SCENE fest will survive by scaling back
There are 20 or so major music festivals in Ontario every summer, and on the surface they all seem the same.
The bands may differ. The locations may vary. But all and all, they offer a similar experience: You watch bands play outdoors all day, question the hygiene of the person next to you, and overpay for food and drinks.
But Niagara’s SCENE was different, which is why it is so beloved by its avid supporters. SCENE was hyper-local, anticorporate and all about the music. Sure, there were sponsors and a few of the fixings you see at other festivals, but SCENE was entirely unique. You didn’t stay in one spot, you wandered downtown St. Catharines following the music. You felt part of a community throwing a party for itself. It was a Niagara event that caught the country’s attention because of its indie spirit.
It started with three venues and a handful of bands in 1996. By its 18th year, there were 140 bands playing 10 venues, bringing upwards of 6,000 people to downtown St. Catharines.
Sure, there were headliners. But more often than not, SCENE is where you saw bands before they became headliners. Bands like Alexisonfire and The Trews and Billy Talent.
But last year, SCENE arrived at a crossroads. It was time to evolve. While there were still bands playing downtown, the focus shifted to Montebello Park where a series of headliners like Lights and The Arkells were booked over two days. As part of the transition, it joined with Toronto-based promoters Union Events, who specialize in festivals like Sonic Boom in Edmonton and X-Fest in Calgary.
The result? SCENE didn’t feel like SCENE for many attendees. Just another big stage with the usual names.
Local hip hop singer Matt Femapco, a veteran of nine SCENE festivals, noticed a huge difference.
“I’m pretty disappointed with what’s happening with SCENE, however I’m not surprised,” he said.
Once an outside promoter became involved, he feared profits — at the expense of local indie bands — would become the priority. That’s the nature of big festivals.
“It’s just unfortunate to see a festival that once catered favourably to helping indie artists possibly almost completely losing that aspect of the festival.”
Reaction was predictably mixed. Like when a beloved indie band signs with a major label: It’s good for them, but some fans feel left behind. Many longtime supporters didn’t want SCENE looking like every other festival. Making the pub crawl a secondary aspect in favour of big-name acts on the main stage didn’t sit well.
But this is the dilemma every successful event faces. “Evolve or die,” a former general manager of the Winter Festival of Lights told me. If you hesitate to try something new, your competition will bury you. The money will go elsewhere.
But SCENE had no competition, at least locally. It was a Niagara event which welcomed outsiders who heard how cool it was. It wasn’t Coachella or Riot Fest, which was part of its appeal.
Last year, the new-look SCENE attracted 10,000 people — a new attendance record — and was covered by media across the province. “This was our biggest year yet, and has set a precedent for years to come,” said last year’s festival co-ordinator Pat Murphy. “We want to keep growing this.”
But here’s the problem: When you want to join the big boys, you also compete with the big boys. Southern Ontario has huge summer festivals, all booking the same acts SCENE does. All driving the price of talent up. It is hard for a twoday festival in St. Catharines to compete with something like Toronto’s Edgefest or Guelph’s Hillside. If that wasn’t enough, the Pan Am Games will pretty much consume Toronto and Niagara throughout July.
So, for the first time since it began, there won’t be a SCENE in late June or early July. Organizers are retreating from the summer warfare and focusing on October instead, with its built-in audience of college and university kids.
The good news? You may get your old SCENE back, albeit chillier.
Bad news? SCENE tried taking that next step and got immediately swatted down. That makes it harder to get bigger acts, bigger sponsors. It will stick with tradition.
Maybe that’s what SCENE is meant to do — be the anti-festival. To reaffirm what its name stands for: St. Catharines Event for New Music Entertainment. Back to local. Back to indie. Back to basics.
The result? SCENE didn’t feel like SCENE for many attendees. Just another big stage with the usual names.”