Station 4's venue capacity is 650 people and, yes, there is only one stage at the venue. We had a little more than 200 people in attendance for the fest this year.
The room was pretty crowded for Benedictum. (Although admittedly, I didn't get a head count while they were playing, I would estimate that they had close to the full 200 watching their set.)
As I understand it from various people (including the band themselves), to see Benedictum in the UK or Europe is an entirely different thing than seeing them in the US. But then again, I've heard that it's that way for any metal band when you compare US audiences to European ones. Bands that consistently play to stadiums or large capacity clubs (1000 or 2000+) in Europe, can sometimes barely fill a tour of small club shows here in the US. But that doesn't change the fact that there are still a collection of passionate fans that give metal bands a reason to promote here in the US and play those smaller venue shows.
I'll be the first to admit that this year was a tough one for FotV. The economy was a huge factor in every way. Plans that we initially started making after FotV II had to be scrapped (but not forgotten) in order to do what we felt made the most sense for the festival in the current economic client. Perhaps if we would have gone through with those initial plans we would have had a bigger draw, but perhaps we would have had the same draw and lost our investment. But you can't second guess yourself in a business like this. You just examine what you can improve, continue seeking like-minded individuals to help you build, and you keep moving forward (which is what we did at our first FotV IV planning meeting that was held June 28th).
The economy also took it's toll on our fans. There were a handful of people who mentioned to me over the past year wanting to come out to FotV, but then couldn't make it because of money issues (or in some instances personal reasons). I'm sure there are more people than just those I spoke to for whom the economy was a factor. Keep in mind that traveling across the UK is comparable to traveling across a state or a few states here in the US, so traveling across the country for a festival takes a bit more cash and planning over here. My fiance and I drove 18 hours from Baltimore, MD to St. Paul, MN. I believe you can drive across the UK in about 6 hours, not to mention the public transportation system in the UK and most of Europe far surpasses that in the US from what I've heard.
Because FotV does have such a unique offering for the US (and actually for North America), my hope is that the fans across the country (and possibly even those in Canada and Mexico) will see the community we are trying to build around the music they love and become part of it. There is no other festival in North America that is doing what we are doing on an annual basis.
I'm just another fan, but I've taken an active role in helping promote this festival because I believe in it. If we can continue to grow FotV and keep it alive, it will be an even more amazing outlet for metal with female vocals here in the US. It will provide fans an opportunity to see bands they might never be able to get out of the country to see, foreign bands the opportunity to play on US soil, and up-and-coming independent metal bands opportunities to strengthen their fan base.
Most people don't get it when I tell them that this festival is not going to travel or become a tour. This is all part of why. I believe there is a strong enough fan base across the country to support a festival like this if we pull together once a year, but I (unfortuantely) don't think there is a strong enough fan base in each town or state to warrant or support a full tour. This is why we have kept this to a festival experience (which IMO is more worthwhile anyway).
If you are a fan of female-fronted metal, we want (and need) your support here and now, not for you to wait for it to come to your town, because the longer you wait to show your support the less likely it is that you will see something like FotV continue, let alone take the show out on the road. As a fellow fan, I ask all of you, to take a stand for the music you love and support the scene that surrounds it. If you enjoy or can appreciate what we are trying to for the bands and fans, show your support! Contact us and get involved!
