Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

X-Fest Takes a Rest?

Last year’s X-Fest, headlined by Offspring and Pennywise at the Concerts on the Green facility near Qualcomm, may have ended the event’s 25-year run.

When it became clear that 91X would not bring back X-Fest this May, 91X staffers told listeners that the alt-rock festival would be held in August or September. Now they’re saying X-Fest is probably not going to happen in 2009.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“They have no money,” says a former 91X employee. “Plus, back in the glory days, it was just 91X and KGB. Radio revenue is down for everybody, but now you have 91X as the fourth of four stations that play new rock.”

The latest Arbitron ratings show Rock 105.3 in 9th place among all listeners, 94/9 in 16th, KPRI in 17th, and 91X in 20th.

General manager Trip Reeb would not respond to a request for comment about why 91X is postponing its annual event indefinitely.

“It’s just easier for [91X] to piggyback on other concerts,” says one promoter. “They are hanging their name on the Del Mar racetrack concerts and on the Warped Tour, which they are presenting. But they don’t want to risk losing money on their own shows.”

In previous years, promoters such as AEG have backed X-Fest, assuming all the financial risks and booking the bands. This year neither Live Nation nor AEG offered to step up.

“Radio is not as relevant as it used to be,” says one longtime promoter. “Your major concert promoters are struggling like everyone else, and they just don’t see the benefit in partnering with 91X just for the free radio ads.”

One 91X competitor managed to stage its own multi-band concert in June: FM 94/9 acted as the promoter for Independence Jam at the Oceanside Amphitheatre, which featured national acts the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Black Keys as well as local bands. “We sold out in a week and a half,” says 94/9 program director Garett Michaels, who adds that 91X didn’t do itself a favor when it had emo darlings My Chemical Romance headline its ’06 Christmas concert. “They have swung to whatever bad flavor of the month is happening at the time, from that awful rap-rock to corporate rock to emo. Now they are just trying to copy KROQ in L.A.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to Get Legal Assistance When Your Car Accident Insurance Claim is Denied?

Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule

Last year’s X-Fest, headlined by Offspring and Pennywise at the Concerts on the Green facility near Qualcomm, may have ended the event’s 25-year run.

When it became clear that 91X would not bring back X-Fest this May, 91X staffers told listeners that the alt-rock festival would be held in August or September. Now they’re saying X-Fest is probably not going to happen in 2009.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“They have no money,” says a former 91X employee. “Plus, back in the glory days, it was just 91X and KGB. Radio revenue is down for everybody, but now you have 91X as the fourth of four stations that play new rock.”

The latest Arbitron ratings show Rock 105.3 in 9th place among all listeners, 94/9 in 16th, KPRI in 17th, and 91X in 20th.

General manager Trip Reeb would not respond to a request for comment about why 91X is postponing its annual event indefinitely.

“It’s just easier for [91X] to piggyback on other concerts,” says one promoter. “They are hanging their name on the Del Mar racetrack concerts and on the Warped Tour, which they are presenting. But they don’t want to risk losing money on their own shows.”

In previous years, promoters such as AEG have backed X-Fest, assuming all the financial risks and booking the bands. This year neither Live Nation nor AEG offered to step up.

“Radio is not as relevant as it used to be,” says one longtime promoter. “Your major concert promoters are struggling like everyone else, and they just don’t see the benefit in partnering with 91X just for the free radio ads.”

One 91X competitor managed to stage its own multi-band concert in June: FM 94/9 acted as the promoter for Independence Jam at the Oceanside Amphitheatre, which featured national acts the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Black Keys as well as local bands. “We sold out in a week and a half,” says 94/9 program director Garett Michaels, who adds that 91X didn’t do itself a favor when it had emo darlings My Chemical Romance headline its ’06 Christmas concert. “They have swung to whatever bad flavor of the month is happening at the time, from that awful rap-rock to corporate rock to emo. Now they are just trying to copy KROQ in L.A.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.