2015 MEDIA KIT - McDowell Mountain Music Festival
McDowell Mountain Music Festival 2015 MEDIA KIT MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL EVENT INFORMATION LOCATION DATES DOWNTOWN PHOENIX ARIZONA HANC E PARK ATTENDANCE DAYS MARC H 27-29, 2015 OVER 3 DAYS 12 YEARS OVER $1,000,000 DONATED TO LOCAL CHARITIES HISTORY 12 YEAR S OF DEVELOPING C OMMUNI T Y & CULTURE TRENDS GROWING DEMAND FOR LIVE MUSIC IN PHOENIX MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL DEMOGRAPHICS GENDER AGE REPEAT ATTENDEES 41% 59% 59% 10% 18-24 24% 25-34 26% 35-44 21% 45-54 18% 55-64 INCOME 10% 12% 12% 16% 15% 21% 14% 0 - $20k $21k - $34k $35k - $49k $50k - $74k $75k - $99k $100k - $149k $150k OR MORE LOCATION MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL BENEFICIARIES PHOENIX CHILDRENS HOSPITAL UMOM NEW DAY CENTERS PCH ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals, is Arizona’s only licensed children’s hospital, providing world-class care in more than forty five pediatric specialties to children from throughout the state and region. Phoenix Children’s Hospital recently completed a major expansion to meet the needs of the Southwest’s rapid population growth. The hospital’s expansion also includes an aggressive physician recruitment effort and new satellite centers in high growth areas of the Valley. UMOM is the largest homeless shelter for families in Arizona. UMOM’s mission is to provide homeless families and individuals with safe shelter, housing, and supportive services to assist them in reaching their greatest potential. For more information, visit the hospital’s website at: For more information, visit the centers website at: www.phoenixchildrens.com www.umom.org MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL EVENT HIGHLIGHTS VIP AREA The VIP experience includes catered meals, five beers or mixed drinks, access to the Poser Deck (where you can be up close and personal with your favorite bands), as well as private “luxury” bathrooms and valet parking; plus, many other amenities only found within the VIP area. CAMPING 100 camping spaces provide a home for the hardcore festival enthusiast. The camping lots are located near the festival grounds and include camping for four people, showers, trash disposal, and toilets. We offer RV, car and tent camping spaces. MARKETPLACE The vendor marketplace features twenty vendors from all over the country. Handmade jewelry, hula-hoops and face painting are a few of the vendors that have participated in the past years. KID ZONE Arts and crafts, stilt walkers and drum circles are some of the activities that can be found at the Kid Zone. Kids and adults of all ages participate in a daily parade that takes places around the entire festival. LOCAL STAGE The local stage features eleven of Arizona’s finest up and coming bands. Four of the top local bands are given a spot on the main stage in the following year’s festival. The added local talent exposure enhances the cultural experience for all the attendees. RECYCLE COMPOST The environmental impact of the festival is important to the sustainability of the event. Trash, recycle and compost bins are located throughout the festival grounds and 100% products are compostable. AFTERHOUR SHOWS The afterhour shows are for folks who want to continue the party. Twenty bucks gets you access to a few more shows located at the Crescent Ballroom and Renaissance Hotel. MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL PRESS RELEASE Media Contact: Nate Largay 602-343-0233 [email protected] McDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2015 BANDS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PHOENIX, Ariz. (January 5, 2015) – Music fans listen up, the 12th Annual McDowell Mountain Music Festival presented by Deschutes Brewery proudly announces the lineup for 2015. The lineup is as follow: Widespread Panic, Passion Pit, Thievery Corporation, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Beats Antique, Trampled by Turtles, StrFkr, Robert Delong, and Break Science. The three-day festival will be held at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix, March 27-29, 2015. VIP, three-day and single-day tickets are now on sale at www.mmmf.com. After hours event passes will also be on sale at a later date. For more information about concert details and ticket prices, visit www.mmmf.com. John Largay, President of Wespac Construction, which has produced the festival since 2004 says, “This festival is a party for the people. It’s a community effort, engaging music enthusiasts to come out to enjoy an eclectic mix of talents and also to support notable charities in the Valley.” As Arizona’s only 100 percent non-profit music festival, McDowell Mountain Music Festival McDowell Mountain Music Festival is proud to continue its alliance with two local, family-based, non-profits beneficiaries: Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation and UMOM New Day Center, which provides homeless families and individuals with safe shelter, housing and supportive services. Over the years, the festival has raised more than one-million-dollars in funds for charity. -###About McDowell