Kalistan

[Doc]

GanJam 5667 returns Festival to Kalistan
Renewed Festival returns Arts Pavilions after long hiatus
Luxon, Grand Duchy of Ananto
July 12, 5667


Limelight, who made it their mission to bring GanJam back, Given Headliner Spot

GanJam 5667, sponsored by ODEN-K and KRTVN, as well as KMI, LCR and ARC record companies, was, by all measures a hit. The long awaited concert featured Limelight, the Dana Reggae Punk band who, 5 years ago, declared it their lifelong mission to bring GanJam back, were awarded the coveted Headliner Spot and given the rights to close the concert. But before Limelight took the stage for their set, there were three days of music, drugs and Kalistani Art for people to experience.

The Festival took place at Luxon's Global Music Hall of Fame Amphitheater. Festival organizer Cheryl Thomas, head of marketing at ODEN, said "We chose Luxon based on advance ticket sales. Luxon tends to be a bit more intimate and subdued compared to some of the other venues we were looking at. We were expecting a somewhat smaller crowd size than some of the largest shows, but we also knew Luxon had space for up to about 45,000 comfortably, so, we decided to limit sales to around there. We sold out in the first week, but by then we had already worked out the agreement with GMHoF, so, the way we accommodated that was to move the art pavilions and the food and drink vendors out of the main amphitheater, and then just open those to all, even non-ticket holders."

GanJam once again priced tickets based on the amount of shows people wanted to see at ₭42 for a day pass, or ₭107 for a three day festival pass. "Ticket prices were higher than they traditionally have been," said Thomas. "Band fees are higher now than they used to be, and we also had to pay a bit more for the venue, due to needing to co-insure the festival. It all led to tickets being about 20% higher this year than they were at the last GanJam, but that was a long time ago, so, nobody but an accountant staring at our number would even appreciate the increase. We were still profitable, but the margin was about the same as it has historically been."

Azules Electricos, a progressive rock band from Sulari mixed classical guitar with hard rock to open GanJam

The first night featured rock and pop. The bands that took the stage included Sulari's Azules Electricos, who opened the show with a set of progressive rock. "I really kind of liked them a lot," said festival attendee Mark Robbins. "They played about half their set acoustic, and their lead guitarist, who is a classically trained guitarist, played a lot of his music on plastic strings, which was a totally unexpected sound." Other acts from Night 1 included Indie pop act Righteous Kill, and Kaliburg rockers The ExCops, who did a rockabilly set.

Crown Prince Fredrick Ananto-Collins and Lady Jennifer Connor attend the 3 Day Festival and are introduced during Night 1

During the day on Day 2, the Art Pavilions opened, and predominant in this year's festival was photography, psychedelic art and mixed medium art. One pavilion featured large format photography taken by famous Kalistani photos. The centerpiece installation in the Photo Pavilion featured supermodel Kelsey Ryan, who posed for Port Swedes photographer Maria Suarez. Ryan was on hand during Day 2 and Day 3 to talk to fans and viewers about the photography of Suarez, who lost her battle with leukemia in May of this year.

Kelsey Ryan featured in the Photo Pavilion, photo "Duality" taken by the late Maria Suarez

"These sessions that Maria and I did together were her last," said Ryan. "She was very sick, but she was very dedicated to putting together an exhibition of her work here at GanJam. When she called me in December, I was like 'Who is going to say no to Maria?' but like a lot of people, I didn't even know she was sick until about a day before we were finished. These were the last photos she took, and I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with her and work with her. She really made me look very good here and it's such an honor to be here and talk about Maria, and what an amazing photographer she was."

A painting of Her Imperial Majesty, Showcasing the Opium Poppy, displayed as part of "Art for ODEN" installation in Psychedelic Pavilion

Over in the Psychedelic Art pavilion there were a number of both print installation as well as interactive art, where participants could be in the art, and move it around and interact with it. "The Pavilion is best experienced on psychotropic chemicals," said Eshar artist Blake Farnsworth. "Especially the interactive ones. We all basically communicate within our community, and we all decided this year that the art is to be made by everyone."

Other pavilions included mixed media, including short films, and technology. The pavilions were well attended this GanJam, and provided concert goers something to do during the day when music wasn't playing continuously, but there were breaks in the program.

