Rock The Bayou : Music Festival - Official Site

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Thank You From Rock The Bayou! • Posted At 12:14 PM

Thank you to all the fans that attended Rock The Bayou this past Labor Day weekend. As an independent promoter, we were faced with many challenges and obstacles prior to the event, including denied permission for our patrons to park at Reliant Park on the other side of the Astroworld bridge — even though we offered the county 100 percent of the parking revenues generated. While the situation was unfortunate, we would like to personally thank the entire Houston Texans organization for their continued support. Thanks to the efforts of many — from the staff to the volunteers to the sponsors — we were able to put on a great production. Thanks again to everyone for making the inaugural Rock The Bayou Music Festival an exciting success! Look for improvements, changes, and more great things to come as we continue to read your comments and suggestions on the message board.
• Posted At 12:14 PM

Friday, August 08, 2008

Meridian, the official headquarters for the Rock The Bayou pre-party and after-parties! • Posted At 5:48 PM

Just announced! The Party won't stop even after the last band leaves the Bud Light Stage. Party hard at Rock The Bayou's official hot spot: Party up close with the stars of Rock The Bayou at the official pre-party and after-party headquarters -- the Meridian! General admission and VIP tickets go on sale Monday 8/11/08 at 10:00 AM with parties going on every night. Don't miss out on the hottest late night bash in Houston this Labor Day weekend with several live performances. For more information, click here.
• Posted At 5:48 PM

Three Weeks and Counting.... • Posted At 5:37 PM

Rock The Bayou Fans! We are now less than three weeks away from the big event! Tropical Storm Edouard may have messed up our Internet, which caused a delay in posting this week's Promoter Blog, but did not hinder Rock The Bayou grounds construction. As you can imagine, we're extremely busy but excited to be nearing the show. We're also thrilled that more than 27 states and 9 different countries from around the world will be represented at Rock The Bayou in Houston during Labor Day weekend. RTB Rock fans will be traveling as far as Alaska, Washington, New York, and Vermont, as well as internationally from Brasil, Denmark, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Canada, Portugal, Finland and Japan. I'd like to be the first in welcoming you to our great City of Houston. While you're here, make sure you check out some of Houston's finest, including NASA, the Kemah boardwalk, Downtown Houston, and one of our 8,000 fine restaurants: • Lupe Tortilla (Mexican) • Azuma Sushi (Japanese) • Goode Company (Barbeque and Burgers) • Nit Noi (Thai) • Niko Niko's (Greek) • Café Caspian (Persian) • Fadi's Cuisine (Middle Eastern) • Mandola's (Seafood) • Fung's Kitchen (Chinese) • Grotto's Ristorante (Italian) • Taste of Texas (Steak) • This is it! (Soul) • Many More… Another thing I wanted to mention that we're still getting some questions about is parking. Here are some things to remember about parking: • Pre-purchasing your parking online or by phone will guarantee you a spot; you can purchase parking, if available, on the day of the event, but it's on a first come, first serve basis. • There are only 4-day parking passes to pre-purchase whether or not you use them all four days; if you purchase your pass at the venue, you will be able to buy single days but again, it's on a first come, first serve basis. • If you have an RV, you must purchase an RV parking pass, and there is a designated parking area for you that includes camping. If you have a regular vehicle, you must purchase a regular onsite parking pass. • An onsite parking pass allows you to park in two areas: daily (you may come and go each day of the event) and campsite (you may park your vehicle and camp next to it). • Any areas that involve camping, whether it's for RVs or regular vehicles, you will not be able to come and go multiple times. If you need to leave before the four days of the festival are over, you can get out of the lot. That being said, if you do leave the parking area, you will be forfeiting your spot and may not be able to park back in the camp area. Basically, if you need to leave, you can go but you might not be able to get back in! • If you are just planning on camping and do not have a vehicle, you can still camp in the camping area. Hope this clarifies the parking situation! We are also happy to announce that due overwhelming demand, we have started selling single day tickets for $55 for those of you who can't make the entire 4-day bash. A Festival 4-Pack is also on sale now at RockTheBayou.com, OnlineTickets.com and by phone at 713-629-4747. For groups of 4 or more, fans can save $26 per ticket. Check back next week for more news and updates and keep rockin!
• Posted At 5:37 PM

