Saving Dunegrass

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor

“A lotta people didn’t get paid, that’s the buzz.” In the last issue of the Glen Arbor Sun I wrote about the amazing, over-the-top musical extravaganza that was the 2008 Dunegrass & Blues Festival in Empire from July 31-August 3. Here’s the rest of the story:
By Saturday noon of Festival weekend it was clear backstage that something was amiss. The Grassroots brain trust huddled in the big motor home and emerged frequently with long faces or in tears. Someone in the know told me that there wasn’t enough money coming in to “cover the nut” (pay the bills), and maybe some big names on the schedule would cancel. Sunday morning started with the news that Richie Havens would not be coming (“His flight has been canceled”).

Time has got a little bill – get wise while yet you may,
For the debit side’s increasing in a most alarming way;
The things you had no right to do,
The things you should have done,
They’re all put down; it’s up to you to pay for every one.
So eat, drink, and be merry, have a good time if you will,
But God help you when the time comes, and you
Foot the bill.
From The Reckoning, by Robert Service
The rest of the bands performed on schedule, it was an amazing day, but most (maybe all) who paraded into the mobile “office” of Grassroots Productions came out empty-handed. I have spoken with several local bands or providers of goods and services who never got paid. As the emcee for four days I’d heard enough by Sunday night to know better than to even ask to get paid myself. Most don’t want to go on record, as they either don’t want to embarrass Grassroots Productions (who may still pay up), or they had no written contract and have to just suck it up, or they were booked through agencies that are still working to see their contractual agreements fulfilled.
Grassroots may still find a way to honor their commitments, but most of the locals aren’t holding their breath. Are more lawsuits (or is bankruptcy) on the horizon for Grassroots Productions? Or can Steven Volas find a sponsor to bail them out?
I asked Amelia Vanderberg, whose father Mike started the festival and ran it with a bunch of local musicians for many years, how this situation evolved. She explained that Mike always sponsored the festival, and when Steven Volas came along, Mike welcomed the extra help and money Steven offered. Beginning four years ago the two men co-sponsored the event: Grassroots Productions (Volas) and MpiR & Co. (Vanderberg). Mike died on August 11, 2007, so this year the festival was managed solely by Grassroots Productions.
“There is no written or formal business relationship between Dunegrass (the Vanderbergs) and Grassroots,” Amelia explains. “It all just happened as an informal partnership. Grassroots has managed the festival for four years, booked the bands, the sound, the stage, and this year all of the infrastructure, tickets, promo and merchandise.
We both attended meetings with the Empire Village Council to get zoning permission for the site, and then they dealt with the lawsuit,” she continues. “Before my father passed on, MpiR and Grassroots worked together to put on the festival.”
In February of 2008, Amelia says a meeting took place to “regroup” and discuss this year’s festival. The Vanderberg family wanted to create a nonprofit with a board and with more of the people who had started the festival involved. Steven Volas wasn’t interested, because he had already put a lot of his own money into the festival and wanted to be able to make a profit.
“He had already started booking bands, so we decided to let him follow through this year because he already had the ball rolling,” she continues. “We saw no Grassroots budget with contracts for bands or vendors. Additionally, we were unaware of the accounting and the financial situation within Grassroots Productions, or how much was being spent on bands.” So MpiR agreed to just do on-site recreation (decorations, Dunegrass poles, the art wall, teeter-totters, the slip-n-slide, the ice-cream party, the Teepee and the open-mike stage) using volunteers and not much money.
As the Festival approached in late July, Grassroots Productions got permission from the Empire Village Council to go ahead, but Ann and Eric Arnold, who live next to the site, brought a lawsuit against Grassroots Productions, Empire Village, the Leelanau Conservancy (which provided camping space), the Deering family (owners of the property), and Carol Vanderberg, to rescind the permission. On the eve of the festival the Arnolds’ request to prevent it was denied by Judge Power. The law firm retained by Grassroots Productions on July 1 and 2 to deal with the lawsuit reports that a stipulation of dismissal has been signed by the Arnolds (and everyone named in the suit) this week and sent to the court. Dismissal of the suit will end the ethical obligation of the law firm to Grassroots Productions, and the firm reports that at that time they will join the list of people who are waiting to get paid. A spokesperson for the law firm reports “We have not been paid, and they have no money available to pay us!” (As a result of the suit, the Deering family, the Village of Empire, the Leelanau Conservancy, and the Vanderbergs also have sizeable legal fees to cover.)
