Three-day music festival was declared a success this week.
Jeanna Shepard

Amid Glowing Reviews, Selectmen Back Second Summer Music Festival

<p>Tisbury selectmen voted unanimously this week to host a second Beach Road Weekend after the three-day summer concert drew glowing reviews from townspeople and business owners.</p>

Tisbury selectmen voted unanimously this week to host a second Beach Road Weekend after the three-day summer concert drew glowing reviews from townspeople and business owners.

Organized by concert promoter Adam Epstein of Innovation Arts and Entertainment, the three-day music festival was held at Veterans Memorial Park in early August.

About two dozen people attended the selectmen’s meeting in the Katharine Cornell Theatre Tuesday to express support for the event.

First responders commended the effective planning and management.

“They were very cooperative throughout the whole planning process,” said fire chief John Schilling. “We had a really solid communications plan.”

Tisbury police Sgt. Bill Brigham said there were no arrests, and only three people were taken into protective custody for intoxication.

“By all accounts the weekend was a success,” the sergeant said. He said in the future, police would install more temporary light towers and work to improve parking for people with handicaps.

EMS Coordinator Tracey Jones said many people visited the first aid tent, but there were no major medical issues. She said next year they would work to provide more resources for people who needed to change children’s diapers.

Town department of public works director Kirk Metell said patches of grass were affected during the cleanup.

“The field did take a little bit of damage because the rain was a little early,” Mr. Metell said. “They drove machinery over an unprotected area because they were in a hurry to get material off the field.” He said the event organizers were in the process of hiring Island contractors to make repairs.

The concert will contribute a modest sum of money to town coffers — about $40,000 net of direct costs, according to an accounting by town administrator John (Jay) Grande.

Mr. Grande said Innovation Arts paid the town a total of $98,000. That included a $40,000 fee for use of the park, $33,000 to pay town employees and first responders who worked on the event, and a $25,000 damages deposit.

He said to date, $31,000 was needed for payroll. The town will keep the damages deposit until facilities are fully inspected, Mr. Grande said.

About 5,000 people attended the festival on Saturday and 6,000 on Sunday, according to organizers. After the festival ended, Mr. Epstein sent a letter to selectmen seeking permission to host a second festival at the park next summer.

Seth Gambino, a Tisbury business owner who lives near the park, was the lone critic to speak.

“It was two weeks of living in a construction zone,” Mr. Gambino told the selectmen. “During the event, things actually shook off our shelves.”

But others, including a musician who performed in the festival, business owners, other abutters and music enthusiasts said the concert was an exciting milestone for the town.

Rachel Baumrin said she usually has to travel off-Island to see big bands and she was thankful to be able to sleep in her own bed after going to a large concert.

“We’ve lost so many music venues on this Island,” she said.

Tisbury resident Holly Mackenzie lauded the atmosphere.

“I thought it was just so wonderful that there were families there,” she said.

Laura Beckman of Island Puff and Pass on Main street said the concert brought some life to the town.

“It did contribute to record sales at Island Puff and Pass,” she added.

“I’ve been involved with a lot of festivals over the years,” said Island musician Sean McMahon who said he was speaking on behalf of many other musicians who performed at the festival. “It was like a miracle that this festival happened as well as it did.”

In other business Tuesday, selectmen appointed seven people to the new town natural resources committee. Thomas Robinson, Amandine Hall, Sally Rizzo, Jeff Canha, Bill Sweeney, John Kollett and David Hearn will join James Hale, Michael Baptiste, James Tilton and Matthew Hobart, who were appointed last month.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/04/2019 - 16:09

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Henry Vineyard Haven

Unfortunately this action was taken with little prior notice to the people who live in Tisbury. It appears the leaders of this town think taking in $40,000 for the weekend is a good deal. I suggest the leaders consider the long term effects of this decision upon the tax base. In response to this scheduled noise intrusion and construction commotion, the property values of Causeway, Skiff, Weaver Lane, Wynyah Lane, Hines Point and others nearby will decline, thus resulting in the Town of Tisbury taking in far fewer tax dollars.

Bob Edgartown

Wow I have a 180 degree different view in fact the article said the $40,000 net gain was a modest amount. I think it was a huge amount and a great bonus for the town. The tax base in VH should be happy as the 40K profit does not include any additional room and sales tax the town took in because of the increase spending by the concert goers. you must live nearby and nimby is alive and well.

