Photos and words by Richard Roesler

Free Press Summer Fest has as well all know been getting hit hard with the ugly end of the weather stick these last few years!  Having had to up and move the entire thing two years in a row and then this year finally having to throw in the towel and claim Mother Nature this year’s titleholder, by a knock out in the 8^th round.  For the first time I can recall in its history, cancelling the festival on Sunday.

Saturday was of course delayed by over two hours before restarting,  However after staying the course for Bishop Briggs and then hanging out with the huddled masses in a tent on the festival grounds.  We were finally evacuated due to the incoming weather.  Being an extremely wet, soggy person, with semi wet electronic devices I called it after hanging in the parking garage for an hour plus.  Returning on Sunday morning to catch Miears perform on the Mercury stage.  Which in itself was an adventure in maintaining your balance, in the slippery goo from the previous night on a downward slope to the stage!

Then while waiting for Charli XCX to take the stage and with another round of rain, thunder and lighting quickly approaching the festival grounds we were evacuated again.  This time thankfully ahead of the storms, after 2 hours of partying in the parking garage and watching the torrents of rain continue, I made my way out onto the streets and headed back north.  It wasn’t for another 2 hours before the festival was cancelled.  While there were refunds offered, there were of course complaints aired about the lack of updates during the 4 hours on Sunday.

I still got to discover more artists I might not have come to know, were it not for FPSF, such as Houston's own Miears or Frightened Rabbit.  However it will be interesting to see what happens next year, although the event is more spread out at ETP, I never got the feel the attendance was on track with the previous years?  Of course the rain had been discussed all week so that may have kept many at home, hard to say.  I hated missing out on the back half of Sunday’s line up but there was nothing anyone can do, cant blame the festival management for the fickle Texas weather, been this way the 57 years I’ve been here!

Till Next time

Richard

Page 1 of 2 — 49 pictures in album

Page 1 of 2 — 49 pictures in album