NEW SWEDEN, Maine — After a ten year run, the folks who put on the popular Arootsakoostik music festival have decided to take a break, while keeping the door open for future music fests in The County.
Musician and event organizer Travis Cyr, who started the Arootsakoostik music festival a decade ago, said there were a variety of factors that led to ending the event that has been held at Thomas Park.
“Nobody was more bummed out about it than I was,” Cyr said. “So if you’ve enjoyed anything I’ve been a part of, hold those memories close right now and get out and support things when we do bring acts into The County.”
Attendance over the years had grown organically, according to Cyr, save for the tenth and final year where attendance dipped slightly most likely due to weather conditions. Cyr also said ticket prices were always reasonable, and for the better part of the last decade, Arootsakoostik was consistently held on the second Saturday in July, so folks could plan to make the trip north.
New“Once I got to know Travis and started attending Arootsakoostik, it became the highlight of the summer,” said Jason Peterson, who’s been attending Arootsakoostik since 2011. “I’m sure I’m not alone in saying we’re all going to miss it, but we have to be very thankful for him, for the ten years he gave us doing it.”
This year’s Arootsakoostik was never confirmed and Cyr did not go into specifics concerning the reasons for ending the event, but said that ultimately he had a difficult time getting bands to commit to this year’s festival, he said.
“We were planning on an event, but after bands kept having to decline or pull out, and the fact that my small team, who help me stage this event, all have so much ‘life’ happening to all of us, the writing was on the wall,” Cyr said.
Before making his decision to cancel what had become a tradition, Cyr reflected on the past decade of festivals and considered the current music landscape in Maine. Then, though disappointed, he decided not to ruin a good run.
“At some point, we said maybe it’s best if we take a break and reformat, which I’ve been toying with for the past two years,” Cyr said. “With last year being number ten, after ten beautiful events, no blemishes, no incidents, no harm, just wonderful beautiful memories, we figured with all things considered it’s just the time to put this thing to bed.”
Cyr still has been worked with various County venues to bring bands up to Aroostook. This summer, fans of the Ghost of Paul Revere will have the opportunity to hear the band play at the Nordic Heritage Center’s Trail Festival in Presque Isle.
“I think he’s developed that seed and there’s enough support for bringing bands in now, and places that would have acts are now probably not as scared as they used to be about paying for one of those groups to come up here and to not get a crowd,” Peterson said.
Cyr also does all the booking for Eureka Hall in Stockholm.
“So if you’ve enjoyed any of the bands you’ve seen at Arootsakoostik, chances are that they are coming up sooner or later to the Eureka,” Cyr said.
There are plans for other events later this summer, but nothing official yet, he added.
Cyr is grateful for all who’ve supported Arootsakoostik over the years, and urges fans to follow updates on the Arootsakoostik and Eureka Hall Facebook pages for news on upcoming events.
