Arts & Entertainment

Pleased with Music Midtown's lineup? Happy it's back?

An expanded festival announces its musical acts for September's two-day event.

Music Midtown is officially back, but come late September when the expanded two-day festival returns to Piedmont Park, will neighborhoods surrounding the park be singing a happy tune?

In recent months, the grumblings from Midtown residents have grown concerning the burden the neighborhood must bear in order for the rest of the city to party during a string of spring, summer and fall festivals and events staged in and near the park.

But at Tuesday night’s press party at Greystone in the park to announce this year’s lineup, there were nothing but smiles abound as Live Nation Atlanta President Peter Conlon praised this year's “incredible lineup” with the combination of co-headliners Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam “pretty much a dream.”

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Music Midtown 2012 will be held on Sept. 21 and 22. The first night, a Friday, will feature the likes of Foo Fighters, Van Hunt, TI, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and The Avett Brothers. The Saturday schedule includes Pearl Jam, Ludacris, Girl Talk, Florence and The Machine, Civil Twilight, LP, and O’Brother. More acts are expected to be announced.

What do you think of this musical lineup? Happy that Music Midtown is returning to Piedmont Park?

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Atlanta City Councilmen Kwanza Hall and Alex Wan attended Tuesday’s event and both sang the praises of Conlon, Live Nation and the return of Music Midtown, which last September after a five-year hiatus, drew 38,000 people to the park for a one-day concert headlined by The Black Keys and Coldplay. 2011 marked the first time the event was held in Piedmont Park's meadow after previously being staged at a variety of locales around Midtown and Downtown Atlanta from 1994-2005.

“I was thrilled when Peter told me he wanted to do Music Midtown again,” said Wan, whose represents District 6, home to the park. “A lot of different people, festivals want to come to Piedmont Park because it’s such a great asset to our city, but Live Nation took that extra step last year to make sure the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods was minimal. Of all the festivals that came through, the one the neighborhoods point to as the best example of how to run a great event, to engage the neighbors, and really consider how an event impacts them, it definitely was Live Nation and Music Midtown.”

Added Hall: “I’m really excited about what this means for the city. Last year, Mayor (Kasim) Reed kicked this off and it really is a new era in live music in the city and it set the tone for something great going forward. We want to have a very vibrant city and this is one of those things that makes it happen. Our Midtown economy, our entertainment industry is really carrying the day in terms of jobs and opportunity.”

But at what cost? Midtown residents will again have to contend with street closures and an influx of tens of thousands of visitors in the days surrounding the event and while it is being staged. While almost 40,000 people attended last year’s one-day fest, event promoters will have almost twice as long to sell tickets this year for the extended event, and festival organizers expect around 120,000 people to attend according to an application for an outdoor festival permit filed with the city.

On The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s blog about Tuesday's announcement, one individual with the screen name “from where I live” wrote about last year’s event:

“To say the neighborhoods were delighted with how well things went is a huge stretch. It was a mess and a total pain how they ran traffic closures on 10th St. for a week with two schools on the road. Signage for road closures by the City were poor to non-existent; I have tried hard to forget the “communication snafus” about what they actually were going to do when and accommodate a major commuter corridor and school buses and all the rest.
Two days? Oh help… trash out the yin-yang the city won’t clean up, the grass in the park in big dead squares because of the stage supports. One day is tolerable, two days is shades of Freaknik irrespective of attendees’ skin color. Pimpin’ out the park again to make the mayor some $$ and brownie points with the entertainment industry.’’

Another individual, “Concert Lover” commented:

“I love outdoor concerts…and I love some of these bands… so that’s not the issue. Music Midtown is getting too big for Piedmont Park! So, what’s in it for the Park? Piedmont Park Conservancy? The adjacent neighborhoods? I prefer The Green Concert, a 1 day event, with only 2 bands, which brings in the same numbers, and partners with the PPC. Music Midtown is more of a hostile takeover of a public asset by the city and promoters. Whatever happened to spreading the “love” to other parks, giving Piedmont Park a rest between monstrous festivals, giving the neighboring taxpayers a rest between monstrous festivals?”

Still, Wan said he was optimistic for a well-run event that will be enjoyed by many: "I’m pleased to hear they’re doing the same neighborhood parking and safety measures that they took last year,'' he said. "I’m looking forward to a very successful 2012 event.”

Earlier this month, that in an effort to decrease the impact on the neighborhood, they intend to perform the major stage and equipment load-in, which includes intermittent street closures on 10th Street between Charles Allen Drive and Monroe Drive, on Sunday, September 16.

At Tuesday’s gathering, Conlon praised the City and the park for their contributions to the event. “We love Piedmont Park; it’s our Central Park,” he said. Later he added, “Mayor Reed has been incredible. We have someone who really understands the value of entertainment both culturally and in economics.”

Through a press release, the mayor added his two cents, “One of the best things about Atlanta is its thriving arts and culture community,” said Reed. “This is a city that is deeply tied to the music, film and entertainment industry. The Music Midtown concert series, which returned to Atlanta last September, is a world-class event which attracts thousands of music lovers to the heart of the city for unparalleled live music, food, energy and excitement.” 

Tickets go on sale this Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m. at www.musicmidtown.com, www.livenation.com or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. As the official credit card of Music Midtown, Citi card members will have access to presale tickets beginning Wednesday, April 25 at 10 a.m. through Citi's Private Pass Program until Friday, April 27 at 10 p.m. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

Early Bird general admission tickets are $55 for a one-day pass or $100 for a two-day pass + $1 for Mayor Reed's Centers for Hope initiative. Conlon remarked that sometime during the summer, general admission ticket prices will increase to $65 for a one-day pass and $120 for a two-day pass.

VIP packages will be available for an enhanced festival experience to include:

Citi VIP Club           $ 250.00 per day/ticket

  • Admission to the festival
  • Private VIP entrance
  • Private Hospitality area with complimentary food and beverage
  • Private air-conditioned restrooms

Super VIP           $ 1,000.00/ticket

  • Admission to the festival with complimentary commemorative t-shirt
  • Private VIP entrance
  • Valet parking
  • Backstage Viewing Area of both stages
  • Private Hospitality area with complimentary food and beverage
  • Private air-conditioned restrooms
  • VIP Laminate


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