18 Oct Can a music festival save a city?
No one said the festival business was easy. Here in Canada, we’ve seen big names disappear from the summer calendar with a distressing consistency — from the recent announcement of Wayhome’s “pause” to the bankruptcy of Pemberton only one month after the reveal of their 2017 lineup. It can take years for a festival to find its identity and its audience, which is part of what made this, the fifth year of based Life is Beautiful, such a remarkable achievement.
With only a partial lineup announced, the festival’s first-ever sellout happened in thirty minutes. On the heels of being named 2016 Festival of the Year by industry standard-bearer Pollstar, the enthusiasm demonstrated by real people’s real money was another sign that this festival might be one of the lucky ones. By the time gates opened and fans poured in for the first notes of a wheelchair-bound 2 Chainz, there was no doubting the viability of this utterly unique festival in a crowded part of the country boasting no shortage of entertainment options. Read the full article