News from Britt Hill – April 2024
BRITT IS ONLY DAYS AWAY from its final announcements and presale. I love this time of year—not least because I can finally stop keeping the amazing secrets of our lineup! The work that happens behind the scenes to book a Britt season starts around a year in advance, so by the time we’re able to share the news with you we are all dying to talk about it!
Assembling a season is a complicated combination of geography, money, relationships, genres, and audience preferences. We send around 150 offers every year to end up with our roster of 30 shows! As a community-centered organization, we also keep our ticket prices substantially lower than other venues and Britt is often the most intimate venue on a band’s tour… all of which means it is often the most modest artist fee. We benefit from being on the I-5 corridor between San Francisco and Portland, and we’re often lucky to score bands that are passing through.
Our industry is changing, though. As more venues pop up (often run by mega-corporations with massively deep pockets), we’re facing far greater competition these days. When venues book artists, they usually set an “exclusivity perimeter” of a few hundred miles, hoping to draw attendees from within that range. While Britt has been off the beaten path for much of its history, we’re seeing more venues pop up and set perimeters that knock us out of the running. This is an existential threat, and we are constantly working to make sure Britt can continue to draw the best acts.
Next month, I’ll be releasing a new Strategic Plan that outlines the next five years of Britt’s goals and projects. I’m grateful to the many of you who have lent your ideas to us in shaping the plan. Among the many projects we’ve outlined, we’re focusing on ways to make Britt even more attractive to touring artists—things like becoming a zero-waste venue and offering unique, creative opportunities for the artist and community. I’ll also be hosting some listening sessions in the coming months to further incorporate your ideas, so stay tuned for that!
In the meantime, be sure to check out the lineup of shows for this summer. If you aren’t yet a member, consider joining to get the earliest access and the best seats for the season. Memberships also support the care of the park 365 days a year, producing our wonderful arts education programs in over 70 schools each year, and so much more. This is your Britt Festival, and we truly cannot do this without you. It’s about to be another magical summer, and I can’t wait!
All best, Abby