Last weekend at Winter Place Park, Bands from all over the Country came to Salisbury in what seemed like a really cool event. However, there came a time after several local Blogs posted information about this upcoming event I came to learn they were charging for this event.
That's when I heard for the first time it would cost $15.00 just to get through the gates. Now look, I understand there's a big expense for stages and sound equipment and so forth but to expect a Family of let's just say 4, that's $60.00 just to get in. Then there's the cost for beer, food, arcade rides for the kids, I mean, what the hell were these people thinking?
In the end, Bands were complaining about the lack of attendance, some of which came all the way out here and refused to get on stage. The following was Posted over at Two Sentz:
"Hey, I read your blog about Unicity:
We were a band that ended up going through, from a sonicbids submission. let me tell you this festival was complete crap. First off, this festival claims of 5,000 people attending...I don't know if they meant in theory. There was like 250 people tops on May 16th. In perception it seemed organized, but in actuality it was something I could have pulled if in my backyard. We ended up bailing and not even performing after a 5 hour drive from NYC. We really found no benefit in performing in front of 10 people and a pile of grass. I wish I read your blog sooner.
-Mike"
So where do YOU think they went wrong? It seems like everyone publicized the event. TV, Radio, Print, Blogs, was it the cost to get in? Is it simply something most people have no interest in? We'd love to know your thoughts.
59 comments:
it's just salisbury. as a veteran of the music scene around here i've seen it all. the only way to get the mouth-breathers around here to a show of any sort, requires country, or monster trucks or people beating on each other in some fashion.
salisbury has zero taste for culture or anything out of their norm. it has nothing to do with unicity, it has nothing to do with the cost, it has all to do with the lack of cultural need that the people around here need. thankfully for those of us who yearn for good culture events we have baltimore and dc. if it were not for those places, and the musical acts they bring we'd have nothing to go to.
the absolute truth in this matter is that salisbury is a very fickle place, filled with a bunch of non-cultured troglodytes who just don't get culture. sad, but true.
Especially in this economy, $15 a person prices out lots of families for starters. If they had charged much less admission, more people would have meant more business for vendors and that could have offset the lower admission with the right plan. Also, depending on the bands, it could have been closer to the University and not on hte weekend when everyone was packing up to go home. In the end though, the $15 was the deal breaker for me. Conceptually, it's a great idea. I hope they'll try to do it a bit differently next year and that it will be come a huge annual success.
My, 9:08, stick your nose up in the air much? If it's such a horrible place to live, you can always pack up your bags and go somewhere else.
If it's any consolation to the bands, I would have loved to have attended, but I simply could not get off from work with people calling out sick. The $15 charge wouldn't have bothered me much, because it's just hubby and me, but yeah, it's a real stretch for families. I'm surprised at the cost of admission, I must admit. You just can't charge that kind of admission and expect families to be able to attend, along with the cost of food, rides, etc.
Time of year--bad, $15.00--bad, calling it Unicity for cultural awareness--bad. Just have a cheaper admission and dont push the cultural diversity crap on people. People dont like have the words multi culteral pushed on them. It would have been easier to just call it a multi-band fest and on a weedend while college was in session. I was there and saw people walk to the gate and turn right around and leave. Even the vendors packed up early and left. Nothing will probably attract like pork in the park did. Nice try but I would suggest that it not be tried again around here.
At $15 you need bands people have heard of, not a bunch of regional bands no one knows of. This should have been free and the promotor should have made their money from the vendors, at least for the first year.
9:08 is right. GrannyD, the fest was 6 hours friday and 12 hours saturday. Do you work 12 hours a day? Excuses, that's the real problem with people around here.
I think people got "festivaled" out. You had in a month's time-Pork in the Park, Salisbury Fest and Spring Fest. I would have loved to have seen YNOT but not for $15.
I agree with 9:08
Civic Center is packed when one hit wonder bands from the 90's come but when I saw Bob Dylan there back in the day the place wasn't even half full. This just isn't really a good area for music.
I agree that the festival got alot of media exposure but I believe that the "Unicity" branding needs alot of work. I don't think people really understood what the fesival was all about...add to that the $15 admission fee and poor weather patterns and you get a product that just didn't sell.
It comes down to location. A festival with small acts and bands most people have never heard of don't stand a chance here because the music/arts scene is dead in Salisbury, MD. The only way a small, redneck town could ever draw in a crowd for a music festival is by having a lineup of big acts (good luck getting them here). Take Allgood for example, it's in a small hick town (Masontown, WV), and people gladly pay over $150 per ticket to go (plus other costs), and every year they have thousands attend. I think last year was over 20,000 people. They fill the bill with big acts and pull in people from across the country. Problem is Salisbury is full of people that think small. We need people who aren't afraid to think BIG for a change.
