New York State Blues Fest 2012: Day 1

The New York State Blues Fest crowd in Clinton Square last summer. This year's festival has been canceled.

(Lauren Long / The Post-Standard)

Less than two months before its scheduled date, the New York State Blues Festival has been canceled.

This is the second time in four years the festival has been canceled shortly before the scheduled date. Organizers canceled in 2010 due to lack of fundraising.

Last year, the festival came up $130,000 short of its $198,000 operating budget. At the time, Blues Fest board president Todd Fitzsimmons said a 2013 festival was "likely."

It's been a difficult few years for the traditionally free festival, but last year one small change may have sealed the fate of the 2013 New York State Blues Festival: a cover charge.

The Chris O'Leary Band was one of seven acts at the final day of the New York State Blues Festival in Clinton Square in 2012.

The festival installed a $10 a day ticket price ($25 for all three days). Daily attendance dropped to an estimated 1,500 people per day with a total revenue of around $37,000 at the gate (less than half of what they hoped for). Additionally, the festival did just $22,000 in beer sales over the course of the weekend compared to more than $60,000 the previous year.

The admission price, however, was not the only factor contributing to last year's record-low turnout. Fitzsimmons cites inclement weather as well.

"It was blazing hot last year," he said. "And then we got thunderstorms Friday night."

But even before last year, Blues Fest was plagued with problems. Some date back to 2010, when the festival underwent a leadership change amid an economic downturn. Organizers canceled the fest that year, citing economic woes. Sponsorship contributions fell 80 percent from 2009 to 2010.

The operating budget has also risen in recent years. Total expenses in 2009 were just $113,000 compared to the nearly $200,000 budget last year. Fitzsimmons says he expanded the budget for booking artists hoping to draw bigger numbers. Last year's headliner was Anders Osborne.

The Blues Festival began in Syracuse in 1992. Since then, it has hosted blues artists from Robert Cray to Buddy Guy to Bo Diddley. In 1997 it won the SAMMY for "Best Concert or Musical Event."

Fitzsimmons said the festival is upping its efforts to produce an event next year. The board is looking to fill key positions including marketing director and assistant development director. They plan to begin releasing a quarterly newsletter and will revive a membership-based program called the Blues Society. They are also producing a Christmas CD with national blues artists.

"I doubt we'll host it at Clinton Square, but it's hard to say," Fitzsimmons said. "I'd like to see it back at the Inner Harbor."