A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Sometimes, it only takes one little nudge…one moment of excitement, one step forward, one intriguing event…and everything changes. Is Knoxville ready for a summer music series of some kind? Yes, and it is long overdue.

Of course, when the weather starts turning warm and thoughts turn to a summer music series or festival, it is already too late for that year. Design, planning, venue selection, and scheduling need long lead-times, not to mention the time it takes to find a marketing scheme that takes a music program beyond the ho-hum to the why-didn’t-we-think-of-this-sooner. But properly planned, a summer music festival could become a significant attraction for the city as well--events that add positive economics to the entertainment picture.

Are there challenges and difficulties in creating a summer music series? You bet. Turning regular-season momentum into an equally exciting summer event schedule is no easy task. Pulling people out of their warm weather ennui might take some doing. But it can be done—there are plenty of examples all over the country, and in communities much smaller than Knoxville.

Let’s put our heads together and see what we can come up with. It’s too late for this summer, but summer of 2010 awaits.