9:37 - i was at the dylan show, sad. i was at the pantera show, sad. ive been there for nearly EVERY show they've had, as i try to support the scene as much as anyone. i even ran one of the most successful bands this area has ever seen, and we made it work, and we made money, but quickly realized how SAD this area is for music and just moved on to other places, where we enjoyed lots of good crowds, great money and everything else you'd expect!
it just is a fact, salisbury stinks when it comes to supporting a cultural scene. and LORD FORBID there is any sort of Gay and or Lesbian or Multi-Cultural anything around here, 'cause they aint coming for that!
bring some guns, some country, or some trucks bouncing around and WATCHOUT !!
As a matter of fact, 9:26, yes, I DO work 12 hour days when I need to. I worked Friday night and open to close on Saturday. Did I not say people called out sick? The Festival was not a flop because I was unable to go. Got any more little, irrelevant details you'd like to pick on?
I also agree that maybe this area was just "Festivaled out."
My understanding is that this traveling roadshow is contracted to return to Salisbury for the next three or four years. Before they do next year I hope that the promoters (including the local ones) can come up with a plan to a) make it cheaper at the gate and b) to advertise it better.
They had some local acts that locals can see for much less by themselves at local venues, and their supposed "National Talent" were out-of-town bands, but not anyone with a name big enough to be a draw.
Charging $15-$25 per ticket is way too expensive in any market for bands no one has heard of.
The thing was a big scam, the artists paid an application fee, then performed for free, and then they charge a huge admission.
The Community Foundation should spend their money on better, more local things.
In my opinion there are only a couple of venues for live acts in Salisbury. Salisbury just does not have a place with atmosphere such as the Globe in Berlin or the Avalon in Easton. If you took the downtown and turned it into more of a Pub restaurant theme with live acts or whatever you might turn this area around. Face it chains are taking over and its for the most part destroying local hangouts.
Everyone complaining about $15, what did you spend at Pork in the Park? There were an awful lot of drunks there that spent more than $15.
It was $2.00 to get into Pork in the Park.
Well on Sat My husband and I and our 3 kids rode to Winterplace for the Unicity Festival upon entering they told us it was $15.00 a person now thats $75.00 for the 5 of us without drinks, food, playing any of the games, or riding the rides. No we did not pay the price we would not have been able to afford to do anything else once we got in so sorry but maybe if the entrance would have been reasonable we could have went but in this day and time theres absolutely no way!!!!!!
The admission was the dealbreaker for us too. We decided not to pay to see bands that we'd never heard of.
So instead, we went down to OC and saw the old cars. Didn't go into the shows because of the price, but some of the local restaurants had mini-shows of their own that were free.
I was there. Great event. My understanding is it was a first year. Pretty good for first timers down here. My family of five got a full day of entertainment for $40. Not sure what that other guy was talking about. Come back! PLEASE!
anon 10:42....how do you define "awful lot of drunks"?... much differently from the Sheriff based on the very few arrests at Pork in the Park
I was at the festival both days. I came from Baltimore (I went to school at SU.) with my wife and two children. One of them got in FREE. We ordered our tickets ahead of time online and it cost us $30 for the entire weekend. We saw so many talented & diverse indie acts (too many to count)and there was always something to do. I have to say I was surprised this type of event took place in Salisbury of all places. The weather was perfect. The event staff were very friendly and helpful. I am surprised at the bitchy comments coming from most of you. You people (Including the artists) should be grateful for the people who put that festival together. I can not even imagine how much time and energy and money it took to bring all of that together. This is the first year. YES? Seemed pretty successful to me.Sure turn out was minimal, but a failure?? I look forward to going next year, and many years to come. I think most of you are missing the big picture here. Get a clue and support these people trying to bring some culture and diversity and something new and fresh to Delmarva.
I went to the Unicity Festival but only because i got free 2 day pass from a radio station. It was a sad event. The food was outrageous and the vendors there were cheezy, custom fitted toe rings, 500 thread count sheet sets, adult novelties, and the whole festival was spread out and no one who worked for the fesitval new who was where or what times and the had a "celebirty stage" the only celebrities i saw was the posters at the dart throw that no one was playing and a sad ferris wheel with no riders! The festival Lacked lots includeing good music!
$15 was the factor I did not go. To pay $15 for bands we never heard of to possibly leave after 10 minutes of getting there is not worth the risk. Did not know the bands and if we did not like the music we would leave. Not to mention 2 kids with a friend each. $90 gamble was the way we looked at it.
I also have to say, Wicomico could do a better job in advertising. I briefly heard about this and then had to look on the web to find out what Unicity was.
Why do all these "events" think people have money trees in their backyard and can just go pick some off the tree when an event comes along and go to it. Take your unicity and go jump in the river - that's what I think of all these stupid loud a$$ bands.
