I just got a press release in my inbox that gave me a double-take: It appears that BottleRock Napa Valley is in fact going to have a second year this Memorial Day weekend despite the financial debacle that the inaugural fest turned out to be. The City of Napa just inked a deal with a new production company that is taking over the event, while the company that produced the 2013 fest is still in bankruptcy proceedings with about $9 million in unpaid debts.
As we reported earlier, stagehands, shuttle bus operators, and food vendors were all left with money owed, or with rubber checks.
The City of Napa vowed not to approve a new event permit until they were paid any unpaid debts, and they're vowing to be more organized with the planning this year last year's permit wasn't approved until two days before the festival, and some logistical nightmares ensured.
And as the Napa Valley Register reports, via bankruptcy court documents, "The [2013] festival cost $20 million to produce and generated a gross income of $11.2 million." Last year's festival was produced by Napa locals Gabe Meyers and Bob Vogt.
The new organizers, Latitude 38 Entertainment, are touting the fact that city saw an estimated $1.75 million in new lodging, tourism, and ToT (transient occupancy tax) revenue due to last year's festival.
But who will be in the lineup this year? It stands to reason that the organizers aren't going to shoot for the moon with acts like Macklemore and Kings of Leon again since paying for those performers was likely what did last year's festival in, leaving everyone else waiting for their checks.
In any event, it appears something will be happening in downtown Napa this year, on the Napa expo grounds, May 30 to June 1. Pre-sale pricing and the lineup are yet to be announced, but you can sign up for updates here, or check Facebook.
