PRINTCrooning for a cause
Summer festivals anchored in charity
COURTESY FORECASTLE FESTIVAL
JK McKnight founded the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Ky., to bring people together behind the mantra “Music. Art. Activism.”
June 14, 2007 | 12:00 a.m. CST
When JK McKnight needed a name for his grassroots summer festival, he wanted something nautical, and he had recently returned from seeing castles in Ireland. Then he stumbled upon forecastle, which is the space at the bow of a ship that houses the crew.
“I looked at the ship as a metaphor for music and art, and the forecastle was the place where the people came together,” McKnight says. With that, Forecastle Festival, an event meant to bring people together through the mantra “Music. Art. Activism.” was born in Louisville, Ky.
Certainly, blending activism with music and art is not a new concept. In 1969, Woodstock’s poster advertised “Three Days of Peace and Music,” and protesting the Vietnam War played a major part. The notion of music and art as a ship guiding people in the right direction is the idea behind many festivals this summer. Bonnaroo, 10,000 Lakes and All Good host a Conscious Alliance Food Drive, and Lollapalooza will feature Causapalooza, the portion of the festival that raises money and awareness for organizations such as StopGlobalWarming.org.
Music and awareness have also been fused on a local level. Nate Kennedy, former MU College Democrats president, helped oversee Demstock, which first took place in Columbia in 2005 at The Blue Fugue. Local musicians played, and attendees listened to speakers and politicians. Although Demstock wasn’t as successful as Kennedy hoped, College Democrats wanted to help the tradition grow over the years. “Music festivals are a great way to bring people together,” Kennedy says. “They are good for people who are trying to make a difference.”
The We Always Swing Jazz Series, now in its 13th year, is another Columbia music celebration founded with a cause in mind. “The Jazz Series mission is essentially to present and promote this art form, to get people to learn about, see and hear some of the great jazz players,” says Jon Poses, the series founder. We Always Swing, which will hold its first concert of the season in early September, is a nonprofit organization that takes part in the educational program Partners in Education. The series also sends four jazz students from Columbia to study with professional jazz musicians for a week.
Although McKnight’s Forecastle trumps We Always Swing in size, it isn’t as large as some more commonly known events (more than 90,000 people attended Bonnaroo in 2005). But the festival is growing. It is moving this year from its former venue in a park to the appropriately nautical riverfront venue, The Belvedere.
McKnight, who would rather be called Forecastle’s captain than its founder, didn’t just want the festival to be unique –- he wanted it to be important. McKnight believes that it is this niche that makes Forecastle so distinct and that all three elements of the mantra are equally important. “The real rock stars of Forecastle are the activists, the people that wake up every day and donate their time to causes greater than their own self-interests,” McKnight says.
Philip S. Cooke, a longtime friend of the McKnights, holds great faith in McKnight and calls him “the boy genius of the whole thing.” Although certainly impressed with the success of Forecastle, Cooke is not surprised. “That is so like JK,” he says. “He didn’t want to just do another festival. He wanted to be for something.”
McKnight has been an activist, especially on environmental issues, since the age of 13. With 47 different environmental organizations present, the environment will be a central issue at Forecastle –- quite a stretch from the original Woodstock, which according to Woodstock69.com had zero trash bins within eyeshot of the festival. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Sierra Club, Dogwood Alliance, Missouri Forest Alliance and Southern Energy Network will all be present at the festival.
But Forecastle, July 27-28, is about more than the environment. It fulfills its artistic goals with exhibits of 22 regional artists. And even with all the activism, Forecastle still knows how to rock. Bands such as De La Soul, Girl Talk and Particle headline the festival. As the captain says: “I look at this whole adventure as being on a ship. Everyone has their role; everyone has clearly defined responsibilities. If we all work together seamlessly and complement each other’s efforts, we’re going to go to great places.”
Mucca Pazza, who performed at the True/False Film Festival in March, will be there with its 20-plus ensemble.
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival
When: June 22 - 24
Where: Boonville, Calif.
Partners: Food and goods vendors from Indonesia, West Africa, Jamaica, Ethiopia and India; nonprofit organizations representing a range of environmental and social issues
Monolith Music Festival
When: September 14 - 15
Where: Morrison, Colo.
Partners: Friends of Red Rocks, CarbonFund.org
Big Summer Classic
When: August 3 - 5
Where: Salem
Partners: Conscious Alliance Food Drive benefiting South Central Missouri Community Action Agency
Austin City Limits Music Festival
When: September 14 - 16
Where: Austin, Texas
Partners: Austin Parks Foundation, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, Plug-In Partners, Surfrider Foundation