Old timer Chilmark

So would that be the same for the fair West Tisbury , Fire works in OB, the street fair in VH and fireworks and parade in Edgartown?? Do these effect the home values and tax revenue?? I highly doubt a 3 day concert that you may not like would cause any issues other than enjoyment for people.

Entertainment for VH VH

I live on Skiff. I completely disagree. My extended family arrived from off Island. We all had a blast walking to the concerts. First class production, and will only get better. VH can't support Stop & Shop improvements, and can't approve a new school. At least we got to have some fun. Henry - you don't represent me.

Bulkington Edgartown

Noise intrusion? I cannot say I misjudged the event before it happened. (I did.) No, I was, in a word, wrong. I wish my keyboard and I could say why I was not only wrong but also completely wrong about what would happen during the event and even in its aftermath. Not modesty, but several laws forbid it. Noise intrusion? The only noise intrusion I 'hear' is from a post from a reader in Vineyard Haven. The sky did not fall. The dam did not break. The sun really did shine on my back door that day.

Henry Vineyard Haven

I really don't think the tax payers of Tisbury care about viewpoints from anyone who does not live in Tisbury; especially about whether someone in Edgartown or Chilmark was bothered by any of the weekend noise. This post was intended to draw the attention of Tisbury to the issue that our leaders seem to not be focusing on an important issue: revenue for the town. Why is this important? Most of the town revenue is raised via property taxes, so anything that diminishes this tax base is important to monitor. If leaders are acting in ways that cause flight of residents or cause new people to not move into town or remove taxable properties from the tax roles, this town will experience long term decline in tax revenues.

I suggest that recent actions involving our town leaders will lead to such a contraction of the tax base. You need only to observe that Tisbury no longer can educate its children properly. Who would want to move into this town with children? Who is planning to leave because of this? Who wants to pay more taxes because a museum is buying properties and thus removing them from the tax roles? Who wants to own residential real estate which will be harassed with noise and congestion from an annual music weekend? These are the issues which are linked and are of huge importance to the tax payers of this town.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/04/2019 - 17:45

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Local MVY

I’ve helped produce music festivals just like Beach Road for 25 years and have heard nothing but good things from the various participating constituencies which is very rare for a first year event. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend as I was producing an event in the West Coast that weekend. As an experienced producer, I can assure you that property values will not decline because of an event that happens one weekend a year. I can also assure you that those 6000 people brought in a great deal of commerce to the local businesses which are also taxed for real vs this speculation regarding property values. Music festivals of all kinds including in the same communities have been a contributor to a community and I’m only surprised that it’s taken this long to have one here on MVY which used to be known for its support of music.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/04/2019 - 21:54

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Not Local MV

It's about time Tisbury did something positive. Now relax the alcohol laws and allow beer and wine without food.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/05/2019 - 07:37

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Mr. B Chilmark

I think a reasonable question is for local businesses in the VH area: Did you see any meaningful change (up or down) in foot traffic/cash flow for your business during the period from noon on Friday through Sunday, 6:00 pm? Businesses that were "on-site" at the concert do not count, of course.

I ask, simply because I wonder about the "cannibalization" effect: People spending money at the concert instead of spending it where they normally do. Or, was it just a "snorer" for most businesses? Neither here nor there? Or, was foot traffic in town actually decreased as many folks avoided the town fearing (rightly or wrongly) massive gridlock?

Schools Out Tisbury

Silly observations. As a consumer my family going to a concert doesn't cannibalize my other life purchases. Honestly, we probably would've been relaxing in our backyard if not going to the concert. We bought food and beverages from the many stands on-site, most representing Island restaurants, some of which I'd never been to. This event drew both Islanders and visitors. None that I encountered bemoaned that their purchasing power had been diminished by attending.

Not Local MV

That question was answered, it's printed in the papers. Businesses all over town felt an uptick, some stating record sales. The naysayers like Mr. Gambino scared some off and people stayed away from the area fearing the worst. When that did not materialize people came in and spent money. The chicken little's and negative nellies have to stop ruining it for all.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 09/05/2019 - 18:31

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David Cooper Vineyard Haven

I read online that the promoter stated that he needed 6500 attendees at each show to clear a profit, did the BOS of Tisbury give a guide line on crowd limits? if not why not? the BOS first job is make sure that tax payers are given first choice and proper services.

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