Mountain Music Festival The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Arizona’s musical and cultural destination. Since its inception in 2004, The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is the only 100% non-profit music festival in Arizona. Designed to promote three elements – community involvement, corporate participation and charity – McDowell Mountain Music Festival exists to support, entertain and educate the community, the arts and families throughout the state. The Festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country for great music, beautiful Arizona weather and an opportunity to experience true culture. All of the proceeds from the festival will benefit local charities, which are chosen during a distinct selection process each year. MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL 2015 LINEUP PHOENIX, AZ WWW.MMMF.COM MAR 27-29, 2015 PORTUGAL. THE MAN • TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE • BEATS ANTIQUE TRAMPLED BY TURTLES • REAL ESTATE • STRFKR • KARL DENSON'S TINY UNIVERSE BREAK SCIENCE • ROBERT DELONG • THE REVIVALISTS • RYAN BINGHAM • TEA LEAF GREEN SUNSQUABI • SLOW MAGIC • TREEZUS • BLACK BOTTOM LIGHTERS • SPAFFORD TOMMY ASH BAND • THE HOURGLASS CATS “ARIZONA’S ONLY 100% NON-PROFIT MUSIC FESTIVAL” PURCHASE EARLY AND SAVE • GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY • MMMF.COM MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL FESTIVAL PHOTOS MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL WIDESPREAD PANIC BIO: 27 years ago this week, a singer everyone called J.B., a bass-playing future journalism school dropout and a guitarist nicknamed Panic for his bouts with anxiety went looking for a drummer for their next gig. After striking out with the usual suspects around Athens, Georgia, the three friends made an eleventh-hour call to a high-school band mate of the guitar player living in Atlanta, thinking he might still have his kit handy. A few days later, Todd Nance rolled up to the house at 320 King Avenue shared by John Bell, Michael Houser and David Schools in an old, beat-up white Maverick, his drums crammed into the back. After a night of rehearsing, the new quartet hopped onstage together for the first time the next day at the old Mad Hatter Ballroom to play a short set that opened with the Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth.” Widespread Panic was born. Over the next two decades, Widespread Panic released nine more studio albums and sold more than three million records, building a loyal following on the road beginning in dingy dive bars across the South and eventually headlining nearly every major U.S. music festival and selling out some of the world’s most prestigious venues. No artist has more sold-out concerts at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater, and their headlining appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival set the single-day attendance record. The celebration for their first live album, Light Fuse, Get Away, drew more than 100,000 fans for a free show in downtown Athens and is still considered one of the largest CD-release parties in music history. To learn more about Widespread Panic visit: http://www.widespreadpanic.com/ MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL PASSION PIT BIO: Hundreds of hipsters, college kids and music biz schmoozers gather under a massive white tent to see Passion Pit. It is an afternoon shindig hosted by the blog Brooklyn Vegan, at the 2009 South by Southwest festival. The sun is setting and it is a classic make-it-or-break-it moment for Passion Pit, who is headlining despite having just released a lone EP, Chunk of Change. The crowd is giddy on both free Izze fruit soda and the Boston band’s bubbly pop. Between songs, frontman Michael Angelakos runs his fingers and sweat through his thick, curly, Greek hair. He starts to rant—about a shirt he bought for his new girlfriend, about veganism, about inane blog comments. After a few awkward minutes, the music kicks back in. By the end of the performance, Michael is rolling on a red Persian rug amongst many, many keyboard and effects pedal cables, clutching his microphone, wailing in his signature helium falsetto. The audience cheers, the Tweeters tweet, the bloggers blog ecstatically. Michael leaves the stage and begins crying. He has made it, and he has broken. When the festival ends, the rest of the Passion Pit guys van back to Massachusetts. Michael stays behind in Texas. He calls a friend for support and begs her to come be with him. In a panic, he buys her a plane ticket. It is for the wrong year, 2010. He calls his parents in Buffalo, New York. “I’m going to a hospital,” he tells them. Michael is standing with his father outside a hospital in Houston, looking at mock-ups of album artwork on his cellphone. Passion Pit has just signed to Columbia Records, and a debut album, Manners, is due in a couple months. The record cover is green and messy and murky. Michael is not crazy about it, but there is no time, as the hospital is about to take his phone away from him. “It looks fine, Michael,” his dad says. “Just go.” In the