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

This Is The Real Deal! • Posted At 12:22 PM

Cover Bands!?!??!?! I heard a rumor that some people were confused that the bands at Rock The Bayou might just be cover bands due to our affordable ticket prices, particularly in comparison to similar festivals around the nation. Let me set the story straight -- THIS IS THE REAL DEAL! Sammy Hagar, Alice Cooper, Bret Michaels of Poison, Queensryche, and over 100 other bands on three stages will be performing live and in person at Rock The Bayou this Labor Day weekend. We're proud to offer such low ticket prices due to the support from our fans, sponsors and others that have made Rock The Bayou the premier, end-of-summer music event in Houston! Don't forget, however, that 4-Day Festival Ticket prices go up to $125 after July 31st so get your $99 ticket deal while you still can! Movie Showings After the performances are said and done, each night, Rock The Bayou will be showing a movie on a large, drive in-like movie screen. I am happy to announce the list of movies first here on my Promoter Blog: Fri., August 29 - This Is Spinal Tap (R) Sat., August 30 - Wayne's World (PG) Sun., August 31 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show (R) Mon., September 1 - Heavy Metal (R) Please note the ratings of each movie in case you have children under 17. All minors must be accompanied by an adult or a security officer will have to escort you off the Bayou Grounds. I know I had already posted an entry on my blog earlier this week, but I wanted to clear up the rumors and make those few announcements before next week. ROCK ON....
• Posted At 12:22 PM

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

KIX And More Questions Answered • Posted At 6:19 PM

What's up Rock The Bayouuuu! After seeing KIX perform in front of thousands of hardcore fans in the pouring rain at Rocklahoma, I immediately tried to sign them while they were on stage talking with their manager Sullivan. I am happy to announce KIX will be performing on Monday at Rock the Bayou. As many of you know the boys do not usually travel and only perform in the Baltimore area. I promise you, you will not want to miss KIX! We also signed Dirty Penny, Beautiful Creatures, Vain and Texas Hippie Coalition and are very excited to have them perform. Set times for all three stages will be published today. Many of you have asked about Meet & Greets. We are trying to organize Meet & Greets with all the artists/bands. We will have a limited quantity which will be available at www.rockthebayou.com at a later time. We're currently working with artists' schedules and their availability. All VIP ticket holders will have complimentary access to the Budweiser VIP Village where a complimentary bar will be open till 6 p.m. daily. Regarding parking – pre-paid on-site parking passes will not be oversold and are guaranteed. Two entrances will be utilized: 1) Daily Parking, 2) RV and Campsite. You will only be able to “camp” through the RV and Camping entrance, no pop up tents will be allowed in the daily parking area. If you do pop up a tent in daily parking, security will make you move to the camping area. Please note that the pre-paid regular on-site parking pass is valid for all four days, whether you choose to camp or just park in daily parking. Shower facility/truck will also be provided at the camp ground. It will be separated for men and women. See you next week -- 31 days and counting!!!!
• Posted At 6:19 PM

Monday, July 21, 2008

You Asked, We Listened • Posted At 6:20 PM

Thanks everyone for posting your comments and questions on the RTB forum! I am happy to personally answer your questions and address your comments that gets straight to the point. Keep in mind -- we are 38 days from the largest rock festival to hit Houston, so I will have to be brief.

VIP Hospitality Tents
Many of you have asked about the VIP Hospitality Tents. The number one question: "Will complimentary beer be provided?"

YES! I am excited to announce our friends at Anheuser-Busch will be providing complimentary, ice cold beer in the VIP Reserved Hospitality tents (if you are of the legal drinking age) -- newly named Bud Light Village. We will be constructing two Bud Light Village tents, one stage right and the other stage left. They will be climate-controlled and equipped with several LCD screens with a live feed projecting the performances from the Bud Light Main Stage.

