Governors Ball petitions NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to block AEG’s ‘East Coast Coachella’
Governors Ball took New York City by storm five years ago, quickly becoming the largest and most premier music festival the city has ever seen. The event is run by Founders Entertainment, one of the only independent producers left in the festival industry. Many people in the industry have taken note of that and gone to great lengths to support them, since nearly every festival now has a huge corporation’s name attached to it. Last week, festival gargantuan AEG, who is behind Coachella, Hangout and Firefly along with many others, announced that they would be coming to the Big Apple with Panorama Music Festival. The festival is in the works to take place at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, conveniently just two weeks after Governors Ball in June.
Founders is clearly and understandably unhappy with the news; the new festival would definitely infringe upon the number of attendees, bands and resources available. They have made it clear that they feel AEG is making a personal attack on one of the last large independently-run festivals due to the timing and close proximity of this new megafestival. Governors Ball is now calling on fans and New Yorkers who want to keep the music scene homegrown to sign their petition asking NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to block AEG’s proposal.
The petition reads: “As a small, independent company in an industry dominated by major corporations and rapid consolidation, we’ve come a long way and given hundreds of thousands of you first-class entertainment. Sadly, today our future is in jeopardy, and we need your help.” It goes on to speak about the dirty business tactics Founders feels AEG is practicing: “The timing of this proposed event is an aggressive, greedy attempt by AEG to push a small independent company of born-and-bred New Yorkers out of business and out of the market.”
“We are writing you today to ask for your support and tell the Mayor’s Office and the City of New York to reject this proposed event that would take place two weeks after Gov Ball. We are asking that this proposed event take place at another time of year because this would allow both events to succeed. Please help Gov Ball survive and continue to serve you – the fans, friends, and family – for many years to come!” As of last week, AEG has not been granted the permits to Flushing Meadows Park, although this has not stopped them from starting the booking process. Please help support a gem in the industry by signing Gov Balls petition!