Camp Bisco, an annual summertime music festival hosted by The Disco Biscuits, is most likely going through a massive overhaul. This news comes as the conclusion from a handful of various evidences, most prominently that the festival’s promoters, MCP Presents, have yet to file for a mass-gathering permit for their usual location at the Indian Lookout Country Club — an event that usually occurs in the fall.

In fact, MCP typically meets with local authorities to address any problems for the following year. That meeting never happened, according to local town code enforcement officer Dale Warner. Furthermore, the owner of the Indian Lookout Country Club, Frank Potter, said that MCP has yet to reserve the space.

“A lot of local people count on that money,” Potter said. “It’s going to be a financial blow to the county and the town as well.”

While the festival may be economically beneficial for the community, it has dealt with its fair share of controversy in the past. While Bisco is supposed to have a 12,000 attendee limit, some reports cited almost 20,000 people at the event. This increased attendance creates problems in the efficiency of emergency service. Additionally, hundreds have been arrested for crimes mainly involving drugs and alcohol.

According to Duanesburg Planning Board Chairwoman Sandra Scott, ” MCP hasn’t sought the special-use permit needed for the festival. The permit was discontinued last year after the promoter failed to comply with a number of contingencies, most dealing with post-event reporting. These stipulations included participation in a review group discussing the festival afterward and providing the board with a post-event synopsis, including a notarized attendance report indicating 12,000 tickets or less were sold.”

The Disco Biscuits PR contacts have yet to release any official statements regarding the festival, but, given the fact that the Bisco website remains untouched, fans are certainly spreading rumors. Enough so, that band founding member Marc Brownstein posted the following last month: 

“The short answer is, yes, we are planning on having a camp this year, but there are some significant changes being made, and our number one priority is providing a safe event for our fans. We are hustling like crazy to make it happen and we have made huge progress in the last few weeks, and I’m feeling really good about it.”

All in all, it seems that, if Camp Bisco is happening, it will most likely be in a very different incantation. 

 

[Source: Albany Times Union and Daily Gazette]

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