Last week, I wrote about the seeming inability of Riverbend to evolve in any meaningful way. In fairness to Friends of the Festival, I pointed out that a notable exception to this was the decision last year to double the number of Coke Stage headliners.
The addition of a 6:30 p.m. show each night was one of the biggest shakeups at the festival in years, but while I applauded the move, it wasn’t flawlessly executed. The main stumbling block was the fact that organizers didn’t adjust the administration of Star Seating to accommodate the additional acts.
Casey PhillipsFor an additional fee, those with a Star Seat ticket are assigned a spot to view the headliner in the premium-tier real estate directly in front of the stage. Ostensibly, this spares them from the bloody fisticuffs and shantytown skulduggery that the common folk must endure to claim a spot on the Coke Lawn.
If you’ve got the scratch, this probably sounds like a great way to see an artist you’re especially fond of, but there was a fundamental flaw: The tickets reserved your spot for the entire evening.
In years with only a single headliner, this made sense. The Coke Stage was dormant until 9:30 p.m., so it didn’t matter if people didn’t show up until later in the evening to take their seats.