Conditional uses approved for September festival

BENTONVILLE — Conditional uses for a three-day outdoor music and arts festival were given unanimous approval from the city Planning Commission on Tuesday.

The event property at 3100 Price Coffee Road is made up of two parcels that span 170 acres, according to planning documents.

Applicants Price Coffee LLC and Runway Group LLC requested three conditional uses to be permitted for the preparation and operation of FORMAT to be held Sept. 2325. The requests were for an outdoor music venue, temporary use of buildings, and for temporary parking and access areas. All were approved 6-0 with one commissioner absent.

FORMAT stands for For Music + Art + Technology, according to a news release about the event.

A conditional use permit is required by code for outdoor music venues, longterm temporary structures, and temporary parking lots or construction staging yards, according to planning documents.

Construction is anticipated to begin late this month and continue until the day of the event. The applicants also will pursue grading and floodplain development permits with the city Engineering Department, according to planning documents.

The festival will include three music stages that will be set up with no enclosures. None of the exhibits, infrastructure or facilities will require connections to existing utilities, according to planning documents.

There are no noise-reduction efforts planned, as the general shape of the valley and the high concentration of forested vegetation will act to limit the reverberation of noise, according to the applicant’s narrative.

The applicants also requested the temporary structures, including tents for lodging and temporary buildings for art exhibition, be permitted from May to October. The applicants also requested the planned temporary gravel drive aisles, parking lots and staging yards be permitted in perpetuity to be maintained for use at future events.

FORMAT will feature music performances from more than 50 artists, including Rufus Du Sol, Phoenix, Khruangbin, Beach House, The War On Drugs, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, The Flaming Lips, Jungle, and Herbie Hancock, along with uniquely integrated performances, installations, and art experiences from world-renowned artists including Doug Aitken, Nick Cave, Jacolby Satterwhite, Pia Camil, Marinella Senatore, assume vivid astro focus, Maurizio Cattelan’s Toiletpaper Magazine, John Gerrard in collaboration with Richie Hawtin, Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman, Sissel Tolaas, Charlap Hyman and Herrero and more, according to the release.

The festival will have traditional main and side stages for headline acts, as well as several alternative settings where musicians will perform — hidden forest enclaves, an open-air pavilion, a converted disco barn and a multi-room speakeasy, according to the release.