to do, but they usually head in one direction to do it.
That’s why Peter Ore believes the upcoming Riot Fest music festival could be such a departure for the local entertainment scene. Ore, who books performers for the promotional company Soda Jerk Presents, said the two-day showcase planned for Sept. 21-22 at May Farms in Byers could open up a whole new part of the state to high-profile events.
“Everything in Colorado goes from Denver to the west. Skiing, snowboarding, Red Rocks,” said Ore, who’s been promoting concerts in the metro area for 17 years. “I think people out east are like, ‘Finally, something in my backyard.’”
For concertgoers in Aurora, May Farms doesn’t exactly qualify as the backyard. The farm is at least a 30-minute drive from the city’s main drag, and it’s fair to say the 400-acre property is one of the few parts of Byers that could be considered a tourist draw. But the flat stretch of farmland on the eastern plains held plenty of appeal for Ore and the other promoters behind Riot Fest, a rock, pop, hip-hop and alternative music festival that started in Chicago in 2005.
The festival’s first year in Colorado will feature high-profile acts like the Replacements, Iggy and the Stooges, Public Enemy, Matt & Kim and AWOL Nation; Ore is expecting an attendance of more than 15,000 from all 50 states.
“I think people are going to watch this very closely,” Ore said. “If it goes off well and 20,000 people drive east of Denver … I would imagine that there’s going to be some people trying to copy that model.”
Ore and other representatives from Soda Jerk Productions started searching for the right venue for the festival last year, and they looked first at big sites in downtown Denver. Because of capacity and permit issues, however, they ruled out an urban setting. Gary May’s property quickly stood out as an ideal alternative, a tract that, unlike other metro-area farms, offered plenty of space, flat land and no floodplains.
“He’s got the perfect piece of land there. If we’re not going to do it in downtown, it’s going to be somewhere that’s a decent drive away,” Ore said. “The farm is giant, and it has room for expansion for years to come. This year we’re doing it this way, but there’s so much more land there that we can develop.”
He added that the company has already started making plans for Riot Fests in years to come. That includes finding land for camping and parking space, and possibly expanding beyond the three stages slated for this year’s debut event. Owner Gary May is on board with those plans. Riot Fest is only one of many upcoming events at May Farms designed to draw a new crowd to the farm.
“We’re building a future, building a reputation,” May said. “We’ve been trying sell this farm as a festival site for a long time with the agritainment idea. We looked at different festival concepts and what made things work. We looked at how big is too big?”
Ore’s confidence in the future of the outdoor festival comes in part from the approach to programming. He says large-scale efforts in the past like the Mile High Music Festival failed because of an overly broad approach to booking. Riot Fest’s program, by contrast, takes a much more focused approach. The bands all share a common kind of appeal, Ore said. It’s not such a stretch to think of a Black Flag fan sticking around to catch a set by Rancid or Rocket From the Crypt.
“I think our festival is a bit more cohesive. The realm of the bands is going to appeal to a pretty good crowd of people, but it’s not like you’re having Metallica and Lady Gaga playing at the same festival,” Ore said. “Mile High was a valiant effort, but having Tool headline one day and Dave Matthews headline the next makes absolutely no sense. We didn’t try to outdo ourselves.”
But the festival crew didn’t look to cut corners, either. The show in Byers will take technical cues from successful events in Chicago and Toronto. Everything from the design of the stage to the plans for bad weather will have a precedent in the festival’s successful past.
“Everything is coming from Chicago to Colorado. If we had the option between spending $5 and $10 on something, we spent $10,” Ore said. “This isn’t some new thing to any of us. We all know what we’re doing. We’re putting on a very professional, very well-run festival.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com
let me know when. time, date, location, hours, etc. etc.