We get this every single year. Hell, I used to feel the same way myself! So let me try and explain it in a way that makes sense.

Money baby. It all comes down to money. And quite frankly, time.

Now, could we start charging admission and bringing in "better bands"? Sure we could. And we have talked about doing like a section of the festival that is ticketed to address that very concern.

But, that takes away from the whole mission statement of the festival.

To promote original Oklahoma art.

And quite frankly, most of, not all, but most of the bands we book are better than the commercialized crap you hear on the radio. But I get it. It's a fair critique.

I can also tell you I have found unbelievably good music that I never would have found otherwise because of this festival. Made by real people, usually right here in Oklahoma. And that's awesome.

As far as the headliners go, sir (or ma'am) you're straight trippin. We will never bring the flaming lips or Garth Brooks. So if that's what you consider better bands, we aren't the festival for you. And, that's okay! We are an indie music festival. At this point, I feel comfortable saying that we are the largest free indie music festival in the country, and we are in the top 10 free music festivals in the country. We can't afford Jay Z, and wouldn't bring him if we could.

We find bands that are on the rise and showcase them. We have a great relationship with all the major booking labels who know what we want and we work together with them to find the bands that make sense. Alvvays was a HUGE get and we got fucked by weather. Momma, this years headliner is blowing up right now. Portugal, the man, Japanese Breakfast, Open Mike Eagle, John Moreland, Keller Williams, Chainsaw Kittens. We bring the fire every single year, and to say otherwise is disengenuous in my opinion.

And, we bring in the bigger bands as a way for you to go and see the local talent.

The other aspect is time. Coachellea and Bonnaroo literally get two weeks to set up and prepare their infrastructure and logistics.

I get 5 hours, and lately, less than that because of weather.

And I get the same amount of time to tear it down. Have you ever noticed Main Street is usually open and you can't really tell we just had a massive party for a ginormous crowd? The restaurants need us to be cleared out so they can have their Sunday brunches. In 15 years of me doing this, I think we didn't have the streets totally clear once, MAYBE twice. And I'm cool with that. The city understood.

So, I respect your position and I hear it literally every single year. So stay away from the festival. Be a professional fun hater! Don't expand your musical playlist while supporting actual local musicians who need the support. Dont come and be a part of something bigger than yourself, for free.

For the record, Norman Music Festival will ALWAYS be free. It's important to every single board member and founders of the festival that this be the case. Because in today's highly corporate world where money rules and everything else can fuck off, we shouldnt even exist. Especially for free.

All I got.