Play:STL Festival Will Not Return in 2011

In a press release sent out yesterday, Jim Dunn, co-founder of the PLAY:stl Music Festival & Conference, announced that the event will not return in 2011. No reason was given for the cancellation, although the release stated, "While the decision to discontinue the festival was difficult, the organizers are confident it is the right one. Both [co-founder Laura] Hamlett and Dunn agree the festival--at least in its St. Louis incarnation--has run its course." (This does not affect PLAYBACK:stl, the online music magazine the pair also run.) This year's showcase featured the Hood Internet, Murder By Death and Cast Spells, along with dozens of local acts. The full press release is below.

After four years and 400 bands, the PLAY:stl Music Festival and Conference has bid its final farewell. Launched in the Delmar Loop in 2007 by St. Louisans Laura Hamlett and Jim Dunn, PLAY:stl has for four years hosted established and up-and-coming bands--from the region, nation and the world, including places as far-flung as the U.K., Russia, Iceland and Japan.

Artistically, the festival has offered a wide-ranging lineup over the years, with bands as diverse as Semi Precious Weapons, Murder by Death, Owen, Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers, The Hood Internet, Brighton MA, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, Headlights, Never Shout Never, Atlas Sound and Republic Tigers, plus a healthy dose of our city's homegrown talent. (A complete list of artists is available at www.playstl.com.)

The festival wishes to thank its sponsors--including Webster University, Samuel Adams, Guitar Center, 90.7 KWMU St. Louis Public Radio, Husch Blackwell, RedGorilla, Chipotle and others--in helping to provide visibility to countless well-deserving artists, thus enabling the fest to fulfill its objectives.

While the decision to discontinue the festival was difficult, the organizers are confident it is the right one. Both Hamlett and Dunn agree the festival--at least in its St. Louis incarnation--has run its course. The pair will continue championing great music via PLAYBACK:stl (www.playbackstl.com), their nearly ten-year-old online entertainment magazine.