Changes to Jamboree get mixed reviews
Longtime reserved-seating ticketholders find themselves with new perspective
Big Valley Jamboree’s redesigned concert bowl made its debut this year but early reaction from some attendees was mixed.
Announced last year, the new layout alters the Camrose festival’s reserved seating area, inserting a standing pit area directly in front of the stage as well as a T-shaped “thrust” stage with wings and a central catwalk that extends into the seated audience. Longtime reserved-seat ticket holders were pre-assigned their seats, many of which were shifted farther from the mainstage.
For some, like Henry Goudreau, the redesign meant new possibilities for access to performers. The seats he has with his wife are now mere metres away from the new runway jutting from the front.
“If the artists come down we’ll see them better,” he said early Friday afternoon before any of the headliners had performed.
A 20-year Jamboree veteran, Goudreau thought the new stage was a positive addition.
“We’ve seen a lot of changes for the better,” he said.
For Nick Groshko, the jury was still out. He and his group from Whitecourt were shifted several metres to the stage’s edge and further from the front but he was “not quite sure yet” how he felt about the change.
Beside him, though, Kelly Rye was decidedly disappointed with how she said the new arrangement affected her friends.
“Our group is large and we’ve all been split up,” said Rye, who has been in attendance since 1993. “It’s kind of annoying.”
With a new two-seat distance buffer, two of that group, husband and wife Dave Braaten and Diane Braaten, also had complaints.
“( We’re) certainly not getting the value anymore,” said Diane Braaten. “We’re paying more for our tickets and we’re further away.”
The reserved seating cost was increased by $30 from 2017.
Kathleen Zimmerman of Winfield was also not thrilled.
“It’s not important to me,” she said of the new thrust stage. “I’d rather be over there and see the (main) stage.”
But the changes were designed to actually increase audience engagement, producer Mike Anderson said in a phone interview earlier this week.
“It’s very important to give our fans the option to get closer to the artists and it’s also to give artists the option to engage with the fans a little better,” he said.
The pits have long been a request from performers.
“They’re looking to engage with fans and … their energy,” said Anderson. “And so we created those pits so the artists can feed off that energy and give everyone a greater show.”
Anderson said organizers would look for feedback after the show but were optimistic.
“We feel everyone is going to be quite happy once they see their favourite artist come off the stage and into the crowd.”