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Show First, there was Livestock. Then, there the traveling tours, like or SnoCore. Now, there is the Big Ass Show. But it's not enough. Salt Lake City has always lacked a central music festival to pull both the crowds and the genres together. All that changes drastically this weekend. Sept. 1 through 2, Salt Lake City will join the ranks of other hip urban centers throughout the West with the First Annual Salt Lake City Music Festival. For two solid days, local and national music acts the largest number ever assembled under one festival in Utah will try to entertain the stereotypically stiff Utah populous on the downtown streets of Salt Lake. There will be five stages four charging and one free acts and more than 50 venwith 70-pl- dors. One of the first questions that comes to mind is, "Why another festival when Utah has good ones, and neighboring states have excellent ones already capturing the listening ears of festival fans?" "I'm very into music and I travel almost every weekend to different festivals," said Eric Shedlarski, operation director for the Downtown Alliance, the major player in starting the festival. "Just this year, I have traveled all over the country: New Orleans to the Jazz and Heritage Festival, The Midtown Festival in Atlanta and other large ones. "Ever since I started working for the Downtown Alliance originally as an intern for the First Night celebrations I have wanted to get more concerts going in Salt Lake, specifically in the downtown area, like the Twilight Concert Series." The Alliance wanted to do something big to promote cultural events downtown, but because of the lack of nightlife in the city, the money was never there. The Alliance is funded by a special property tax assessment voted on every three years and paid for by the downtown property owners. The annual revenue from that tax is around $500,000 a lot of money, but not enough to support a festival of the size and quality that the Alliance wanted to produce. Two main breaks have aided the Alliance in its drive for a music festival first, the election of Mayor "Rocky" Anderof ZCMI by son, and second, the buy-ou- t the May Company Department Stores. "Rocky Anderson is very supportive of the downtown area. In the past, he was a regular at the Farmer's Market, another one of our productions, almost every week. He also opposed the Mega-Ma- ll complex out by the airport, which would have killed the downtown commerce," Shedlarski said . , - "The May Company," continued Shed-- . larski,"came into Salt Lake this year after they purchased ZCMI, and they imrrwsdM ately called us asking if there was anything they could be a part of. , "They said they wanted to play a positive role in the community. And oddly enough, ZCMI stepped up, wanting to be n a part of the thing." So, a title sponsor was found even if it was in a traditionally stuffy and conservative comer of commerce and the festival once again seemed to have wheels, "Another one of our main problems," said Shedlarski, "has been getting bands. We got started a little bit late on booking acts, and a let of bands were already busy playing other gigs and festivals. Bumper-shoo- t in Seattle and the Aspen Valley Jazz Festival are both held the same weekend." Unfortunately, the likes of The Almond Brothers, Ani DiFranco, Peter Frampton and Ben Harper slipped through the grasping fingertips of Salt Lake. Fortunately, the likes of Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, Leftover Salmon, Patty Larkin, Dance Hall Crashers, Sugarhill Gang and the Cal- -' ifornia Guitar Trio will be making appearances. With the festival solidified, the focus has been changed from creation to production. With pre ticket sales lacking and logistic difficulties with permits hanging overhead, the Alliance has turned toward promotion and stabilization. "Our goal in producing this festival one of the most inexpensive and largest first-yea- r festivals in the country...is not to make money," Shedlarski said. "It is to provide a great festival with prime enteryounger-generatic- , -- tainment for Salt Lakers." The First Annual Salt Lake City Music Festival begins Sept. 1 at 4 p.m., and continues late into the night on Sept. 2. Tickets are an amazingly cheap $20 for both days. They are on sale at all TicketMaster locations, including Craywhale CD and Fred Meyers Stores, or at 32S-SEA- r IkmKsA rf Wi POOR |