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In a five-year span, Bumstock has gone from having no-shows to being no more after this weekend.
Saturday will mark the last chapter in a 34-year concert series, which has suffered from a combination of dwindling attendance accompanied with complications of getting a big-name act to come to Orono over the last few years.
The origins of the concert were humble: In 1972, UMaine student Bruce Gram and several of his friends organized the festival and named it “Bumstock.”
As the concert grew, so did certain product demands, namely beer. The festival made UMaine history by serving beer to students. Residence Life and Programs gave $600 to the organizers to purchase beer. Just three years after giving funds for beer, RLP said that it would no longer support the event if beer was handed out. This instituted a BYOB policy which did not last long, as beer was eventually banned from the event altogether.
In 1988, organizers decided to move Bumstock from The Cabins, which were located in the woods just beyond Grove Street Extension, near what is now Sawyer Environmental Research Center, to several different areas. The event continually moved from The Cabins to an area behind Fogler Library, to an area behind Wells Commons, and eventually set up a permanent home on the field that now hosts the annual music festival on Rangeley Road.
In the last five years, names such as Fat Joe were slotted to play the event but never showed up. The most well-known case of cancelling headliners was when Method Man and Redman were scheduled to perform. Instead of the “How High” duo showing up, other Wu-Tang Clan members Cappadonna and Ghostface Killah played at the event.
“It’s changed a lot and if the alumni saw it now compared to when it first started, they would see that it has changed,” said Vice President of Student Entertainment Derek Mitchell. “It’s gone from people playing frisbee and listening to bands they may not have heard of to now where it’s hard to draw college students without the big name at the event.”
“They want to look at the poster to see who the big name is and then decide if they will come.”
Plans to cancel the event were annoumced during the March 28 meeting of the General Student Senate.
Then in 2004, Bumstock was turned into a one-day concert, where the weather went through a series of cycles; first raining to hailing to sunshine and blue skies in a two to three-hour span. Last year, conditions were once again less favorable as a threat of rain loomed throughout the day.
Besides the weather, another problem Bumstock faced was the future of Cabins Field as it went from a grassy surface to play Frisbee on to an ever-growing parking lot with a stage, thus forcing the move into the Field House.
“I was surprised when they turned it into a one-day event and I am looking forward to the mtvU event. If they redirect their money towards something like that, I’d be pleased,” said Travis Bourassa, a UMaine student since 2002. “I had a really good time the first year and the second year was all right, too, but I feel that I am too old to stand out in the rain and listen to music I do not really care about.”
Although the tradition may end there is a chance that another spring festival could be held in the near future.
Mitchell said the success of the final Bumstock in the fieldhouse could determine how things work in the future for another spring music festival.
He also said having an event at the end of the year is good for campus morale since it can allow people to relax during the last week of classes before Finals week begins.
“I think having some sort of a spring festival is a good thing. As far as what it should contain, I don’t know,” said Mary Grose, a third-year student from Winslow. “If it’s here for us, then let us decide what we want in it.”
“From what I know, Bumstock used to be a tradition, but it’s not anymore. Traditions only last so long.”
Bumstock timeline
1972
Bruce Gram founds Bumstock at UMaine
1975
Attendance tops 600; Res Life gives the festival’s organizers $600 for beer
1976
Then UM President Howard R. Neville imposes a 10 p.m. curfew on Bumstock
1977
Bumstock becomes a BYOB event as Res Life pulls free beer funding
1980
Officials describe UM life as “a zoo” and decide they would like to change Bumstock
1981
Bumstock is subject to more regulations; only university community welcome
1989
Orono Town Council puts pressure on university to move the concert site from Cabins field.
1998
The beer tent for staff is done away with, removing all presence of legal drinking at the event
1999
Godsmack headlines Bumstock, making way for the era of big headliners.
2004
The event changed from a two-day to a one-day affair
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