Thursday, April 9, 2015

"My apologies to all for not being able to save the festival as originally envisioned."

The text and images below were copied from "New England Folk and Folklore", a Facebook group I run. See the second paragraph for the reason the word folk in the title is in quotations.

"It's official. As I feared, the Sandywoods suits and ties have officially rescinded their earlier decision to permit an outdoor weekend folk festival to be held in the beautiful Sandywoods fields in Tiverton on May 23-24. To avoid having to pay for liability insurance, they have instead arranged for a new group of outside organizers to put on a one-day indoor concert on Saturday the 23rd, to take place entirely inside the Sandywoods hall. They are inviting all 16 acts that were booked to play the weekend festival (8 bands per day), including the headliners, to instead perform inside the hall, all on the same day. It's not clear if this new "festival" will still be pay-what-you-can. My apologies to all for not being able to save the festival as originally envisioned."
Russ Smith, 6 hours ago
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152698881962441&set=a.10150095520087441.272185.652522440&type=1&theater
Russ and I disagreed over the use of the word "folk" in the festival's title (my take, from the announced artists, is it was an acoustic pop festival). But it's sad when good efforts fall by the wayside.
It's official. As I feared, the Sandywoods suits and ties have officially rescinded their earlier decision to permit an outdoor weekend folk festival to be held...
See More
  • Jeff Boudreau "RIP Sandywoods Folk Festival. Killed off because Sandywoods Farm, Inc. didn't want to write a check for liability insurance. Or, to quote the board's gobbledygook official statement, "the original festival plans for a two-day outdoor event were modified due to concerns of the Sandywoods Board with complications associated with adequate liability coverage."
    Russ Smith, 2 hours ago
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152699327067441&set=a.10150095520087441.272185.652522440&type=1&theater

    ok official statement, "the original festival plans for a two-day outdoor event were modified due to concerns of the Sandywoods Board with complications associated with adequate liability coverage."
  • Jeff Boudreau Here's the official Sandywoods Center for the Artsannouncement: "Music Festival at Sandywoods
    Tiverton, RI. – The Sandywoods Folk Festival will be held at the Sandywoods Center for the Arts on
    Saturday, May 23rd beginning at 11:00am and ending at appr
    oximately 10:00pm.
    The original festival plans for a two day outdoor event were modified due to concerns of the Sandywoods Board with complications associated with adequate liability coverage.
    All the performers scheduled for the original festival event will be invited to play at the Saturday concert date. The Sandywoods Board apologizes for the delay and confusion that accompanies its decision not to hold a two day festival and for any disappointment of the performers and fans that were looking forward to an outdoor event. Any supporters who donated funds to support the outdoor festival will have their donations returned upon request. Otherwise, the funds will be used to support the May 23rd event.
    All other previously scheduled concerts and events at the SCA will go forward as scheduled.
    The Board of Sandywoods wishes to acknowledge the work of Russ Smith, who has done so much to establish, organize and promote the arts, entertainment and the many programs and events offered at Sandywoods. Russ remains a valuable member of the Sandywoods community and we hope and expect he will lend Sandywoods his talents in the future. His recent resignation has been accepted with great regret.
    Please visit www.sandywoodsmusic.com and www.sandywoodsfarm.org for future updates and contact sandywoodsmusic@gmail.com for additional information. And thank you for your support of the Sandywoods Center for the Arts."
    Source: https://www.facebook.com/sandywoodscenterforthearts?fref=ts


    music venue
    SANDYWOODSMUSIC.COM
  • Jeff Boudreau And from the Sandywoods Folk Festival page: "Music Festival at Sandywoods
    Tiverton, RI. – The Sandywoods Folk Festival will be held at the Sandywoods Center for the Arts on
    Saturday, May 23rd beginning at 11:00am and ending at approximately 10:00pm.