hospital, Michael is not allowed to talk about work. “Up there, onstage, you’re alone, darling, ” a nurse tells him. “And if your life evolves into ruin, everyone will watch what you’re doing.” Michael thinks these would make good lyrics. His friends smuggle in positive reviews of Manners. When one magazine blesses the record with an 8 out of ten, he almost cries again. To learn more about Passion Pit visit: http://passionpitmusic.com/ MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL THIEVERY CORPORATION BIO: When they met in the mid-1990s, Thievery Corporation’s Eric Hilton and Rob Garza instantly bonded over their shared passion for bossa nova. Dedicating their 1996 debut ‘Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi’ to bossa nova pioneer Antonio Carlos Jobim, the Washington, D.C.-based duo have spent nearly two decades creating boundary-warping, complexly crafted electronic music partly inspired by bossa nova’s intricate rhythms and lush textures. Now, with their seventh studio album ‘Saudade,’ Thievery Corporation present their first release devoted entirely to the Brazilian-born genre that first connected them. “We always try to progress into something different and stretch our musical chops, and taking a whole album to dive into this one sound seemed like a really great way to do that,” says Hilton. Adds Garza: “It’s a bit of a departure for us, but at the same time these are our roots, this is what brought us together. It’s us coming full circle from electronic music back to something organic before we move on to our next chapter.” Although Thievery Corporation stay true to traditional bossa nova’s elegant fusion of samba and jazz all throughout ‘Saudade,’ the album is rich with strange and wonderful flourishes that revel in the duo’s hyper-inventive tendencies. Opening with the dusky “Décollage,” ‘Saudade’ glides from the smoldering and string-drenched “Quem Me Leva” to the hushed and mysterious “Sola In Citta” (an Italian-sung nod to the legendary sound tracks of Ennio Morricone, featuring Wurlitzer electric piano by Enea Diotaiuti) to the sweetly ethereal “No More Disguise” (a dream-like piece laced with orchestral strings and bolero rhythms). With the instrumental title track serving as its gently stunning centerpiece, ‘Saudade’ also offers the sultry and spacey”Claridad” (a swaying Latin number propelled by analog organ beats) and the French lullaby of “Le Coeur” (featuring the sublime saxophone work of Frank Mitchell, Jr.). And on the final track “Depth of My Soul,” Halligan delivers a haunting vocal performance that merges with the song’s swirling symphonic soundscape to hypnotic effect. To learn more about Thievery Corporation visit: http://thieverycorporation.com/ MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL PHANTOGRAM BIO: The duo was originally called Charlie Everywhere when performing around the Saratoga Springs area on the local label Sub-Bombin Records. Upon signing with BBE on 26 January 2009, they changed their name to Phantogram. Their self-titled debut EP was released on 12 May 2009, followed in the same year by another EP, Running From the Cops. They signed with Barsuk Records in October 2009. Phantogram released their debut album Eyelid Movies in September 2009 on BBE and February 2010 on Barsuk Records. The album received generally favorable reviews. From this album, they issued the singles “Mouthful of Diamonds”, “When I’m Small” and “As Far As I Can See”. The EP Nightlife, was released on 1 November 2011 and included the single “Don’t Move”. “Don’t Move” was featured in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect, and the CW’s adaptation of The Secret Circle. The duo collaborated with Big Boi from OutKast on three songs (“Objectum Sexuality”, “CPU” & “Lines”) from his second studio album, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. Phantogram are also credited as producers for the song “Objectum Sexuality”. Phantogram are also featured on the song “You Lust” by the Flaming Lips from their 2013 album The Terror. On 30 September 2013, they released the four songs EP Phantogram. It was followed by their second studio album, Voices, that was released on February 18, 2014. A fifth single “Nothing But Trouble” was released on January 14. Barthel revealed in an interview with Variance Magazine in February 2014 that Phantogram plans to release an EP with Big Boi. To learn more about Phantogram visit: http://www.phantogram.com/ MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL PORTUGAL. THE MAN BIO: Portugal. The Man’s insatiable need to create extends far from the recorded product itself, as the band has a detailed hand in their painstakingly assembled artwork—courtesy of The Fantastic The, a collective teaming of Gourley and longtime art director Austin Sellers—unique stage backdrops, merchandise, and just about all other façades of an image that they lovingly control. But much like art, control can be relative, and in the past the band has happily offered the raw artwork files from The Satanic Satanist to fans; asking them to reinterpret and recreate the album’s sprawling artistic vision, and thus continuing