Great post!!! I brought my family to the event. Got to the door and turned around. They even wanted $15.00 per person, $10.00 for an 8 year old. I could see $15.00 for the weekend for such an event. We left and played an ipod in the backyard. I was not going to blow our entertainment budget on garage bands.
I was able to see comedians, actors, re-enactment, jazz, kid groups, musical theater, we went and I have never in my life seen so many different genres and type of performing artist in one place for under $20. Bought our tickets in advance so we only paid $10 and my kids got in free. I hope the organizers don't get discouraged by the negative comments and leave Salisbury. If they do I will follow the festival where they go
i was there and thought the festival was great. alot of different acts almost too much to see. i can't wait till next year.there needs to be more sign on RT 50. great job people keep up the good work it's about time we had something like this
The admission price would stop alot of people,myself included
All Students got in for $10.00. Kids were free
Since you never heard of the acts and God forbid you pay $10 to see over 200 acts, maybe that's just the point...Go and educate your self broaden your horizons. There is a ton of great indie entertainment out there that for one reason or another they do not get the exposure. That seems to be the point of this festival. Oh and BTW the vendors and their prices have nothing to do w/ the festival organizers. I have put on events before (Not as immense as this one)and the vendors charge what they want. I saw nothing cheesy there at all actually. Not sure what festival you attended. It certainly was not this one. Keep up the great work UNICITY and don't let these negative ignorant comments get you down. Please come back to Salisbury next year!!!
Did some of you forget that "Pork in the Park" was a total disaster two years in a row!!?? Unicity actually did better it's first year in Salisbury than PITP did it's first two years. Man oh man...you can go take a jump in the lake....I'll be going to Unicity next year while you sit at home alone w/ your computer and blog about how awful it is...you people are pathetic. Finally something of great cultural value and positive energy comes to this town and all you guys can do is bitch and moan about a $10 fee and oh I didn't recognize the acts on the roster, and the food was expensive...WAAAAAAAAAAAY !!!!It's people like you that give the Eastern Shore a bad name. Please Unicity come back next year!!!!
My family went for 6 hours, had a wonderful time, talked to all the artists we listened too, and they gave my kid drum sticks and stickers and their CD's where five bucks a piece. All the acts we saw were excellent and played original music. We lived in Greenville SC for 3 years and got use to this type of thing and have missed it sorely after moving back to my birth home. I’m disciplined enough to know that I wasn’t going there to eat and drink just to listen and hang out with very talented people. I am not sure they needed the rides, or non food/drink vendors. Looking forward to next year.
My family went for 6 hours, had a wonderful time, talked to all the artists we listened too, and they gave my kid drum sticks and stickers and their CD's where five bucks a piece. All the acts we saw were excellent and played original music. We lived in Greenville SC for 3 years and got use to this type of thing and have missed it sorely after moving back to my birth home. I’m disciplined enough to know that I wasn’t going there to eat and drink just to listen and hang out with very talented people. I am not sure they needed the rides, or non food/drink vendors.
Man there are some el cheapos around here. I love that excuse that "if admission wasn't so high, we would go in and spend more money on vendors and blah blah blah...". No, you wouldn't. If you're cheap, you're cheap, just admit it. 11:23 is a perfect example, wants to go everywhere and do everything for free and not spend a few bucks to support anything. Did you actually buy anything at those restaurants? Or do you sit there and drink water and eat the free bar snacks? People are using the bad economy to justify being cheap.
Rob S
$15 did me in.. well... that and the fact that Paul Lewis was the headliner.
I do agree that it was the gate charge. I did not attend due to the cost of getting in.
Why charge me $15.00 just to listen to the music? That's just not right.
Not for this venue.
Sounds to me that the people who organized the thing got greedy, which we all know what greed gets you in the end.
Actually Paul Lewis wasn't the headliner Y-NOT was and Matt Stillwell....There were also over 200 other acts you could've supported.Either way it was your loss.
Great post by Rob S.
This festival had it all quality and quantity...I would've paid double! There was so much to chose from and not just music, everything under the sun...WOW! Can't wait to go next year!
First, to 2:09, Paul Lewis has more talent in his male member than you could ever wish to have in your closed mind.
Now, for the positive: to all other negative posters, please open your mind and give it a go. This is a baby festival, and many of us will follow it as it grows. Bookmark the site and keep an eye out for dates and discounts and listen to your local stations to win tickets, they always have them. If you can't say anything nice, just save your dough for the monster truck shows and rodeos. I'm proud to say I enjoyed Unicity and plan not to miss it. The Salisbury location was a perfect one. Please open your mind and try a day at Unicity, it has a great vibe and killer music. A big thanks to the organizers for putting on a great event.
ps-we spent tons more at Pork in the Park just eating.
