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Strings Music Festival: When the curtain closes

Cristin Frey/For Steamboat Today
Todo Mundo performs a blend of rumba, reggae and Brazilian music this Friday at the Strings Music Pavilion.
Courtesy photo

Upcoming events

• Friday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. — Todo Mundo (world)

• Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m. — The Railsplitters (bluegrass)

• Sunday, Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. — Story Pirates (holiday comedy for kids)

• Tuesday, Dec 22, 7 p.m. — A Celtic Christmas (celtic)

• Saturday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. — Fei Fei Dong (piano recital)

• Friday, March 5, 7 p.m. — Del McCoury and David Grisman (bluegrass)

When I tell people I work at Strings Music festival, the typical response is, “So, where do you work in the off season?” I’m going to let you in on a little secret of what goes on when the curtain closes in August here at Strings.

Upcoming events

• Friday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. — Todo Mundo (world)

• Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m. — The Railsplitters (bluegrass)



• Sunday, Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. — Story Pirates (holiday comedy for kids)

• Tuesday, Dec 22, 7 p.m. — A Celtic Christmas (celtic)



• Saturday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. — Fei Fei Dong (piano recital)

• Friday, March 5, 7 p.m. — Del McCoury and David Grisman (bluegrass)

Yes, the lighting crew heads back to Chicago, the sound intern slips back to his college life in Ohio and the golf-cart-driving facility assistants most likely hit the slopes way more often than the rest of us. Inside the insignificant trailer next to the magnificent 560-seat Strings Pavilion, there is a small, year-round staff of eight scheming about the upcoming winter and summer seasons.

The booking for winter is typically done in October, and then the summer search begins. Once you find the bands you want, and they want you, and they are in your price range, you need to figure out how to pay them. As a non-profit organization, this off-season is prime time to hit the streets, rub some elbows and solicit some money so the shows can go on.

“What’s that/” you ask. “Doesn’t ticket revenue cover the cost of the shows?”

Actually, ticket sales only cover about 30 percent of our operating costs.

Once the show is booked and the band is paid, it’s not just a miracle that all those people show up at our door in June. It’s actually part of a long thought-out plan that begins in winter.

So once you have the musicians, the money to pay the musicians and the people to come to the show, you still need the crew that makes the show happen: Lights, sounds, house manager, stage manager … so the cycle begins again.

Now, you can see how much goes into creating a magical summer season year after year. And just to keep us on our toes, we’ve added few great concerts in the off-season.

Cristin Frey is the Marketing Director for Strings Music Festival


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