End of the Line for Snowy Range Music Festival

Low attendance has brought an end to the Snowy Range Music Festival after seven years.

Founder and Laramie native Carl Gustafson says that his festival simply could not compete with the University of Wyoming’s Cowboy Kickoff Concert which featured Josh Turner this year.  Both events were scheduled for Labor Day weekend, and Gustafson says UW had access to resources that his festival did not.

“The University had access to the students, it had tradition, a ticket office, it had the support of a huge volunteer base from the student body,” says Gustafson.  “When they said they were going to continue that concert series on Labor Day weekend which was the same weekend we had our festival, we realized we just couldn’t compete with that.”

Gustafson says that this year’s Cowboy Kickoff ate up the budgets of concertgoers, and the Snowy Range Music Festival had its lowest attendance in seven years.

The festival has featured acts such as Huey Lewis and The News, Parliament Funkadelic, and Michael Franti.

“What we tried to bring to Laramie was the greatest, highest quality music in the world,” says Gustafson.  “I guess it was just too much festival for the size of the community.”

“I don’t think the Laramie people ever really realized what was going on out there,” says Gustafson.  “You can lead a horse to water; you can’t make 'em drink.”