When last year's Forecastle Festival ended, founder JK McKnight was in his usual shape — spent, bedraggled, worn out. He was also frustrated.
Although the festival had grown significantly every year since its modest 2002 debut in Tyler Park, McKnight and his crew shared the feeling that it had plateaued. While billed as a triple-threat festival dedicated to music, art and activism, it was the music that drew the crowds. And McKnight's resources to book bigger acts were limited.
“After the 2008 festival, there was a consensus among everyone involved that this was as far as I could take it by myself,” McKnight said. “The rate of growth was unsustainable without a major industry partner to help carry some of the weight.”
Last October, after much debate with friends and family, McKnight struck a deal with Nederlander Entertainment, among the country's largest entertainment promoters and one with a rich history in the Louisville market. They would do the heavy lifting as far as music while trying to raise the festival's profile.
The result?
The festival's headliner in 2007 was Method Man, a hip-hop icon but hardly a major event. This year's star acts July 10-12 on the Belvedere are Widespread Panic, The Black Crowes, The Black Keys and The Avett Brothers, an unprecedented upgrade. Even the second-tier acts, such as Jason Isbell, Zappa Plays Zappa and the Whigs, would have been main stage acts in years past.
“To say I've been impressed with how much they've invested in us is an understatement,” McKnight said. “Just thinking about where we came from in Tyler Park and where we are today at the riverfront gives me shivers.”
The key player in the new partnership is Steve Liberatore, a veteran promoter with deep ties to Louisville.
Liberatore, based in Cincinnati, is vice president of programming and business development at Nederlander. He has booked shows in Louisville since the early 1980s through a half-dozen promotion companies, working every room from The Toy Tiger and Headliners Music Hall to The Kentucky Center and Freedom Hall.
“I can't even remember the first show I did in Louisville,” said Liberatore, a Cleveland native. “There are so many artists I did on their way up and then on the way back down.
“I totally enjoy the Louisville market area, as well as many of the people that I've had the opportunity and pleasure to work with in this city. Not to mention the fans, who I've found to be passionate about their music and their artists. I believe they're some of the most intelligent music fans in the country, so I keep coming back.”
Liberatore's introduction to the Forecastle Festival was last year, when Bobby Burk, one of McKnight's right-hand men and a mutual friend, introduced them. The festival is heavily involved with environmental activism and, to a lesser extent, the visual arts. Last year's keynote speaker was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“We talked about the festival and its history, and to be honest, I wasn't aware of it until just then,” Liberatore said. “We had lunch, chatted for a while, then went our separate ways. But I did walk away impressed, noting their passion for what they were building and for what they've accomplished from basically roots promotion.”
After accepting McKnight's invitation to a partnership, Liberatore had to convince Nederlander's chief financial officer, Ray Harris, and chairman of the board Robert Nederlander. They were only slightly tougher sells than the artists, who Liberatore said were eager to be involved.
“I made sure (Harris) had three glasses of wine in him before bringing it up,” Liberatore said, laughing. “This isn't the kind of thing Nederlander normally gets involved with, but he tends to listen to logic. I must have been very logical that day.
“In the end, passion and tenacity won. This was an event I truly believed could be taken to the next level … and as much as anything, it had to do with the city of Louisville.”
McKnight expects the newly energized music to also improve the art and activism angles. Nederlander will handle the bulk of the music duties, from booking artists to handling rider and equipment requests, things that McKnight never enjoyed. That frees him up to concentrate on the sides of Forecastle that he's most excited about.
“I hope it means I get to focus on maybe six or eight aspects of the festival as opposed to 25 or 30,” McKnight said. “With the help of Nederlander, I've realized that my energy is better spent focusing on the areas I'm most effective in, while delegating authority to those who have more experience in other areas.
“It will help expose people to the message and mission of Forecastle, which is a lot more than just the music. I see my role in future years focusing much more on the other aspects of the festival, watching them develop and evolve into completely new attractions.”
Liberatore has no problem with that business model.
“I think,” he said, “that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
