Since 2001, the Dewey Beach Music Conference has been rocking the southern Delaware coast every fall, bringing in bands from around the globe, who come together for one big collaborative festival. This weekend, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, 175 bands will kick out the jams across 17 stages, stretched along a five-block radius, for the one of the biggest no-cover concerts the mid-Atlantic region has ever seen.
Every year, Vikki Walls, events director for Dewey Beach, assembles the conference, sifting through hundreds of applicants who are trying to come to the beach to get their music heard, broaden their fan base and perhaps get that start that could make them a household name.
“All it takes is people to come here one time,” said Walls. “They enjoy themselves so much, they apply to come back again year after year.”
Area bands, including in-state favorites such as Lowercase Blues, Stealing December and Milton duo Karla and Kent, will be making evening appearances this weekend, as will Ocean City musicians Lower Class Citizens. Plenty of others will be traveling from all around the country and world. Bands and players form Texas, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Florida and even London, England, are coming together for the 2008 Dewey Beach Music Conference.
This year, the concert will be also be welcoming 40 students from the Paul Green School of Rock from Wilmington, Del. The school will benefit via a donation from the event, as well as a free Dean Guitar.
“This show has always been a lot of fun and very interesting to the public,” said Walls, “and it’s nice to get some of these talented, young musicians out here, too.”
The Rusty Rudder will again host the conference’s trade show and panels this year, which, aside from the performances themselves, have proven to be a very successful part of conferences in the past. Guest speakers, including representatives from various record labels, music moguls, music journalists and studio execs, will be on hand, addressing people trying to make it in the music industry.
While there will be plenty of selection for guests to indulge a listening ear to, Walls noted that the economy, not surprisingly, has managed to influence which bands will be making it to the Delaware event this year.
“We had 10 bands from Canada who applied last year,” she said. “This year, we only had one. A lot of bands want to stay closer to home due to the surge in gas prices. When you’re in a band that hasn’t hit it big yet, money’s not always easy to come by, and gas prices are not where they used to be. It’s hard for them to spend the money.” Still, she said she is thrilled for the bands who are making the effort to come out and support the conference.
New venues are helping to bring other aspects to this year’s show, too.
“We don’t have all the stages we had last year, but there are some new ones,” Walls added.
Nalu, Mama Maria’s and McShea’s Irish pub will all be opening their doors for bands and concert-goers, while stages from Lighthouse and Booksandcoffee will not.
“It can get hectic when you’re working with new people and last-minute changes,” she said, “but you do what you have to do. You never want to do the same thing every year. Sometimes you need things to be switched up a bit.”