Managing the Blues

Nicole Thieret

At the Roots N’ Blues N’ BBQ Festival last Saturday afternoon, three bands were playing, thousands of people were streaming downtown and hundreds of volunteers, staff and security workers were managing the crowd when the weather forecast proved correct — it started to rain. Then it started to pour.

David Issacs, of the reggae group the Itals, sings of love and peace to a crowd at Peace Park. The word ital means pure, natural and unprocessed. These are the adjectives the group uses to describe the sound and message of the band. “Well, we really not like the environment of the city,” said lead singer Keith Porter on the group’s Web site. “We like to live in the country and come into the city and do our work and go back. You get more better food to eat out there, you know…more fresher food and fresh air and t'ing like that.”

Nicole Thieret, who was managing the festival for Thumper Entertainment for the first time, stayed calm while troubleshooting over her walkie-talkie and cell phone. “We had rain for about an hour, and it kind of cleared the streets out, but everyone came right back out.” The musicians, they kept on playing.

Thieret, 24, collected armfuls of yellow umbrellas to pass out to musicians, venders and other staff.

The Itals danced and sang as the crowd swelled in Peace Park.

Also during the festival, a headliner musician came down with bronchitis and had to be replaced the day before the performance. Although Thieret said there were police officers patrolling every 50 feet or so, volunteers still needed to quickly wrap a parking lot with yellow “do not cross” tape so people test driving Ford Fiestas wouldn’t hit anyone. One band leader wanted to be paid immediately because she was leaving the country.

Rexroy Scott of the Jamaican Jerk Hut tends to the BBQ at the festival. During the rainstorm Patty King called on the Jamaican Hut and 10 other vendors to provide cardboard boxes that could be flattened and laid down in the muddy parks.

Thieret said on Wednesday they were still counting tickets and waiting for a crowd estimate from police. An estimated 120,000 people attended last year’s festival. “I don’t think it was more than last year,” Thieret said. “There were a lot of people concerned that with charging this year there would be less numbers, but there were always people waiting in lines to get tickets, and not many people complained that they had to buy tickets.”

Festival goers enjoy the show as a group of hula-hoopers throw tricks to the beats of a street musician at the Roots N' Blues N' BBQ Festival.

Bouncing beach balls fly through the air as festival goers enjoy music in Peace Park. “The festival was a total success,” spokesperson Tara Hart said. “The artists and fans were totally happy. Obviously we wished there wasn’t rain, but that didn’t seem to bother anybody. There was always a constant stream of people waiting in lines to buy tickets.”

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