Bayfest (Mobile)
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| BayFest | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Music |
| Dates | early October |
| Locations | Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A. |
| Years active | 1995–2015 |
| Website | http://www.bayfest.com/ |
BayFest was an annual three-day music festival held in the heart of downtown Mobile, Alabama. Founded in 1995, the festival offered a variety of music including pop, jazz, classic rock, alternative, R&B, rap, gospel, and modern rock. It was based at Bienville Square. The Launching Pad stage during Bayfest focused on local and regional talent. The event encouraged "going green" by providing for recycling throughout the grounds.
After perceived poor lineups, fewer acts and increasing ticket prices caused some years of diminishing interest, organizers for Bayfest announced its ending two weeks before its planned 2015 festival.[1]
Growing from an initial attendance of 50,000 people in 1995, BayFest became known for its array of musical talent suited to a wide variety of tastes. In 2003, the festival included over 125 live musical acts on nine stages and had an average attendance of more than 200,000 people during the three-day weekend each year.[2] Throughout the past fifteen years, acts such as 3 Doors Down, Alice in Chains, B.B. King, The Beach Boys, Big & Rich, Collective Soul, Hootie & the Blowfish, Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Ludacris, The Temptations, Travis Tritt, Stone Temple Pilots, Uncle Kracker, and Velvet Revolver have performed at BayFest.[3]
The 2008 lineup included Better Than Ezra, Bow Wow, Buckcherry, Eric Church, Kid Rock, Nelly, Puddle of Mudd, Sister Hazel, Three Days Grace, and Wynonna Judd.[4] During its first eleven years, BayFest was voted six times as Mobile's "Best Annual Event" in Mobile Bay Monthly magazine, surpassing the city's celebration of Mardi Gras. It was named as one of the Southeast Tourism Society's "Top 20 Events" several times beginning in 1995.[3]
In its later years, as happened with similar festivals elsewhere in the U.S., the event suffered from declining interest. Tropical Storm Karen adversely affected the festival in 2013.[1] Financial concerns briefly led organizers to reschedule the 2015 event to the Grounds in West Mobile, before deciding to remain in downtown Mobile despite their difficulties.[5] On September 16, 2015, organizers announced the event's ending, as well as the cancellation of its planned 21st festival.[1]
