Dear Festival Family,

 

It’s time to share some sad news about the 2025 Four Corners Folk Festival, to be open about what’s happened, and to ask for your understanding and support as we move forward.

 

The Four Corners Folk Festival will be paused in 2025, as KSUT has suffered tremendous financial losses since acquiring the Four Corners Folk Festival and the Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass Festival from FolkWest in October 2019. We are currently developing a plan to pay off the cumulative debt sustained over the past five years.

 

For 28 years, the Four Corners Folk Festival has been about more than just putting on a festival. It has always been driven by a shared 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. The festivals have never been driven by profit or bottom-line.

 

The factors that have contributed to this financial burden are numerous, and include: the Covid pandemic, which forced the cancellation of both festivals in 2020 and Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass in 2021; skyrocketing production costs, including insurance, equipment rental, lodging, catering, and more; decreased attendance yearly, from nearly 3,000 people in 2021 to less than 2,000 in 2024 at the Four Corners Folk Festival; and competition from other festivals and events, many of which sprouted onto the regional calendar post-pandemic.

 

NPR released an article this past September exploring “The Year the Music Festival Died,” revealing a similar list of factors to what KSUT has faced. These have caused numerous festivals – both major and regional – to close doors, pause, or reimagine their events.

 

Among the national festivals to go fallow in 2024 were Desert Daze, a psychedelic rock fest in Southern California; Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, a reggae fest in Northern California; Kickoff Jam, a country music festival in Florida; Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia; Sudden Little Thrills, a multi-genre festival in Pittsburgh; and Float Fest in Austin, Texas.

 

The NPR article cited decreasing consumer confidence in an overall willingness to spend on entertainment and activities. “Due to the cost-of-living increases and higher interest rates, many of the usual festivalgoers are tightening their belts and refusing to fork over as much money for expensive festival tickets and all the accompanying costs of attending festivals,” it wrote. “We’re also seeing similar downturns in other leisure and hospitality sectors, including theme parks, air travel, hotel chains, and Airbnb.”

 

We are faced with two options: giving up or a rebirth.

 

We at KSUT are viewing 2025 as a short-term shutdown while we look to find solution opportunities to recover from the significant revenue losses as a result of producing the festivals.

 

You may ask what you can do to help. One way you can immediately help is to make a donation to KSUT at https://donate.nprstations.org/ksut/. Donations to either KSUT’s general operations or to the festivals will help us trim our deficit. Once the station’s general ledger is back in the black, fundraising activities for the Four Corners Folk Festival will commence. We hope to build an endowment that will allow the festival to succeed from year to year, regardless of fluctuations in external factors.

 

As the NPR article notes, most festivals are operated by nonprofits – much like the Four Corners Folk Festival has always done. These nonprofits are searching for event sponsors, major donors, and crowdsourcing in order to produce these events. In the past, festivals relied on the sale of tickets, concessions, and merchandise. These three revenue sources are no longer enough for festivals to operate.

 

While the festival will not be held in 2025, KSUT does plan to continue its annual Party in the Park, the City of Durango’s 4th of July street dance and will explore a handful of small venue concerts. These smaller events have been financially successful and continue our commitment to music discovery in the greater Four Corners region.

 

If you have questions or comments, please contact KSUT Festival Director Jill Davis at festivaldirector@ksut.org or Executive Director Tami Graham at tami@ksut.org. Thank you for all the years of support of the Four Corners Folk Festival. We look forward to seeing you on Reservoir Hill in the future.