How to sign up to play on Stage 5

How do I sign up to play Stage 5?

What's with the sound on Stage 5?

Here you will find answers to your questions .
CHECK IT OUT - OFTEN!

Sign Up F.A.Q.
How do we? When do we? Where do we?
Whadda ya mean it's booked up already?

How and when do I sign up?
There are 2 ways to sign up to play Stage 5.

The Traditional Sign Up

This system has changed in the past couple of years.

On Wednesday before the actual
festival begins people who want to sign themselves or
their friends up gather in front of Stage 5.

The sign up schedule is brought out around
9:00 AM. At that time we usually take a few
minutes for announcements and questions.

Each person draws a number,
after everyone gathered has a number
the lucky person with #1 gets to sign up first,
it continues until all have had an opportunity to sign up.
In the event that all slots are filled you can sign up on the
Stand-by list.

Due to the overwhelming response in
the past few years and out of fairness to all musicians
we have been forced to put some limits on this process,
they are:
You may only sign up one act at a time.
Each act may only play once during the 3 day festival.

Stage 5 performance times span from Thursday morning
through Saturday evening.
There are only 30 minute time slots available.

As in the past the Stage 5 Crew at it's discretion will
invite performers from the main stages to play
a set on Stage 5.

The Stage 5 Crew reserves the right to book their
bands in advance.

Sign Up For Saturday Night

For the past few years Stage 5 has presented
"Stage 5 Picks"
This Saturday evening showcase starting at 6 P.M.
is selected by the Stage 5 Selection Committee.
We comb the campgrounds and invite acts
to be a part of this showcase.

Our primary objective in this is to
present a well rounded acoustic music evening.
Including acoustic music in a wide range of styles.
Blues, bluegrass, celtic, songwriting, folk, fingerpicking,
flatpicking, thrashgrass, old-time, ... you get the idea.

In an effort to enhance the selection process
we will also accept CD's via snail mail as it is
impossible for us to get around to every campsite.

Here are the particulars on how this is going to work:
Send one CD.
List 3 tracks (by number) for audition.
Include expected time of arrival at the festival.
Include approximate campsite location.
Include primary contact information.
All materials must arrive no later than July 31st.
If not selected you may still sign up for another time.
If selected to play, you will not be eligible for Saturday night next year.
Projected line-up will be announced Wednesday at sign up.
If selected, confirm with Stage 5 no later than 6 P.M. Friday.
Arriving later than 6 on Friday? Get a friend to confirm.
We will still "comb the campground".
All Selection Committee decisions are final.

If you would like to be included in the Stage 5 Picks
enhanced selection process mail your CD to:

Stage 5
PO Box 834
Goddard, KS 67052

Sound F.A.Q.
It's to Loud - I can't hear !!

The sound at Stage 5 in it's infancy was no more than a
band standing on the back of an old farm truck.

For two years it was like this, then one of our crew
(Steve Keen) from the "Oklahoma Intelligence Institute"
came up with the idea of building the first Acoustic
Instrument Megaphone (AIM). Fabricated from
fiberglass and mounted on a microphone stand.

This worked well but was squashed by intimidated
musicians. They said "Use microphones!" The next year
a breaker box was installed on a tree in the Pecan Grove
and the rest is pretty much history.

As the years went along and the crowds at Stage 5 became
larger and larger the cry was "TURN IT UP I can't hear."

So we did. Bigger amps and stacks of horns and speakers.

Then the cries came from our good neighbors (and
my wife) "TURN IT DOWN It's to loud."

WE AGREED

You see there are several things at work here;
Larger crowds mean a higher ambient noise levels
Performers lose their crowd involvement when they can't be heard.
First timers are intimidated by all this equipment.
12 plus hours of over amplified acoustic music in a campground.
"Setting" the stage & running sound for 30+ bands a day for 3 days.

Contrary to the popular belief that festival organizers
insisted that we lower the volume, the Stage 5 Crew
decided that enough was enough at the close of the
1999 festival. The year 2000 would mark yet another
change in the approach to sound at Stage 5.

No more massive stacks of speakers and 24 channel boards
linked and wired, patched and plugged to every kind of audio
gizmo known to man.

We have opted for the "miked" stage;
Three Audio Technica 4033's, a direct for basses,
a 8 channel mixer and a modest array of speakers
encircling the audience.
No monitors.

In making this decision there will be a learning curve for all.

For the performers ...
it is more like picking around the campfire.

For the audience ...
they will have to be quieter and more respectful
of the performers.

For our neighbors ...
they will be able to jam in their camps or
sleep (if they so choose).

For our crew ...
they will be able to relax a little and enjoy the festival
and their vacation time a little more.

The thing that amazed us the most was that the louder the
volume got over the years the louder the audience got ...
and vise-versa.

So, to all those concerned, we have instituted the
previously mentioned changes.
For we are not in
competition with four other stages but rather
a compliment to them.

We are aware that there are those who do
not like the change, just as we are aware that
there are those who have longed for it.

Hopefully we will meet somewhere in the
middle and just enjoy the music.