For those of you folks who love the Wizard of Oz, this quote is the literal interpretation of Friday’s Outlaw Music Festival in Somerset, Wisconsin. This goes out to Live Nation and the Somerset Amphitheater for the embarrassing accessibility conditions. I know that outdoor music festivals in the summer are risky and you don’t know what the weather will be, but…

Train your staff better

Staff just seemed generally uninformed and not well-trained from waiting in a long, hot line to enter where there were too few people checking bags and tickets to no one seeming to know where water refill stations were (oh wait, see next section), to confusion about which wheelchair seating was where.

Once we finally did find what we think were our seats, we did point out to some security staff near the wheelchair accessible platform that there was a dangerous ledge that wasn’t marked or designated in any way (you know, the part of the platform that meets the ramp going down so has an uneven step down to the ramp) – anyway, the staff person did let someone else know and they marked the ledge with chalk and put some chairs on the edge of the ledge. These chairs of course kept disappearing as they were moved to other areas as more and more people arrived needing chairs on the accessible platform.

Water???

It was over 90 degrees with a feel factor of the mid- to upper-90s. And we couldn’t find water refill stations anywhere, because there were none. My dad tried to refill some water bottles in the bathroom and eventually found a sink towards the back near guest services off to the side of the food trucks (see picture below). How does anyone have a music festival on a hot summer day and not have water? Live Nation, why are you promoting concerts in venues that aren’t providing water except for an expensive can of water?

Rant over

I made it through the first two bands and loved Molly Tuttle. And it was great to hang out with my friends and family. I did end up leaving during the middle of Trampled by Turtles because I was pretty overheated and done. Hope to catch Allison Krauss with Robert Plant and Willie Nelson someday. Here are some of the pics of me trying to stay cooled off. I don’t think I’ll be going to any more outdoor concerts in the summer ever. By the way, the smiles were fleeting.