Lawrence music promoters make a living by creating enthusiasm, but even they are finding it difficult to be enthusiastic about the financial health of the city’s music scene.

Despite national reports that the economy is recovering, Lawrence music fans seem to be singing a different tune, said Jeff Fortier, owner of Lawrence-based Renegade Productions.

“It has gotten more difficult in the sense that we’re definitely in a recession, I don’t care what anybody says,” Fortier said. “Being out four nights a week and talking to people, it is obvious that there are financial barriers everywhere right now. And they’ve been there for a while now.”

Brett Mosiman — owner of Lawrence’s The Bottleneck and Pipeline Productions — agrees.

“Even though all the national reports say the economy is rebounding, disposable income seems to still be in a rut,” Mosiman said. “I don’t know how everybody (in the business) is doing, but I do hear about problems. I think things aren’t doing as well as anybody would like.”

But the beat goes on, and music promoters are cautiously optimistic that this week’s Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival may provide a much-needed spark. The festival will be Thursday through June 20 at Clinton Lake State Park.

With more than 80 bands scheduled to appear, it is being billed as the biggest single music event to hit the city. Mosiman is one of four area promoters organizing the event, which is expected to draw from 10,000 to 15,000 people.

“I’m rooting for Brett because it takes a lot of balls to do what he is doing, but it also could open up a lot of opportunities for the rest of us,” Fortier said. “It may spur some sort of bluegrass festival or it may be some opportunity that we haven’t thought of yet. But I can tell you, that there are five or six promoters in town who will be very interested in what happens out there.”

Economic engine

Mosiman said he hoped the festival would become an annual event and grow to attract about 35,000 people per day.

“We think it has the potential to be the biggest single economic engine in Lawrence history,” Mosiman said. “We have the capacity to draw enough people to equal the attendance of an average KU football game, but instead of keeping them in town for four or five hours, we could be keeping them here for four or five days.”

Brett Mosiman, owner of Pipeline Productions, has been juggling a hectic schedule this week preparing for the upcoming Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival. He touched base with his employees on his phone on Wednesday outside The Bottleneck, 737 N.H., which he owns.

With tickets selling for $105 a piece for the entire four days, Mosiman said the festival was close to breaking even already.

“We’ll live to play another day with those numbers,” Mosiman said.

He thinks Lawrence merchants will notice a boost in business. Though the event is billed as a camping festival, several hotel operators said they have received a significant number of bookings from festival attendees. The organizers — which include Mosiman, John Brooks, Tim Smith and Nate Prenger — have arranged to have shuttles run between the festival and Downtown Lawrence.

“People are going to be able to shop every day if they want to,” Mosiman said.

Several business operators said they weren’t sure what to expect. The festival will have about 60 food and craft vendors on site, which led some business owners to wonder whether people would leave the festival to visit Lawrence shops and restaurants.

“I’m hoping it provides a boost, but in this business you really can’t expect anything,” said Janet Durkin, of Glass House Liquor at 23rd Street and Wakarusa Drive. “They’ve had concerts out there before, but nothing that lasts four days, so that makes it different.”

If the event is successful and spurs more concerts, Durkin said she would be watching to see if it scared away her regular customers, which includes a steady stream of campers and fishermen.

“I’m wondering if it is going to be a Woodstock re-enactment,” Durkin said. “We get a lot of lake traffic and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. But I don’t know that it will. I think it will just be one of those wait-and-see things.”

Stampede success

Lawrence merchants only need to look about 75 miles to the west to see how profitable a music festival can be. In Manhattan, merchants are gearing up for the ninth annual Country Stampede, which runs from June 24 to June 27 at the Tuttle Creek State Park.

Becky Blake, director of the Manhattan Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the event was expected to attract more than 130,000 people.

“It is a big deal for us,” Blake said. “It has a really significant impact.”

The event, although it also is billed as a camping festival, fills up all 850 hotel rooms in Manhattan, with visitors spilling into nearby Junction City and Wamego. The CVB estimates that food, lodging, gasoline and other purchases generate from $6 million to $7 million in sales for area businesses.

“Honestly, I didn’t think it would ever get this big, but it has just taken off,” Blake said. “It has been good for the community, and it has been good for Tuttle Creek. It has exposed the lake to a lot of people who didn’t even know it existed. That’s been good because they come back and use the lake at other times of the year.”