The city announced yesterday that the ban on festivals at the newly thirst-quenched Piedmont Park has been eviscerated, setting the stage for a triumphant 2010 Atlanta Jazz Festival in Piedmont Park. The AJC has the story. This is good news, of course, because Woodruff Park (site of the 2008 event) wasn't cutting it, and the 2009 venue wasn't much better. But something in the AJC article irked me a bit. Read on:
"[Camille Russell] Love said the last time the Jazz Fest was held in Piedmont Park, up to 150,000 people attended over the three-day Memorial Day weekend. Last year’s event at Grant Park attracted 20,000 at best."
This statement would imply that a return to Piedmont Park would automatically boost attendance. While that might be true, the author didn't even consider the festival lineup when comparing attendance numbers between 2007 and 2009. The 2009 festival featured Freddy Cole and Russell Gunn. A quick look here reminded me that Vijay Iyer, Charles Tolliver, Bobby Hutcherson and, oh yeah, Herbie Hancock were here in 2007.
Maybe a return to Piedmont means a return to plump sponsorships and high-quality national acts, but I doubt it. Let's at least hope that more local musicians are asked to perform during the 2010 festival.
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