Disability and Accessible Seating
We have been consulted by many agencies regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and I realize the forum has had many questions regarding this issue. While we continue to make this festival as easily accessible as possible, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Reserved isle seats in sections 1 and 4, rows 10 to 20 have been allotted to meet ADA standards. If you have already purchased your tickets and need accessible seating, please email access@rockthebayou.com or call (713) 629-4747 to change your seats to this area.

In the festival area, there will be a platform constructed to offer better sight lines to the Bud Light Stage.

Concession and Port-o-Lets will be also be ADA accessible. We will provide several cooling, misting and hydration stations where fans can escape from the Texas heat for a bit.

Someone asked in the forum if we were going to allow anyone on stage, including those needing disabled access -- unfortunately, the answer is no.

We welcome your suggestions and questions to access@rockthebayou.com. Please be aware, however, while we aim to make this festival experience a good one for everyone -- including those with special needs -- the Bayou Grounds is completely composed of grass and may cause some difficulty for those in wheelchairs.

Set Times, Additional Bands and Stages

For those of you coming from out of town, I will announce set times by the end of the week for the Bud Light Main Stage.

As far as additional bands, we are definitely trying to accomodate all the requests we've been getting. Many of the bands that have been mentioned in the forum, we've already attempted to book and will be included in the final lineup. That being said, a few of the bands you guys have asked for didn’t work out unfortunately:

Tesla is in the studio during Rock The Bayou weekend.
Whitesnake is not touring in the U.S. during August and September.
We really wanted to book KIX, but it didn’t work out due to scheduling conflicts.
The Cult declined our offer.
Billy Idol got booked in NYC and Virginia Beach the same week we made the offer.
Dirty Penny is in Canada RTB weekend.

The second and third stage -- a.k.a. the Bud Light Lime Stage -- lineups will be announced as soon as we fill the last few spots. We have booked many local bands so we'll get that information to you pretty soon.

Everything Else
Don't know what to bring? Click here to refer to what items you can bring and what is not allowed.

Backpacks will be allowed in the festival grounds, although they are subject to search. Please remember outside food will NOT be allowed inside the Bayou Grounds but can be brought onto the campgrounds (with the exception of anything in glass containers of any kind).

If you pre-purchased a parking pass for Rock The Bayou, you will have a spot to park on the Bayou Grounds. However, your spot location will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. That being said, if you have not pre-paid for parking, you are not guaranteed a spot on the premises should you choose to purchase your parking the day of the event. I will have more information regarding parking on next week's blog posting.

If I didn't get to your question yet, please be patient, and I will answer it next week. Keep your questions coming, and I'll be back on the blog next Tuesday! Thanks.

-TFG

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

CELEBRATIN' THE GENRE • Posted At 12:12 PM

Hello Rock The Bayou fans! As the official promoter and producer of Rock The Bayou, I would like to say it's great to be able to talk to you all directly and to answer any specific questions you might have regarding this great event. For those of you who have never heard of us, The Fazeli Group is an indie promoter from Houston. We're excited to have this great opportunity to celebrate the rock genre for the first time to this magnitude in my great hometown of Houston. As an old Astroworld fan myself, I thought, "what a perfect event to have at the site of an old Houston landmark" While the rides and rollercoasters are gone, we are definitely trying to bring back the laughter and fun that was once the staple of this nostalgic site. Once we secured the site and gained interest from the rock community, it was finally time to bring this long overdue festival to life. We don't have a lot of time left until the event, but our goal is to provide the most fun, secure, safe, and ROCKIN' environment for all our Rock The Bayou fans -- literally from all over the world. To accomplish our goal, I've decided to let the fans ask us questions, bring up suggestions, receive clarification and help promote a great environment and a promising Rock The Bayou event this Labor Day weekend. Though I may not be able to get to every single question, each Tuesday, I will try to answer as many questions as possible, as honestly as possible, and as accurately as possible. Our answers will be real -- you won't get the runaround. Here's a link to the forum where you can post your questions: click here Look forward to your posts, thanks! -TFG
• Posted At 12:12 PM