Holy MAMF, Batman!

In 1987, several bands rooted in the eclectic music scene in Austin, Texas, lugged their gear to the many clubs that surrounded the convention center in downtown Austin. They set up and played a marathon of shows over the next few days. Some out of town bands even joined in on the fun. As an isolated mid-Texas-sized town, Austin and its musicians were attempting to reach out to the rest of world. This was the first South By Southwest Music Festival and Conference (SXSW) and it attracted only 700 people.

In the 21 years since, it has grown to be the premiere musical event in the world, hosting more than 1,400 bands over four days at dozens of venues, still in downtown Austin. With film and interactive festivals added in 1994, 17,000-plus people now converge on the Texas state capital each year, making it the second highest grossing economic annual event in the city.

Omaha has the College World Series and now it has the Mid-American Music Festival (MAMF). But, since it’s only the inaugural year for MAMF and even though it’s set to be the largest independent music festival in the region, things will parallel Austin circa ’87 rather than ’08.

Behind Omaha’s MAMF is local music promoter Tony Lange, president of River City Productions, LLC. Using successful music festivals such as SXSW as an example, Lange said he hopes to increase Omaha’s status as a regional powerhouse for independent music.

“There’s a lot of talent in the town and a lot of talent in surrounding cities, and unless you travel down to Austin, Texas, there’s nothing like it (around here),” Lange said.

The backdrop for MAMF, taking place Sept. 3-6, is the historic Benson entertainment district. With its Bohemian vibe, Benson is a suitable fit, especially with several established music venues already coexisting within a few blocks of one another. Throw in a few non-traditional venues and there are 10 in all that are hosting four days filled with music. Venues on board are the Waiting Room, P.S. Collective, Mick’s Music and Bar, Espa“a, the Foundry, the Barley Street Tavern and the Benson Grind. Some venues from off the beaten path, at least as far as hosting music, are Mia’s Bongo Room, Musette Bar and Burke’s Pub. Other Benson businesses, such as Louis Bar, will also cater to the music-loving crowds, offering a variety of entertainment and late-night food options for attendees and musicians.

“It certainly helps the small businesses here a great deal,” P.S. Collective owner Amy Ryan said of MAMF.

Much like SXSW and other successful music festivals, MAMF will also bring in local music heads and professionals to lead educational seminars at Regency Lodge during daytime hours before the music starts each night in Benson. One of the sessions will even take participants on a roundabout tour of four of Omaha’s major recording studios.

All in all, more than 300 bands and artists applied to participate in the festival. A panel of 12 local music professionals spent two weeks meticulously sorting through the applicants. From the terrible to the extremely talented, each submission was reviewed and rated by each judge. After the scores were compiled, the highest and lowest ratings for each artist where thrown out and the remaining 10 averaged out. Those musicians that fared well were invited to MAMF. The field of 300 was whittled down to about 140. Nearly two-thirds of the selected artists are Omaha-based.

This is not a far cry from what the initial SXSW looked like, which had a heavy dose of Austin bands its first year. However, Omaha may be on to something with MAMF. One day, and this might take 20 or more years, Maple Street could mirror what currently happens each March along Sixth Street in downtown Austin.

It Takes a Village

For something that has the magnitude of the Mid-American Music Festival, it takes more than one mind to make an idea bloom into reality. In fact, there are dozens of people behind this year’s inaugural event, from organizers and judges to business owners and promoters. But that’s not enough to make MAMF a success. It takes support from the entire music community and from there it must reach out into the rest of the city.

“The Benson area has been very supportive of the whole thing and Blue Moon has been huge in helping us put this together, but I’m kind of disappointed in the city itself,” Lange said.

Even so, during its debut year, MAMF has had little to no support from Omaha outside of its music scene and a few sponsors. To boot, members of the music community seem to be focusing a critical eye on the festival as well. Initial community support varied in other cities across North America where organizers started like-minded festivals.

Mike Tanner, communications manager for Toronto’s North By Northeast Music and Film Festival (NXNE), originally conceived as a sister festival to SXSW, said community support has been solid throughout its 12-year history.

“Basically at the beginning, fans and performers were excited about a downtown festival that brought together 200 plus acts at 25 clubs. The city’s infrastructure and media have slowly caught on, so that now, with 550 bands, 25 films and around 50 venues, we do make quite a splash in Toronto during June,” Tanner said.

Dan Seligman, founder of the Pop Montreal festival in Quebec had this to say: “Montreal is a tough town. Some people sit around and criticize. However, the majority of people in the music community have been incredibly supportive and have worked with us since the beginning. It was always one of our initiatives to include local promoters and artists in the planning and programming of the festival. And we continue to develop this part of the festival.”

Gordon Lamb, co-owner of the Athens PopFest in Athens, Ga., whose festival has grown from a quiet, one venue event into a multi-day festival featuring several national bands, said the surrounding population has always supported the festival. “There’s always a buzz about the festival which goes on for several months beforehand and, of course, lots of local folks come to the shows.”

Lamb said Athens PopFest is committed to Athens as a place to live and also to its arts community. “We are not simply a festival that happens in Athens but, rather, an event that is inextricably ties to the fact that we are in Athens.”

Will Omaha fair as well as NXNE and the Athens PopFest in its first year? Lange hoped there would be more initial interest along the lines of citywide support for the first year. But for now, Lange and his colleagues are going at it alone. Maybe a concept such as a music festival falls foreign on the ears of most people, but seeing will be believing Sept. 3-7.

Some local musicians performing at MAMF are optimistic about the outcome of the festival’s debut year.

Dereck Higgins, who will be performing Sept. 6 at Mia’s Bongo Room, said he couldn’t predict the degree of MAMF’s success. “I think that it’s going to be an uphill climb,” he said. “I think that it can grow. I don’t think it’s a pipe dream at all.”

“I’m sure there’s a lot of skepticism,” said Midwest Dilemma’s Justin Lamoureux. “I just feel like it’s an opportunity for us to play and our band is very excited to play.” Lamoureux and his band Midwest Dileamma will play Sept. 3 at the Waiting Room.

Higgins added that raising community awareness of Omaha’s music scene is vital to the future success of MAMF and similar projects. “If just the musicians alone would be more supportive of one another this could be successful.”

As far as making a profit, well, that’s not what usually happens during the first few years at festivals such as SXSW, NXNE, Athens PopFest, Pop Montreal and others.

Tanner said that NXNE has always had a tight budget. “I think new festivals in general should expect to be in the red for a few years before they start getting lucrative sponsorship, government funding and sufficient ticket sales to become profitable.”

There were no profits to be had in 2004 during the initial Athens PopFest, but things turned around quickly for Lamb and his festival. He said any money lost during the first year was made up during the second.

Where MAMF stands right now, huge profits are not on the horizon. But it’s bound to be a success on some levels. Omaha needs it. And whatever MAMF becomes next year, Lange and everyone else who put so much time into organizing things and bringing in talented acts from across North America will learn a thing or two. For every critic there’s also an optimist out there that will make sure MAMF is a success, even if it takes building things one song at a time.

Other music festivals have been able to broaden their scopes beyond music, adding film festivals to the scheduled events. There is an annual film fest in Omaha. There is also an annual literature fest. Why not bring these three events together? It might be the key to the continued success of all of them.

Tickets to MAMF are a $15 for a day pass that can potentially allow guests to catch at least a fragment of sets by upwards of 30 bands per night. A $45 four-day pass quadruples that amount, plus lets guests attend the seminars at Regency Lodge and elsewhere. It would be a shame for anyone who is a fan of Omaha music scene to miss this event in its entirety.