    The original festival plans for a two day outdoor event were modified due to concerns of the Sandywoods Board with complications associated with adequate liability coverage.
    All the performers scheduled for the original festival event will be invited to play at the Saturday concert date. The Sandywoods Board apologizes for the delay and confusion that accompanies its decision not to hold a two day festival and for any disappointment of the performers and fans that were looking forward to an outdoor event. Any supporters who donated funds to support the outdoor festival will have their donations returned upon request. Otherwise, the funds will be used to support the May 23rd event.
    All other previously scheduled concerts and events at the SCA will go forward as scheduled.
    The Board of Sandywoods wishes to acknowledge the work of Russ Smith, who has done so much to establish, organize and promote the arts, entertainment and the many programs and events offered at Sandywoods. Russ remains a valuable member of the Sandywoods community and we hope and expect he will lend Sandywoods his talents in the future. His recent resignation has been accepted with great regret.
    Please visit www.sandywoodsmusic.com and www.sandywoodsfarm.org for future updates and contact sandywoodsmusic@gmail.com for additional information. And thank you for your support of the Sandywoods Center for the Arts."
    Source: https://www.facebook.com/sandywoodsfolkfestival?fref=ts
    To which Russ Smith replied:
    "It's official. As feared, the Sandywoods suits and ties have officially rescinded their earlier decision to permit an outdoor weekend folk festival to be held in the beautiful Sandywoods fields in Tiverton on May 23-24. To avoid the cost of insurance, they have instead arranged for a new group of outside organizers to put on a one-day indoor concert on Saturday the 23rd, to take place entirely inside the Sandywoods hall. They are inviting all 16 acts that were booked to play the weekend festival (8 bands per day), including the headliners, to instead perform inside the hall, all on the same day. It's not clear if this new "festival" will still be pay-what-you-can. Apologies to all for not being able to save the festival as originally envisioned."


    music venue
    SANDYWOODSMUSIC.COM

It is interesting that two days after the "suits'" announcement the festival is still being promoted on its Facebook page as "pay-what-you-can outdoor folk festival".



It gets deeper, On Sunday, April 12 Russ Smith, former Sandywoods employee and festival rganizer, has posted to his Facebook page an open letter to the hired artists:

An open letter to the many fine performers who were scheduled to play at the Sandywoods Folk Festival:
"I am writing to you because you are (or at least were) scheduled to play at the May 23-24 Sandywoods Folk Festival, which was to have been a two-day, family-friendly, outdoor music festival held in the beautiful hilltop fields at Sandywoods Farm in Tiverton, RI. Planning for the festival began in earnest last year, not long after we held a Pete Seeger memorial concert up in the fields.
We secured a state arts grant, held fundraisers, and put together a great lineup of 16 acts, including you.
It pains me to have to tell you that the Sandywoods Farm, Inc. board of directors has, at the eleventh hour and after festival planning and preparations are 90% complete, chosen to drastically modify the festival by: (a) moving it indoors to a hall that only seats 150; and (b) shrinking it down to a single day. The board released this statement on April 8th:
"The original festival plans for a two-day outdoor event were modified due to concerns of the Sandywoods Board with complications associated with adequate liability coverage."
It goes without saying that I am completely 100% opposed to what the board has done. I have in fact resigned my position as program coordinator at Sandywoods in response to their decision.
To kill a long-planned outdoor weekend folk festival over concerns about the cost of additional liability insurance is unfair to the many music fans who were looking forward to attending, and is disrespectful to you, the performers. I am quite sure that many of you passed up gigs in order to keep your commitment to the festival. And I know that each and every one of you generously worked with me to keep festival expenses as low as possible.
In my opinion, Sandywoods Farm, Inc. should be held responsible for paying all musicians the agreed-upon performance fees and stipends, regardless of whether you are able and willing to play at the board's new, one-day, indoor "festival" on the 23rd. (If I'm reading the board's official statement correctly, it sounds like they will allow all booked performers to play in the hall on Saturday, including any Sunday musicians who can magically alter their touring schedule and show up in Tiverton a day early.)
Although Sandywoods Farm, Inc. continues to refer to the May 23rd event as the "Sandywoods Folk Festival," local supporters of the planned festival know that this is a far cry from what we had worked for, planned for, and hoped for: a glorious weekend of music and fresh air up in the hayfields, with kids and dogs and frisbees, and local farmers and artists selling their produce and crafts, and of course all of you folks sharing your talents on stage. I'm really sorry I couldn't save the festival. I fought hard for it, but I just couldn't win."

Sharing the news, I do not want to get into the legalities, but I find nothing to disagree with.

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