80/35 project manager talks 2016 date announcement
The 9th annual 80/35 Music Festival dates are set for July 8-9, 2016 at Western Gateway Park, marking the second consecutive year the festival’s departed from the Fourth of July weekend.
"We did get a lot of comments that people were happy that they could attend [in 2015] because they normally have family obligations over the 4th," said Amedeo Rossi, 80/35 project manager.
The festival, which is organized by the Des Moines Music Coalition, saw record attendance last summer while being held July 10 and 11, a weekend removed from the holiday. Around 36,000 combined free and paid individuals attended the festival between the two days. An increase from about 27,000 free and paid attendees in 2014, which was held on July 4 and 5.
RELATED: 80/35 Music Festival set for July 8-9, 2016
Rossi credits this increase to a mixture of the date change and delivering a favorable lineup.
"The weekend was a factor, we had real solid numbers," Rossi said. "To a greater of lesser degree, what we book is also a factor and we had probably our most solid lineup, particularly in the headliner realm. I think it's a combination of the two."
He also said he found 2015 easier to book acts. The festival landed headliners Wilco and Weezer for the event, with support coming from notable acts like Run The Jewels, St. Lucia and Jenny Lewis.
The 2014 installment saw headliners Conor Oberst and CAKE with support from acts like Best Coast, Ziggy Marley and Dr. Dog.
"We would see a couple of times, we were given artists that seemed available and we would make offers and we would hear, 'Oh, they have a conflict that weekend,'" he said of booking on the holiday weekend. "I'm assuming [with] a holiday weekend, they were having a holiday conflict."
Nearly 50 acts will appear between the 8th and 9th, a press release said. Music on Friday, the 8th, will go from 5 p.m. to midnight, with music running from noon to midnight on Saturday, the 9th. Tickets for the event will go on sale in March, the release stated.