L Night Headliner Dea makes a well received comeback at GanJam

Night 2 was designated L Night, and featured primarily RF and Funk Music. The Concert which traditionally lasts all night, met expectations at this GanJam. About 8:30 pm, the Kaliburg techno DJ crew Stella came out and blasted club bangers to get the crowd warmed up. Also featured that night was Micky Zapata, a KME and RF singer from Yoshimi who was a huge hit with the multitudes. The Headliner of the night, reigning electropop Queen Dea, made her comeback on L Night with a double set that lasted until 2:30 am.

"We had no idea Dea was going to play here, until we saw the program," said fan Gina West. "I grew up listening to her, but she hasn't put out a new album for like 6 years. But I can see why. She has a more adult, if you want to say that, sound. Her stuff before was more pop, but her new stuff almost has an industrial tint to it. I think that is certainly what she is going for. It's far more sexual, and deviant in a lot of ways. It was fresh and pretty exciting." The entire crowd really welcomed Dea back to the stage and she completely played up her new RF angle.

The one thing that all the artists doing RF during Night 2 had in common was a focus on almost an art deco sort of elegance. "It makes a lot of sense, when you think back to what past people thought modern elegance would be," said attendee and RF fan Nate Smith. "I suppose past futurism really embraced these very conservative sort of hair styles, dress fashions, and suits. Nobody dresses like this now, of course, but the essence of retro futurism is the nod back to what people of the past thought we would be doing now, at least in the aesthetic, and Dea, and the other artists, really brought that out. There was nothing at all that was scandalous: She and everyone else brought a conservative modernism to their look, how they carried themselves, and everything. The RF we heard this year is a different aesthetic completely from the more classic RF."

Night three Openers Mighty Ape kicked the last night off with a HXC assault

The Closing Night of GanJam featured punk, ska and reggae. The night started off with Kaliburg Hardcore punk band Mighty Ape. The set brought out the moshers, many of whom climbed onto the stage in an attempt to stage dive back into the crowd . The General Admission area in front of the stage was a swirling sea of bodies all slam dancing as Mighty Ape played a 23 song set in about 25 minutes. Dana ska followed the Mighty Ape as 8-piece tradska band Satellite took the stage, and slowed things down over the next hour.

After several more bands played, the Show Closers Limelight took the stage at around 1 am. Limelight is the Dana reggae and punk band that declared their mission was to bring GanJam back. "This is literally a dream come true," said front man Keith McDonald, as he arrived on the stage. "You guys don't even know what an awesome thing this is for us, and for music lovers all across this country! Now let's f--k some sh-- up!" The band launched into one of their new tracks, the punkrock, "Bleed". The crowd, who knew the meaning behind McDonald's words shouted cheers and immediately went nuts out in the pit.

"Oh man, the Limelight set," said attendee Francis Wright, "best set of the whole show. Those guys just have so much like passion. They have the vibe, you know." A lot of the music that Limelight played during their set was hip hop and ska influenced surf punk, a style which has come to dominate the scenes in Dana and Sulari, and has also spawned a micro-scene in Luxon. "It's that surf punk that is fast and loud, but not aggressive," said Wright. "It's made for a place like this, where things are just chill, the weed is blazing and we're all just laid back and having a great time. Turn your brain off kind of music."

After the Show closed, ODEN reported attendance and earnings. Over the three days of the event, 48,354 attendees scanned their tickets, the majority being full festival passes. The Concert earned ₭3,643,843 in ticket sales, another ₭932,453 in concessions, and ₭2,765,000 in recreational sales over the three day festival. The profit (after band fees, venue fees, insurance, and logistics) was split between sponsors based on their stake in the event, and all fully recouped their investment.

Organizer Thomas said "Well, it was profitable: GanJam is always a good investment. The one thing we didn't have this year, and I always wish we had more, was international bands. But so few countries actually have a thriving music industry. They have musicians, for sure: FOMAT demonstrates that. But a music industry is great because it allows nations to locate and develop talent. A music industry that pays its artists allows them to make a living off their talent, rather than requiring them to split their time between making music and their stupid day job that doesn't really even matter.

"Kalistan is blessed with a wealth of talent because we have the infrastructure in place to cultivate that talent and to patronize that talent. Our musicians just have an easier time going from good musician to great musician, which is why we see by far the best and the vast majority of good musicians coming from Kalistan. And that allows us to put a three full day musical festival like GanJam together. The bands are already here. It would be nice if other countries did music too, especially as systematically as Kalistan does."

Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for the next GanJam. But meanwhile, take it easy, from GanJam 5667.

@KalistaniRawkMonthly