Forecastle to dock at Waterfront Park for next 5 years
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Forecastle festival announced Monday it's staying put at Waterfront Park for the next five years. Tuesday, we'll know who we will be watching when the main acts are unveiled.
Forecastle is huge now: 60,000 people there last year with about 60 percent of them from outside of Louisville, but it hasn't always been that way. We had the festival's founder and Captain J.K. McKnight do something he's not as accustomed to doing - look back.
"It was almost a celebratory event for local musicians, that's the way I started," he said.
[PREVIOUS STORY: Forecastle, the little music festival that could]
In 2002 in Tyler Park, McKnight organized a tiny little meeting of musicians that took root and started to grow. Just a year later, Forecastle found its thing, the idea that set it apart from other festivals.
"That became our trademarked brand there, is music, art, activism," McKnight said.
The change tripled attendance and forced a move to Cherokee Park in 2005.
"Then it really took off," McKnight said. "That was the year that we were able to secure some funding from brands we were working with."
[PREVIOUS STORY: 2015 Forecastle Festival dates announced]
In 2006, Forecastle was on the move again, to the Mellwood Arts Center, then the Belvedere in 2007, all the while growing fans along the way.
"One of the things that really gives me a lot of joy is when we see a home-grown concept take root," McKnight said.
In 2010, it was so big, it made the leap to Waterfront Park and is now looking forward to some stability.
"It's been a journey and one thing that's been great about staying now at Waterfront Park and this commitment is we can really tighten the screws on every single aspect," McKnight said.
He says in the beginning, he never saw his tiny baby growing to be as big a festival as it is. He has bins and boxes of memories from each year that he'll get to later. Now, he's too busy with what's next.
"I don't spend a lot of time looking back, honestly. My head is always kind of focused on the future."
Tickets for Forecastle go on sale Friday and for weeks, fans have been scouring for clues on those big acts that will be announced Tuesday at noon.
Copyright 2015 WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.
