Lessons learned from Mumford & Sons show, with the benefit of time

Now that some time has passed since that big Mumford & Sons music festival on the Eastern Promenade, it’s time for city officials, event organizers and Munjoy Hill residents to talk about what went well and what didn’t go so well at the show.

A workman who didn’t want to give his name hangs flags atop the gate of a temporary concert venue springing up in Portland’s Eastern Promenade park Friday August 3, 2012 in preparation for the Mumford and Sons “Gentlemen of the Road” tour stop Saturday. (BDN file photo by Troy R. Bennett)

As a nine-hour, multi-band concert with two major headline-worthy acts (the Dropkick Murphys in addition to Mumford), attracting between 15,000 and 20,000 people to that one neighborhood for a sustained period of time, the so-called Gentlemen Of The Road stopover festival was a first-of-it’s-kind event for Portland.

On Tuesday, East End residents will be invited to a forum to discuss how it went. Many people touted the concert festival as a raving success, a business booster and a good showcase for what Portland has to offer tourists and musicians alike.

But others have said since the show’s conclusion that there weren’t enough food vendors or portable toilets, and complained about hours-long lines to get to that stuff, as well as inconsistencies at the gate — some folks said they were told they couldn’t bring baby strollers, for instance, then arrived to find other fans traipsing about inside the fence with baby strollers.

Here are some details about the Tuesday debriefing as provided by the city of Portland:

Portland Mayor Michael Brennan, City Councilor Kevin Donoghue along with the Department of Recreation and Facilities Management will host a community meeting to discuss the recent Gentlemen of the Road concert held on the Eastern Prom. The meeting is an opportunity for the community to discuss the successes of the event, lessons learned and opportunities for improvement should another event be considered for the park.

That meeting is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at the East End Community School, for all those interested in attending.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.