Amelia Vanderberg is not giving up. She is certain that Dunegrass will continue by remaining true to its original vision. “Right now there’s no resolution with what’s happening with Grassroots Productions. Everybody just has to be patient. We will start a nonprofit that continues to run Dunegrass by and for the community, showcasing local artists, music, food and talent, where we all work together, have fun, and get to express who we are.” She believes the Dunegrass Festival should stay in Empire and feature local talent, just as her father Mike wanted.
“We have world-class musicians right here,” Amelia adds. “This place inspires people to appreciate beauty and to express it through their art and music. Maybe, the best solution is for Grassroots to be Grassroots, and Dunegrass to be Dunegrass. Hopefully, Grassroots can solve their financial problems and go on to pursue their vision of big festivals with big names, and Dunegrass can continue our vision of local expression. We share the same love of art and music, and we can do that separately.”
Amelia honestly believes that everyone involved can be happy and benefit. “Grassroots needs to accept responsibility for their financial problem and work to resolve it. They have a good thing going, and good luck to them. We have both matured through our relationship, and maybe it’s time for Grassroots to ‘move out of the house,’ so to speak. We appreciate what Grassroots has done, but now we Dunegrass locals need some space.”
On the other hand, one can only marvel at the ambition of Steven Volas and Grassroots Productions in bringing such talent to Empire. It looks like their reach has exceeded their grasp, but Volas reports that he has been going through his bookwork and he has a plan.
“Obviously this year’s budget was too high,” Volas concedes. “From ’06 to ’07 we doubled the budget and it worked, so we thought we could do the same this year. The ’07 festival got us national attention, we had the same idea in place for ’08, so we went for it.” Volas believes that initial uncertainty about where the festival would be held (in Empire, or out by the Empire Township Airport), then the Arnold lawsuit, as well as competition from the Traverse City Film Festival and the Kid Rock concert nearby, all hurt attendance at Dunegrass this year.
Now how can Grassroots dig itself out of debt?
“I have spoken with attorneys who say Grassroots should go bankrupt, and attorneys who say we shouldn’t,” Volas explains. “I have invested over $250,000 in this, not including my time, so it would be financial suicide to give up on it. And it would go against my own path and goals to just walk away. We are talking with some potential partners about sharing both the financial load and the workload, but I can’t say who right now.
“We prefer local investors, but we have also started talking with a concert promoter who does national festivals. We need to keep a few worst-case-scenario folks at bay, and given a little more time, we will dig ourselves out. I plan to put $50,000 against the debt this week, and pay it all off in fourths by the end of December. That’s what we’re hoping.”
And what role can Grassroots play in future Dunegrass festivals?
“I know Amelia is pushing to go nonprofit and revert the festival back to its old format, and we’ll continue that dialogue. A couple of years ago Mike and I had agreed that going nonprofit wasn’t the right move.
Grassroots has had a huge, positive influence on this festival. The
Dunegrass name is out there now, it’s recognized nationally by bands, promoters, and other festivals. It’s worth a lot more than it was before. Remember that in ’05 the village council was pretty harsh with Mike and almost didn’t give permission for Dunegrass to happen in town. We’ll get through this. If we scale back to the ’07 budget and format, I’m confident we can draw 4-5 thousand people and continue to have great festivals.”
I asked Phil Deering about the future of the Dunegrass Festival. He explained that his family has always allowed use of the site for nothing. “This is the first year we’ve had a contract with Grassroots Productions for rental of the site, and it has not been paid.”
Nevertheless, Deering believes, “The community would maybe allow the festival again on the smaller scale, just for a weekend, with more of the local musicians. There were not many negatives this year. The local businesses all benefited. As a whole the community is positive. It was run very smoothly. It’s going to take a lot of homework, and the village council will want more control.”
Deering adds that after the fall election there will be two new members on the Village council. “It was a split decision to allow the Festival this time — maybe someone will be elected who will tip the decision the other way. Whatever happens, it was quite an incredible weekend for little Empire,” Phil Deering chuckles. “We may never see anything like it again!”