on 2/10/03 9:28 PM, Lawrence Joseph at lawrence.joseph@mcgill.ca wrote:
According to the official FIMAV 20th Edition WWW site, only 6 acts are announced as of today (see fimav.qc.ca for details), with the rest of the lineup (another 18 shows) only announced in April.
This is a break from the past 19 years, when the entire schedule has been announced well in advance. Does anyone know why this tradition has changed?
As far as I can tell, the only thing that has changed about the tradition is that Michel Levasseur *has* announced some concerts in advance. It's not at all usual to see the full schedule announced before the end of February.
The cynical among us may suggest that the organizers fear that full disclosure may discourage regular festival goers from shelling out for the festival passport.
Why would you think this? The concerts announced so far are outstanding, IMHO. And the regular festival goers have shown their willingness in the past to take their chances on the possibility of disappointing concerts.
By the time the lineup is announced, the price for a passport will have gone up by $55. But it may well be for some other more mundane reason, such as difficulty in firming up the final schedule (but hard to believe that 18 acts are still to be confirmed, only three months before the festival, given how organized the festival usually is).
Does anyone have more information about either the rest of the lineup or why the policy about when of the full lineup is announced has changed?
To respond to both questions--the schedule has been set, and those in charge of putting the official program together are hard at work at it. As far as advance knowledge, those who know (I am not among that group, but I know a couple who are) are sworn to secrecy. The penalty is losing a relatively lucrative (I said relatively) writing gig for next year and ever after. Sorry I can't be of more help. --Mike