a long open dialogue between Portugal. The Man and their followers. And of course there is the issue we can’t ignore here, that of a band with a unique and hardwired DIY pedigree signing to Atlantic Records. While our punk rock muscle memory might be trained to react vehemently against bands that are seduced into putting ink to page on a major label contract, keep in mind that the Portugal. The Man and Atlantic Records relationship was the result of a long, mutually respectful courtship. While their new label has a well-documented history of famed recordings left in its wake, it was Atlantic’s artist development that brought the band into the fold. As Gourley explained in a gushing open letter to the band’s fiercely loyal flock, “We are people. We are people that happen to love music, we happen to live, eat, sleep, think and love within this bubble of music.” He continues, “Don’t expect to hear from our mouths things like paying our dues, or working towards this moment. No mention of eating poorly or sleeping on hardwood floors. That is what we do for music. We did not go through all that because we thought one day we would hit our payday, we did it because we love what we do. This will not change… It is who we are.” To learn more about Portugal. The Man visit: http://www.portugaltheman.com/ MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE BIO: New Orleans native Trombone Shorty is the bandleader and frontman of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a hard-edged funk band that employs hip-hop beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition. Together, Trombone Shorty and his band have toured the U.S. and Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia and Brazil. Trombone Shorty began his career as a bandleader at the tender age of six, and toured internationally for the first time at age 12 before joining Lenny Kravitz’ horn section at the age of 19 for a 105-date world tour in 2005-2006. His third outing for Verve Records, “Say That To Say This,” co-produced by Shorty and R&B titan Raphael Saadiq, was released in September 2013. In 2010, Trombone Shorty released the Grammy-nominated “Backatown,” followed in 2011 by “For True,” which topped Billboard Magazine’s Contemporary Jazz Chart for 12 weeks. In January 2014 Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue performed on the 56th Annual Grammy Awards with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert, Madonna and Queen Latifah, and the band has made guest appearances on Conan, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Arsenio, and Austin City Limits. Shorty also played himself in a recurring role on the hit HBO series “Treme” In 2012, he performed at the White House in honor of Black History Month with music royalty such as B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Booker T. Jones, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, and Gary Clark Jr. Later that same year he received the President’s Medal from Tulane University in recognition of his charitable work with his own Trombone Shorty Foundation. To learn more about Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue visit: http://www.tromboneshorty.com/ MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL BEATS ANTIQUE BIO: Electronic/World fusion dance trio Beats Antique brings you their new album and multi-media touring show A Thousand Faces, a journey beyond the sonic realm that’s part odyssey, part genre-warping rock opera. The album is an epic two-volume adventure that follows every stage of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey with sweeping and lushly textured new compositions. While the fully immersive show will carry audiences through the complete journey, A Thousand Faces – Act 1 represents just the first half of the monomyth, with the second volume released in spring of 2014. As veterans of a vibrant Bay Area underground arts scene committed to pushing boundaries through collaboration, Beats Antique first and foremost strove to offer a uniquely communal experience with A Thousand Faces. “This is a universal story that’s been told for thousands of years,” notes Jakes. “We are each a spoke in the wheel of the monomyth, and there’s a deep sense of unity in all of us sharing the same story.” To that end, Beats Antique chose to tell the narrative that runs throughout A Thousand Faces from the perspective of the listener. “Our main ambition for the album and the show was to create an unforgettable experience for the audience,” says Satori. “We’re the characters they’re encountering along the way, the scenery that’s constantly changing all around them, and it’s the audience members themselves who are the heroes on this journey.” From mgmt: Beats Antique’s music incorporates Middle Eastern grooves, Balkan wedding music, flamenco, French Gypsy jazz, hip-hop, dub reggae, and other Eastern tonalities, all pulled together with electronica that won’t put off club kids, but will appeal to world music lovers as well. The trio is composed of David Satori (guitar, saz, viola, and percussion), Sidecar Tommy Cappel (keys, toy piano, drums, and percussion), and Zoë Jakes (belly