I volunteered to be a part of the staff of the festival and was there Thursday morning to build stages through Sunday afternoon to break down. It was eye opening to see how much it really takes to put something of this magnitude together (not to mention how much guts it takes to try something completely new). So, I recommend that if you want to get in for free next year, be the first to volunteer a part of your time, then you'll see why it's not free admission. $15 may have been a little much, but I'm sure that that has been taken into consideration for next year. Compared to last year's event, this one grew like a monster on steroids. Add in a new city to the mix and it's no surprise that the turnout was less than what everyone had hoped. And 2:09, YNOT?! rocked & Paul was on fire. I have no doubt that this festival will just keep getting better every year :)
“Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing”
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her."
My band, Crazy Mary played the festival, and I have to say that from our standpoint the organizers were very professional anf helpful. The stage we perfomed on (Celebrity) was excellent, as was the sound system. I'm not sure why more people weren't there but the publicity effort didn't seem to be lacking in that every local radio staion was there. I would have liked to play for more people but I don't fault the extraordinary effort the organizers put in to this event. I would play again in a heartbeat.
didnt even hear about it and wouldnt have gone if i did. everything is overpriced im not going ot pay $15 to get in + another $15 for beer + another $15 for food just to stand in hte sun and listen to some crappy bands. heres an idea - $3 to get in. $3 beers.
But that wont happen becasue the only ppl who have the resources to put on an event are people who are greedy
This post sure did stir up a sh*t storm.
Unicity was great where can you go and see all 5 stages of entertainment near Salisbury. You can not make all happy and some you can never make HAPPY. My family enjoyed the music.
The only thing greedy to me is the people who would not come out and support this fabulous festival and these acts that came to Salisbury from all over the country and other countries. The price was extremely reasonable $10. That's what I paid. I also paid attention. The promo was everywhere and the discounted tickets were also promoted every where. I don't think the food & beverage prices are the festivals doing. It was the same when we went to "Pork n the Park."
5 of us went out there Friday night. The cost to get in was OUTRAGEOUS, but we paid, and went inside. Vendors were telling us we were their first and only customers. We watched three different bands, all had maybe 10 people total watching them. We felt so bad for everyone.
The cost was the biggest ripoff, and I think that's why no one came. What a shame, this could have been so good!
Hey up and coming musicians probably not the best idea to dis promoters of an event on the internet, other festivals, venues and promoters are watching and speaking as one of them I would never book a unknown band that decided they were too good to perform. And had you performed you may have garnered a crowd as I saw many did that weekend.
I didn't even know that this event was going on.
I just have one thing to say besides the price was discounted online and I heard it on 97.5 or 93.5 they were giving discounts too. I know it can pose a problem in these lean times, but I did witness the festival considering that already and one more thing...forgive me for this one...it isn't my intention to be rude, but the point has to be made. Tickets to concerts with ONE act costs at least $30.00. Tickets to other shows that were represented, at around $50.00. If Disney World or Great Adventure has what America wants, we go without complaining. SO I say, stat=rt saving your change! I would pay $20.00 considering the amount of acts and the activities.
It is a shame that more people can't start on a positive note. Imagine all the work that went into planning this festival. Everyone that had something nasty to say, should volunteer to help out next time.The theory behind the Unicity Festival was exactly what it was advertised to be. It was a two day event with, food, beer, and live entertainment. My family and I went with another family. We knew what the price was and still went and enjoyed ourselves. The entertainment was great. The kids had a blast and the adults rocked out with Y-not. The energy that Paul and the others put into their 2 hour concert was amazing. I'm sorry more of you didn't appreciate it. Maybe if you had a different frame of mind, you would have had a great time. We all did!
I paid $26.50 fifteen years ago to see Bob Dylan in my own backyard and the show was worth every penny.If somebody told me that Dylan was playing in Salisbury again and the tix were $100 dollars,I'd gladly pay the price.
I went to the festival to see mainly see the Kelly Bell Band & Y-Not perform! I was completely amazed by the fabulous other acts that were there! I am a huge fan of indie music and this venue was the perfect place to experience. We got there late in the afternoon on Saturday due to prior commitments but I plan to make it for both days next year! It is sad that most people don't remmeber the humble beginnings of all the other "festivals" that take place around here. They all started our small and grew bigger with the years. Give this a chance as well. I plan to help get the word out about it for next year. I will encourage all of my friends to go and experience all the music and talent that is out there to see and ENJOY!!!
they should have had some hot chicks in bikinis selling beer, and maybe a wet tshirt contest . now thats what i call culture !
those who fail to remember the past are condemned to repeat it`
When was this? I never heard about it.
I for one, thought the festival was a great idea. I decided to go on Saturday after hearing the ad on the radio. Tickets could have been cheaper but I had a great time and hope they do it again next year. That many bands for that price was a steal!!
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