Eric Burdon left the Wild Mountain Music Festival organizers scrambling after pulling out as the Friday headliner just six days before curtains up.
Brian LaBerge said Monday morning it has been a chaotic week but some way, somehow, the music community locally and farther afield rallied for the Hinton event and landed The Family Stone for the slot.
The 11th festival runs July 13-15.
LaBerge said Burdon, who led rock legends The Animals in the 1970s and 1980s, was the first signing for the 2018 festival. The ink dried more than four months ago. But about a month ago demands related to transportation from his people in California started rolling in. They became 鈥渋ncreasingly ridiculous鈥� and the tension finally snapped when the House of the Rising Sun author pulled out.
He is 鈥渋n breach of the contract because we鈥檇 fulfilled everything,鈥� LaBerge said, 鈥渂ut it was a beautiful thing to see the music community pull together. Art directors from other festivals artists, musicians were suggesting possible replacements, people they knew were in town.鈥�
One of the top 100 artists of all time according to Rolling Stone, The Family Stone (no relation) minus Sly still play a couple of times a week, according to LaBerge, and they鈥檙e tight despite there being eight of them on stage.
鈥淭hese guys rip,鈥� LaBerge said. 鈥淔rom 1966 to 1983, they laid down tracks that would inspire generations of performers, in nearly every genre including funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music, and they never quite fade from musical history as they are sampled, time and time again, by new and emerging artists.鈥�
All the logistics of hosting a band with that many members would be challenging on a normal timeline, but on less than a week, it would be daunting. The band doesn鈥檛 bring gear with them, they send a list to the festival and organizers like LaBerge get everything ready for them. This many Cork keyboards, that many Gibson guitars, a drum set. The lights and other special effects switch out between acts, too.
鈥淭o turn around a band of this magnitude in five days is herculean,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 karma. We stayed positive on this whole thing, even through to the announcement yesterday. It came together.鈥�
Friday ticket holders can get a refund by going back to the retailer where they bought it or them, or to Eventbrite.
