October has become Sacramento's peak month for live music, and more could be on the way -- someday.
Heavy metal and rock festival Aftershock brought about 160,000 people to Discovery Park across four days in early October, and country festival GoldenSky drew 75,000 to 90,000 spectators over the weekend.
Visit Sacramento, the city's tourism arm, wants to eventually build on the two festivals' success by adding a third, president and CEO Mike Testa said.
"That's always been the goal, to do three festivals, three different genres. We started that conversation in earnest last year," Testa said.
Aftershock has grown into a marquee metal festival in its 12th year, attracting concertgoers from all 50 states and abroad, people who stay for the long weekend and visit local businesses around shows. GoldenSky added a third day of music in its third year, and this year's headliners -- Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett and Luke Bryan -- are among country music's A-List.
The natural progression for Sacramento's next festival would be something in the vein of Outside Lands in San Francisco or Bottlerock Napa Valley, Testa said, which source acts from a broader list of genres including pop, Americana and hip-hop.
But another such festival would add to California's already-saturated live music scene. Many smaller festivals across the state saw a surge of attendees coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, only for that revenue to fall away in 2023, just as inflation made operating costs skyrocket. Several had to refund customers or fold, and even larger ones such as Coachella struggled to move tickets, according to an SFGate investigation published last week.
"You look at what they're doing at those festivals, and I think our third festival would be similar to that," Testa said. "We want to create something that has its own lane, that's not going to compete, and frankly, doesn't cannibalize the other festivals in Northern California. So that's still part of the long-term plan, but it's probably a little ways off at this point."
Aftershock and GoldenSky add about $30 million and $14 million to Sacramento's economy, respectively, Testa said. The total reaches $60 million when including other events, such as next weekend's Ironman California race.
That money is spent not just on tickets but on everything from hotel rooms to pre-concert brunches and post-show drinks. Napa residents Len and Rhonda Bickford don't come to Sacramento often, but bought GoldenSky weekend passes ($252 for three days, roughly the same as a single day at Outside Lands) and rented an Airbnb for the second consecutive year.
"It's nice. It's great for what you get the price. It's a good deal," Len Bickford said during the concert's finale Sunday.
Restaurants such as Mulvaney's B&L, Druthers Sutter Park and Jayna Gyro open stands at the festivals as well, bringing in more money and introducing themselves to a broader audience.
Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse sold at least 500 pulled pork or chopped brisket sandwiches each day at Aftershock and GoldenSky's VIP area, culinary director Greg Desmangles said. There was a bit of a learning curve operating out of a tent instead of a brick-and-mortar restaurant, but once the staff got their rhythm, it was easy to see the positives.
"This is a Sacramento event, and when you think of Sacramento, we want to be synonymous with that -- our brand, our team, our restaurant," Desmangles said at GoldenSky. "But also we wanted to dip our toes into a different pool, get outside our comfort zone, see what the options are and what's out there."
Once Discovery Park is transformed for Aftershock performers such as Iron Maiden and Motley Crue, there's little to be done to get it ready for GoldenSky the following weekend. Three stages are removed for the smaller festival and new signage is installed, but most everything else stays the same.
The existing infrastructure and financial gains give optimism that Discovery Park could one day host back-to-back-to-back October music festivals. Summer heat gave way to 80-degree days at Aftershock and GoldenSky and, for the first time in years, there is no rain forecast for Ironman.
"It's my favorite time of the year, because it brings so much activity to Sacramento," Testa said. "Part of the reason we do what we do is because we want Sacramento be cool. We want a lot of activity happening."