(SAN DIEGO, CA) – Have you noticed that most music festivals have become rather impersonal crowd scenes, and the only “contact” most of the audience has with the performing artists is to watch them on the Jumbotron? Heck, you might as well be watching on TV.
Happily, San Diego’s Gator By the Bay, May 9-12 at Spanish Landing Park, gives you multiple opportunities to get “up close” and personal with the performers—no Jumbotron needed! At any of the performances you can stand right in front of the stage (that is, if you can tear yourself away from the dance floor!) and get a good look, in person, at just how Roy Rogers fingers those chords on his slide guitar, how Marcia Ball’s hands fly over the keyboard while her right foot never stops moving, how Aki Kumar or John Nemeth make their harmonicas wail, or how Chubby Carrier, Geno Delafose, or Kevin Naquin get those lively sounds out of their accordions. As you wander around the festival, chances are you’ll see many of the performers themselves enjoying other artists’ performances and happy to talk to anyone about their music. At the Bayou Grove stage, many of the artists—including the headliners–lead informal workshops where you can pull up a hay bale and ask them questions about their music, their culture, or their performances, all in an intimate setting that encourages interaction and discourse.
At Gator By the Bay we’re all about authentic experience, and sharing the love of our diverse musical entertainments on a personal level. And for that, we don’t need no stinkin’ Jumbotron!
