Shake-up in festival, but show set to go on

The annual City of Roses Music Festival is planned for Sept. 24 and 25.

The committee organizing the City of Roses Music Festival experienced a setback last month when chairperson Meg Davis resigned her position.

Since that time, the committee has been regrouping, with Doc Cain, owner of Port Cape Girardeau, taking the lead until Don Ganim, owner of Jeremiah's, took the chair position last week.

Festival organizers say the event is back on track and ready to roll out scores of bands Sept. 24 and 25, hopefully with a new variety of music not seen in past years.

Rumors have been circulating that the festival may be in jeopardy this year. Not so, Ganim said.

"No matter what we have to do, we're going to make it happen," said Ganim.

Ganim said the festival committee hopes to expand City of Roses this year to include everything from country to bluegrass to jazz to straight blues. In past years, the festival has been primarily a rock-oriented event.

There will also be an all-ages show coinciding with the festival at a venue called The Enchanted Forest, located on Broadway, said venue owner and Drivin' Rain frontman Timexx Nasty.

Another new addition this year will be a film showcase coinciding with the music festival.

The Cape Filmmakers Cooperative has announced it will have the showcase the Saturday of the festival at Jeremiah's.

Festival spokesperson Mary Ramsey said the organizing committee, a loose group made up of volunteers, has been in contact with several local bands. Selections could be made by late next week, she said.

Food and other types of vendors will also be booked for the event, Ramsey said.

"Our goal is to make this more of a festival event," said Ramsey. "If you go to a festival event you're going to find funnel cakes, hot dogs and cotton candy."

Ramsey said this year the committee has given bar and restaurant owners in the downtown area more freedom to choose their own way of doing business during the weekend. Establishment owners are encouraged to book their own bands and charge covers if they wish.

This may allow bars to book bigger name acts, said Ramsey and Ganim.

The festival is a charity event, said Ramsey, with proceeds going to a Southeast Missouri State University scholarship fund. Paying bands without cover charges may help compensate bands more fully without drawing money away from the scholarship.

Kirby Ray, 99.3 FM personality, member of Emaciation and festival volunteer, said he has mixed feelings about the festival. A lack of sponsorship and no big-name headliners have taken the festival off its vision, said Ray.

At the same time, having the festival is important to him.

"It's kind of a Catch-22 with me, because we love to play and in Cape Girardeau it's kind of hard to find a place for a hard rock band to play," said Ray. He is currently in contact with bands, booking them for the festival.

Ray, being a member of the organizing committee and musician, said he understands the pressures put on organizers, especially the chairperson.

"Every year it's just chewed up and spit out every president it's had," said Ray.

The egos of musicians and venue owners often collide, causing friction, and organizers know that.

But every year the festival still happens, and every year scores of bands show up to play and thousands of people come out to listen. Ramsey said this year's roster could be similar in scope to the roughly 70 acts who played last year.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182