How to go
What: X-Fest 15 with Shinedown, Seether, Papa Roach, Sick Puppies and others.
Where: Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 1043 S. Main St., Dayton.
When: 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 12.
Cost: $35 through Sept. 11 and $40 day of show.
More info: Call (866) 448-7849, or visit www.xfestdayton.com or www.ticketmaster.com
DAYTON — The X-Fest 15 talent lineup is specific to the tastes of Dayton-area music fans, whose raucous behavior at the annual festival has sometimes drawn as much attention as the bands who perform there.
The band roster was based on listener requests and the playlist at WXEG-FM (103.9), the modern rock radio station that hosts the Sunday, Sept. 12, event at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.
“From that perspective it’s a unique festival, where you will not see Shinedown performing with Sick Puppies performing with the Dirty Heads in any other market,” said Dan Kemer, vice president of Live Nation Indiana.
Dayton lacks a large outdoor amphitheater like Cincinnati’s 20,000-seat Riverbend Music Center, so an event that brings in 10 national touring acts “makes it special for Dayton,” said Steve Kramer, WXEG’s program director.
X-Fest also features four regional bands who competed in the annual “Battle for X-Fest” for the opportunity to perform.
“That’s a great way for us to be involved in the local music scene,” Kramer said.
He declined to disclose the cost of staging X-Fest. “It’s one of the bigger budgets that we use to produce an event,” he said.
The production involves 250 to 300 people, including stage crews, security, staff and volunteers. Crews typically start loading in the stages, lights and sound gear four to five days before the event.
“We’re basically converting a horse track into a concert facility for one day,” Kamer said.
X-Fest ticket prices increase by date from $21 in July to $40 on the day of show. “Even at $40 for 10 bands, it’s still a great value for the fan,” Kemer said.
Fan behavior in recent years has earned X-Fest some notoriety.
Dayton Fire Department medics were dispatched 40 times to X-Fest 2009 for heat- and alcohol-related illnesses, including 10 trips for trauma-related injuries. Concert promoter Live Nation had budgeted $14,000 for help from the fire department.
X-Fest 2008 was cut short by hurricane-force winds. “The audience was not happy to say the least,” Kramer said.
Fans with X-Fest ’08 ticket stubs were admitted free to a concert later that year and also received discounted admission to X-Fest 2009.
Dayton police Lt. Larry Faulkner advises parents not to let juveniles attend X-Fest unsupervised.
Dayton police aren’t overly concerned about problem’s at Sunday’s X-Fest. “We’re vigilant, but we’re not really that worried,” Faulkner said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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