The organizers of the Hootstock Festival, Momentum Productions, announced some changes to the format of this year’s event.
“The event will be invitation only, so no longer a public event,” said Steve Roy, one of the organizers. “We have already several stellar bands that would like to play next July…I know it’s going to be a great event and overall less stressful for our family.”
The decision to change it from public to an invitation-only event comes from the “commercial” struggle most festivals face, lack of attendance and a lack of local support.
RELATED: Forest Grove’s Hootstock Festival brings the magic
Roy did say that the people at the Forest Grove Community Hall, where last year’s festival was, were super accommodating and supportive.
According to the website, family and friends of the organizers have always subsidized the event by supplying the sound equipment, labour and support as well as thousands of dollars each year the event has been running.
Typically, 85 per cent of all revenue from past festivals has gone to the artists at the event. Momentum Productions is a not-for-profit.
The event has been renamed Homestock and will be held at the organizer’s farm in Forest Grove on the third weekend of July. News about the event will not be spread through advertising but rather through word of mouth and invitations sent out to previous supporters of Hootstock.
The organizers have also said there will only be one main stage, in addition to a “jam” stage. Overall, performances will be a little less intense and more casual.
In a press release on their website, Momentum Productions posted a formula for remuneration for the performers.
“What we intend to do is use our equitable formula for performers. This means any money collected from the ‘chip-ins’ will be divided up in an equitable fashion for those who need it.”
The formula is D.A. (dollar amount to artists) = (T.P. (time played by the artist) X D.T. (total revenue)) divided by T.T. (total revenue).
Momentum Productions are encouraging any bands or artists who would like to perform to contact them, and they will see if they can fit the band/artist in. They can be contacted at hootstockfestival@gmail.com.
Momentum Productions also host and promote shows throughout the year, usually at their farm in Forest Grove and sometimes at the Critical Mass Pop-up and Parkside galleries in 100 Mile House. Typically the artists are from out of town and are on tour.
Some examples of the artists who Momentum Productions have brought into the area without Hootstock are Tiger Moon, Winona Wilde, and Shawna Caspi.
Related: Award-winning country-folk singer coming to 100 Mile House
Roy said they have booked some shows for March, though most of them will be hosted at the Forest Grove Community Hall. However, no names or dates have been released as of yet.
