The story behind the cancellation of the Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville

When Omega Events, producer of the annual Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival at Johnson’s ?Beach in Guerneville, announced in April it was canceling the fall concert for the second year in a row, fans swarmed the event’s Facebook page to express ?their disappointment.

“Bummer!” soon became the most repeated comment on the thread, while others expressed curiosity about what had gone awry with the musical showcase that was once a mainstay of river tourism and a rite of Indian summer for many.

Both Omega and the owners of Johnson’s Beach have stated their intent to bring the festival back next year. But the story behind the cancellations begins with last summer’s decision to split the traditional September festival into two events - a one-day party in June celebrating the 100th anniversary of Johnson’s Beach, with a second day devoted to blues, and a separate jazz event to be held in September. At both ends of summer, things didn’t turn out as hoped.

“In 2018, we held the 100th anniversary of Johnson’s Beach in June and that event lost a significant amount of money, which forced us to postpone plans for the September weekend,” Omega president Rich Sherman said in an email interview. He declined to disclose the extent of the losses.

“During this past off-season we spoke with several interested parties about serving as a strategic and/or financial partner, and we were truly excited about adding to the team, but we ran out of time to produce a quality event in September 2019,” Sherman said.

Dan Poirier and Nick Moore, who bought the Johnson’s Beach property in 2015, are generally not involved in the production of the festivals, but did participate in discussions last year about acts to book for the anniversary party.

“What we were hoping to do in celebrating the centennial of Johnson’s Beach was to reach a broader demographic,” Poirier said. A number of different acts were discussed and ultimately the Goo Goo Dolls and Shaggy were booked as headliners, but Shaggy canceled at the last moment.

“The Shaggy cancellation came so late, I doubt that affected attendance,” Poirier said. “I do think attendance was lower, and that can contribute to losses, but we’re not privy to the ticket sales information. We’re the venue. We provide the facilities.”

Crowd size at the annual festivals typically ranges from 2,500 to 5,500 on any given day, based mostly on who’s starring onstage, Sherman explained. The event drew large crowds in 2014, when Gary Clark Jr. and Trombone Shorty played together, and in 2016 when Chaka Khan and Sheila E headlined, he said.

“Attendance for the 100th anniversary celebration was lower than expected, in the 2,500-?person range,” he said. Since many attendees purchase two-day passes, there was also a smaller crowd for the blues festival on the second day.

The annual jazz and blues festivals at Johnson Beach marked their ?40th anniversary in Guerneville in 2016, a year after Poirier and Moore bought the property.

The change in ownership did not have any impact on the festivals’ cancellation, Sherman said, describing Poirier and Moore as “wonderful partners” on the festivals.

“We look forward to bringing the festival back to Johnson’s Beach next year, and several factors will determine its success: an early announcement, an exciting lineup and a healthy dose of community support,” he said.

Based at Mission Viejo in Orange County, Omega produces other large music festivals including the Doheny Blues Festival at Dana Point, which marks its 22nd anniversary May 18-19 at Dana Point, and the Newport Beach Jazz Festival, set for May 31-June 2 this year.

The question of whether it’s ultimately best to reunite the Russian River jazz and blues festivals as one event, or split them into separate events at opposite ends of the summer, remains open but Omega envisions a combined blues and jazz festival next year.

“When we purchased the two festivals from Lupe DeLeon in 2007, the blues fest was held in June and the jazz event in September. After running the events separately for two years, we felt that they were not drawing well enough to support two weekends, so we combined them in 2009,” Sherman said.

“Given all of the hard costs to ‘open the doors’ for any event at Johnson’s Beach, attendance must be fairly strong just to break even, and that wasn’t guaranteed until we merged them together,” he added. “Ideally, we would love to split them back into two weekends, and that feeling is shared by Johnson’s Beach, the town of Guerneville and all of the locals who look forward to the tourism that the festivals bring.”

Poirier said he looks forward to the return of the Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival and a continued relationship with Omega, but he and his partner also hope to present other events at Johnson’s Beach. Talks are currently underway to bring a smaller event with local bands to the venue in September, when weather in the lower Russian River area is often at its best.

“Nick and I are in discussions with production companies, promoters and talent buyers,” Poirier said. “We’re looking for partners to see if we can come in with a different festival - genre to be decided - but we’re looking for more music on the beach.”

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@danarts.