KSUT Public Radio Executive Director Tami Graham announced Friday that the station will pause the annual Four Corners Folk Festival in 2025, citing a series of factors that have sprung up since the radio station acquired the festival and Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass Festival from FolkWest in October 2019.
The multiday festival, held over Labor Day weekend on Reservoir Hill in Pagosa Springs, features not only an extensive lineup of musicians, but also offers camping, music workshops and activities for kids.
“For 28 years, the Four Corners Folk Festival has been about more than just putting on a festival,” she said in a news release Friday. “It has always been driven by our passion for music discovery, supporting the businesses of Pagosa Springs, and shining the spotlight on some of the best bands and musicians in the nation, region and local communities. We have not been driven by profit or bottom-line, and only made a profit once – at the 2021 Four Corners Folk Festival.”
The timing of KSUT’s acquisition of the two festivals in late 2019 from previous Executive Directors Dan Appenzeller and Crista Munro proved to be a case of unfortunate timing: According to the news release, as soon as the station had the festivals, it began booking artists and selling tickets that December for the next summer. But the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans, and both festivals were canceled in 2020 and Pagosa Folk N’ Bluegrass was called off again in 2021.
When the Four Corners Folk Festival returned in 2022, “KSUT faced skyrocketing production costs that left it in a serious financial hole,” the news release said, adding that the costs included unexpected increases in insurance, equipment rental, lodging, catering and other production costs. And the same time costs were going up, audience numbers began to go down.
“KSUT also saw decreased attendance yearly, from nearly 3,000 people in 2021 to less than 2,000 in 2024,” the release said. “This decrease can, in part, be attributed to competition from newer festivals such as Billy Strings’ Renewal and Tico Time Bluegrass, as well as established events around the state and region, including Phish’s Labor Day concerts at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in the Denver area. Attendees may also have discovered or renewed their passion for activities such as rafting, cycling, hiking, camping and fishing during the shutdown during the pandemic.”
For now, the pause on the next Folk Festival is just that – a pause. Graham and the rest of KSUT are looking into solutions to “recover from the significant revenue losses as a result of producing the festivals,” the release said. “KSUT plans to announce ways festival attendees and other donors can contribute to the station’s general operations. Once the station’s general ledger is back in the black, fundraising activities for the Four Corners Folk Festival will commence.”
And as for the rest of the summer, according to the news release, the station plans to hold its annual Party in the Park and collaborate with the city of Durango’s 4th of July street dance. It’s also exploring the idea of hosting a handful of small venue concerts.
For more information, contact KSUT Festival Director Jill Davis at festivaldirector@ksut.org or (970) 563-5788 or Executive Director Tami Graham at tami@ksut.org or (970) 563-5780.
katie@durangoherald.com
