Vinyl Music Fest Moves to April

 The third Vinyl Music Festival is moving to April in an effort to draw bigger crowds.

The event, now scheduled for April 8-10, will coincide with the Sarasota Film Festival. Event organizer Rich Swier Jr. described the earlier date as an experiment that aims to draw larger audiences from outside Sarasota.

"If you look at festivals around the United States such as South by Southwest and Bonnaroo," said Swier, "it's a combination of music, art, film, sometimes even conferences. I think we need to be able to work together with other festivals to draw a bigger audience."

He hasn't ruled out organizing another event over the summer.

One side effect of the decision is the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau's withdrawal of its $10,000 grant to support marketing for the festival. President Virginia Haley explained that the grant program was created to promote off-season events, in an effort to boost tourism. The event was previously scheduled for July, a "major need time for tourism," according to Haley. She added it was "a real disappointment" to hear the event had been rescheduled.

Swier said he can understand the decision, but it ultimately hurts their ability to promote the event outside Sarasota, in areas like Tampa, Orlando and Miami.

The date isn't the only thing that's changed. The event, previously limited to electronic music, will now incorporate live music and art showings, as well as a few other things that are still in the works.

"The audience we're trying to reach this year is a lot broader than what we've done in the past," Swier said. "If anyone's looking for a unique and creative experience, it's going to be one of the top ones of the year."

He also hinted at a big-name headliner that has yet to be announced. He wouldn't give any names, but did tell us that he's a household name that had one of the best-selling electronic music records seven or eight years ago, as well as over 40 million hits on YouTube.

Who do you think the headliner could be? Tell us in the comments.