Bernie’s blues: Bernie Clarke, organizer behind the New York State Blues Fest, will also be amoung this year’s performers. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
Now in its 17th incarnation, the Blues
Fest has been delicately coddled by a variety of organizers throughout
its history. Its maturity really only occurred during the last five
years, when organizers Bernie Clarke, a local musician, and David
Katleski, owner of Empire Brewing Company, 120 Walton St., took the
reigns from the fest’s former helmsman, local musician “Austin” Jimmy
Murphy. When Murphy moved to El Paso, Texas, in 2003, Katleski took
over many of the financial and business-related concerns of the
festival, while Clarke became primarily involved with organizing
artists. Both were members of the festival’s executive board during the
decade prior.
However, the festival was in financial
trouble at the same time of Murphy’s move, which led Katleski to
combine the brewing fest, an event he had pioneered, with the ailing
Blues Fest. “It really was strictly an issue of economics,” Katleski
resolves. “When I took over the Blues Fest it was in the red, and I
thought one of the opportunities to turn it around would be to combine
festivals. And by consolidating to two days, we had the same amount of
music, but just {expanded} it into a little longer period of time.”
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The Events Company, a local business
that assists in organizing get-togethers small and large, was also
brought in by the reorganizing pair. “The first year that the whole
team came in it seemed like this complete organized chaos,” Clarke
recalls. “Now it’s gotten to the point where everything runs itself.
Everyone knows when they have to do everything. We know how many
porta-potties we have to have, and we know how much water we have to
have. If we have 15,000 people at the festival, we know how many beer
stands we have to have.”
The comfort that the organizers have
developed over the past five years has also allowed the festival to
incorporate new elements, such as educational workshops for musicians
at Hanover Square in addition to acts hosted on two main stages at
Clinton Square. “Having two {main} stages makes a better show for those
who are there in attendance, but it also gives an opportunity to give
our local talent a chance to get into the Blues Fest,” Clarke says.
“We’ve been trying to extenuate a little of the educational side of
things, because it’s nice to have some new up-and-coming bands, so
we’re having some workshops out there in Hanover.”
Regardless of new ambitions, however,
the festival’s twin frontmen are mostly pleased that they are able to
continue an event that draws music fans into new musical territories.
“It would be real easy if we charged 20 bucks a head. We’d cut the
audience in half or maybe more, but on the same token it would be a lot
more financially secure,” Clarke says. “We like to have a nice event
that anybody can come down to and explore blues and roots music that
maybe people wouldn’t otherwise.”
The Empire State Brewing and Music
Festival begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 11. Tickets are $40 to sample
beer, or $20 to just listen to the music. It’s free admission for the
New York State Blues Festival, which starts at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday,
July 12, and Sunday, July 13. For more information, call 422-9400.