dancer, composer, and arranger). To learn more about Beats Antique visit: http://beatsantique.com/ | “Beauty Beats” MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL TRAMPLED BY TURTLES BIO: Lead songwriter Dave Simonett has been especially affected by change over the last few years. He relocated from Duluth to the city of Minneapolis. “When I lived in Duluth, I think I took connection with uncivilized nature for granted. There, I had to drive 20 minutes and I was in the middle of nowhere, and I did this almost daily,” says Simonett. “This was a very important ritual for me. Solitary time in a nearly untouched landscape is my version of church, so I think there is a bit of loss of religion in a lot of my work these days. I’ve always been a little obsessed with our struggle to stay connected to our simple animal side, the part of our nature that lived off the earth, hunted live game, worshipped trees and mountains. I believe a lot of sadness is caused by feeling disconnected with the rest of nature. A lot of what is instinctual for us is beaten down and frowned upon in modern society. It has to be confusing for the subconscious.” Wild Animals found Trampled by Turtles working with a producer for the first time in four studio records. The band placed themselves in the capable hands of longtime Duluth, MN compatriot Alan Sparhawk of the band Low and engineer B.J. Burton (Poliça, Megafaun, Volcano Choir) who crafted a sonic landscape that was spatial and new at Cannon Falls, MN’s Pachyderm Studio (Nirvana, The Jayhawks). Says Simonett on working with Sparhawk: “Alan is one of the most musically courageous people I know and that’s exactly the attitude we were looking for. He’s great at taking a song from its false conclusion all the way down to its very core and then building it back in new and interesting ways.” Wild Animals is the sound of a band at the peak of their potential, strengthened from a decade together, winning some and losing some, but growing nonetheless. The album captures the intense nature that goes with being alive, melding the universal and the personal. To learn more about Trampled By Turtles visit: http://trampledbyturtles.com/ MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL KEY MESSAGES • The McDowell Mountain Music Festival was established in 2004 and is Arizona’s musical and cultural destination. This year, the festival is celebrating its 11th year since its inception, attracting visitors from around the country. • Wespac Construction, founded by John Largay, started the music festival to bring together music enthusiasts and community-minded people. • Employees of Wespac donate their time to support the festival’s cause to celebrate culture and community and their involvement in the festival is one of the greatest examples of corporate responsibility. Their donated time has helped to bring in more than $1,000,000 for local charities throughout Arizona. • Wespac Construction is a commercial general contracting and construction management firm, offering a full range of preconstruction and construction services in a variety of market sectors. The company has the background and experience to make any project, including the McDowell Music Festival, a reality. • Presenting sponsor Deschutes Brewery began as a small brew pub in Bend, OR back in 1988 and is known for its flagship brew Black Butte Porter and popular craft beer Mirror Pond Pale Ale. • Deschutes is family and employee-owned and has opened a second brew pub in Portland’s Pearl District and sells beet in 22 states and two provinces. • The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is the only 100% non-profit music festival in Arizona and it is designed to promote three elements—community involvement, corporate participation and charity. • The McDowell Mountain Music Festival exists to support, entertain and educate the community, the arts and families throughout the state. All proceeds from this year’s festival will benefit two local, family-based, non-profits: Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation and UMOM New Day Center. • 100% of proceeds from the festival are donated to the non-profits. • Past headliners include David Crosby, The Black Crowes, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Blues Travelers, Michael Franti, The Shins, The Roots and Umphrey’s McGee. • Hash tags: #MMMF #MMMF2015 #Karmaforthepeople MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL CONTACTS For general information inquiries: [email protected] For all national musical act inquiries: RJ Largay [email protected] For all local music talent inquiries: Nate Largay [email protected] For marketing: Kyle Zirkus [email protected] For volunteer inquiries: Larry Hanks [email protected] For food and beverage related inquiries: Cathy Largay [email protected] For vendor marketplace inquiries: Denise Dunn [email protected] Sponsorship inquiries: Cathy Largay [email protected] For public relations: Nate Largay [email protected] For general information, please contact (602) 343-0453 MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL
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