Plans Released for Outside Lands Festival
100,000 people expected over course of three-day concerts

by Jonathan Farrell

The Outside Lands Music Festival weekend at the end of August is approaching and westside residents got to meet with the festival promoters and organizers on July 15 to learn more about what is planned and to voice their concerns.

Allen Scott, vice president of Another Planet Entertainment, spoke to about 30 people who gathered at the Richmond Recreation Center on 18th Avenue. He thanked the community for allowing Another Planet the opportunity to host the three-day festival.

This will be the second year for the event to be held in Golden Gate Park. Concerts and art expositions will fill the Polo Fields and Speedway and Lindley meadows from roughly 23rd to 36th avenues.

"We are very excited and Another Planet Entertainment considers the music and arts festival a cultural event," Scott said.

Another Planet will pay the city of San Francisco for all expenses and is anticipating at least 100,000 people will attend the festival the weekend of Aug. 28, 29 and 30. With about 90 percent of ticket sales conducted online, Scott reassured residents that concert goers would be strongly advised to use public transportation to get to the event. Bicycle valet parking will also be available.

Direct mailers with details will go out to all residents within designated areas near the concert/festival and up-to-date information will be posted continuously at the Outside Lands Festival's Web site by Aug. 1.

"We will have more signs posted to clearly direct and mark the routes to the festival," Scott said.

Residents fear large crowds of people converging upon Golden Gate Park will make some disruptions. They expressed concerns about noise, illegal parking and overall traffic flows.

City officials from various city departments, including the Recreation and Park Department, were present at the meeting. Richmond District Supervisor Eric Mar and SF Police Department Capt. Richard Corriea, from the Richmond Station, were also in attendance.

Corriea and Martha Cohen, from the mayor's office of special events, reassured the audience that illegal parking would not be tolerated. Tow trucks provided by Auto Return will be present and roving to attend to parking violations immediately. Bauer Limousine and Shuttle will be providing additional shuttle service to help Muni transport concert goers to the event site. This will help alleviate heavy transit use during the three-day festival.

Bauer will be selling advance shuttle tickets through the Web site but will also offer on-the-spot shuttle ticket sales at all drop-off and pick-up locations at the festival.

Cohen noted the event is being coordinated by many city departments, including the SF Department of Parking and Traffic and SF Metropolitan Transportation Authority, all working together to ensure a successful event.

The subject of noise got the most attention at the meeting.

Scott said sound from the concerts will be closely and strictly monitored. Some residents said that the noise was unbearable at last year's festival.

"We learned a lot from our experience last year," Scott said.

Residents will be able to call in to make comments and complaints at any time during the event through a 1-800 hot line number. Sound consultants and engineers will be present throughout the entire locale of the three-day festival.

One resident noted that often noise is measured at street level but it should be measured above street level since sound travels and wind and fog conditions alter the flow of sound.

Scott took note.

"Our crews can react to atmospheric conditions as speaker cabinets can be turned. Our speakers are directional," he said.

Scott also said sound engineers would be "out there roaming around to check sound levels at every opportunity and will respond to every complaint phoned in through the hot line."

Scott said engineers are working extra hard to make sure sound levels will be contained. He said some headliner bands were turned down because of the noise and rowdiness level they produce.

Irv Abramowitz, a long-time resident of the Richmond, was concerned about the clean-up after the festival.

Scott said that the entire festival site will be cleaned and that more than 350 trash and recycle bins will be positioned throughout the festival arena. Clean Vibes, a company with more than 10 years experience in waste management, has been hired to clean up. It specializes in concert and major events clean ups.

At last year's festival, Clean Vibes reported that 69,200 pounds of waste was recycled and they were able to divert more than 65 percent of all garbage from land fills.

Some residents were curious about Another Planet and wanted to know who they were.

In 2003, Another Planet Entertainment was formed when Gregg W. Perloff, president and CEO of "Bill Graham Presents (BGP)," left to build his own company. The entrepreneurial spirit of legendary concert promoter Bill Graham, who passed away in a helicopter accident, is well established and Perloff saw an opportunity to expand and diversify.

Shortly thereafter, he was joined by longtime colleagues at "Bill Graham Presents" Sherry Wasserman, who served as senior vice president, and Steve Welkom, former senior vice president of administration and business development at BGP.

Scott brought his team from Mystery Machine Productions on board to Another Planet six years ago.

With its headquarters in Berkeley since its inception, Another Planet Entertainment has produced more than 2,000 events and will continue to organize and plan many more.

"We have been doing this for a long time here in the Bay Area, since the 1970s," said Scott.

The Greek Theater in Berkeley, Fox Theater in Oakland and concerts on Treasure Island are on a list of recent large-scale events Another Planet has produced.

City officials and Another Planet Entertainment are certain this year's event will be a success like last year's, only better.

For more information about the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, visit the Web site at www.sfoutsidelands.com. As well, Neighborhood information is now posted at www.SFOutsideLands.com/311. The hot line number that will be operating during the festival from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. is (415) 933-6901.