Bloomington Fest 2002

Bloomington may be dead right now as students continue to move in and get their dorms and apartments in order, but that's all about to change. Tonight Bloomington will come alive.\nThe annual Bloomington Fest concert kicks off tonight. Sixty-five plus bands from Bloomington and other cities will converge on nine different venues for four days of music and art. Steve Duginske, creator of Bloomington Fest, says this fest differs from other music festivals because of the culture and make-up of the city.\n"I think the fest feeds off the city -- it's an amazing place," Duginske says. "It's got a city feel as far as the culture, but it's still got the small-town feel." Other fests are often outside city limits or in warehouses, making it difficult for people to interact within the city. \nChris Swanson, co-founder of the local record label Secretly Canadian and an organizer of the event, says having Bloomington Fest in the heart of downtown forces people to walk around all day to each venue, meeting people on the way. \nMeeting new people and making new friends at the fest gives it a feel of a big party, says Eric Weddle, fest organizer and owner of Family Vineyard Records, another Bloomington label. \nSwanson says Bloomington Fest is very down to earth, with a large social dynamic, such as impromptu kickball games. Many of the bands coming to play drive for a day to perform and are paid barely enough to cover gas money, but they come because they want to hang out and see the other bands and just play at the fest, says Weddle.\nThe festival of past years wasn't always as large as this year's. Created over a kickball game on Easter Sunday by Duginske, the first Bloomington Fest was only at one venue, Rhino's all-ages club. Duginske had prior experience putting on shows and fests but wanted to put one on in Bloomington. \n"For years I had gone to fests all over the U.S., like More Than Music in Ohio and Cleveland Fest," he says. "I thought it would be a challenge to try and do one in Bloomington. I wanted the fest to be community-oriented and as cheap as possible." \nBloomington Fest has evolved from one venue and one organizer (Duginske) to four venues in 2001 and nine venues of this year. The addition of other factors into the planning and running of Bloomington Fest is one major reason for the evolution of the event. In 2000, music labels Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar got involved, expanding the styles of music at the event. \n"Secretly Canadian is a well-known label, worldwide and nationally," says Duginske. "By having them involved, it has helped the fest grow. It's helped us to incorporate new venues." He explains that all of the organizers as a group have opened each other up to new genres of music that they might not have listened to. This year's fest has musical styles that vary from experimental and avant-garde to rock and garage bands to hard-core music. \nRhino's, a staple of Bloomington Fest, is just one of the nine venues involved in this year's event. The club has been a part of every fest. Brad Wilhelm at Rhino's says the club got involved in the concerts because Duginske had done shows there before and many of the bands that played in the fest played at Rhino's. \n"We want to support people like Steve who want to do cool things," Wilhelm says. "Bloomington Fest is a great event. It's run impeccably well. It's about the music, not about preening. People come because they are passionate about the bands." \nWilhelm says Rhino's has a communal feel. "We have less problems during Bloomington Fest than any other time of year," he says.\nA relaxed, laid-back feeling is in the atmosphere at the event. Weddle says that despite the fact many bands lose money coming to play the fest, they come because they know they will have large, attentive audiences. \nDaniel Burton of Early Day Miners, a self-described minimalist American rock band, says Bloomington Fest is always one of the better events the band does every year.\n"You can feel it in the air that people are really, really excited about Bloomington music," Burton says. This will be EDM's third year playing Bloomington Fest. Each year, Burton says, it seems to get bigger and bigger.\nWhile living in Chicago, Burton came to the fest, which influenced his decision to return to Bloomington. Now, he's honored that EDM is on the Secretly Canadian label.\n"The people behind (Bloomington Fest) are huge music fans," he says. "They're not trying to exploit it."\nTo the bands, playing the fest is like a vacation, Swanson says. Some bands on his label want to play early in the fest so they will have time to just hang out, relax and enjoy the event.\nAs for the listeners of the music, some develop friendships over the course of the four-day music fest. Swanson says relationships made at the fest often last. During the fest, there could be up to a dozen people sleeping on the floor for four days at one house. Swanson says three years ago, he met a man from Baltimore who came by himself to Bloomington Fest and invited the man to stay with him. The man has come back to the fest ever since, brining more and more people each time. \nTo get this kind of atmosphere takes months of preparation. \nDuginske says planning usually begins in January or February, though this year the organizers started later. Living in Atlanta for the past two years, Duginske has organized the shows by e-mail and with help from good contacts. "Around March, Eric and Chris, while I was back one weekend planning my wedding, had a long talk about it, and from there it just evolved to what you see for this year's fest." \nSwanson says Duginske has been promoting the show for more than four months. This week, the organizers have been trying to spread the word by hanging up posters throughout the city and the dorms. \n"Word of mouth is big," Weddle says. "If people are aware of it, they're going to go." \nBloomington Fest runs Aug. 29 through Sept. 1, with 65 plus bands, art and films. Musically, various genres of music will be there. "If you don't like what you're hearing, just walk a block away, or wait 30 minutes, and something new will come on," Swanson says.\nFor the cost of a dinner and a movie, concertgoers can gain entry into any of 65 shows, though some venues are only open to those 21 and over. The organizers expect at least the same size crowd as last year, around 600 people, but Weddle explains that attendance is unpredictable for artistic events.\nThe organizers hope this year's fest is as fun as last year's. "There's a lot of pride on the line," Swanson says. "We want it to be fun."\nBoth the local music scene and artist from around the country will have a chance to strut their stuff this weekend, providing evening entertainment for new and returning students. "Lots of music, lots of fun," Duginske says. "Come out and see for yourself."\nJason Gaddis contributed to this article.