Vineland, rock city? Not in '08

Vineland might still rock - but not this summer.

The controversial Vineland Music Festival, originally set for Aug. 8 to 10 on a 570-acre farm near the New Jersey city, has been rescheduled for early summer 2009, organizers announced yesterday.

Citing competing music festivals and concerts in Jersey City, Baltimore and the Philadelphia area on the same weekend, coproducers C3 Presents and Festival Republic decided on the delay.

The move gives the organizers more time to demonstrate to Vineland residents that "these are new-style festivals that are peaceful, family events," C3's Charles Attal said yesterday.

In a statement, the promoters said they would be "working with the community to address all neighborhood concerns."

The Vineland festival ran into opposition from residents who anticipated jammed roads, loud music, and noisy late nights, as well as alcohol and drug use.

The postponement disappointed city officials and encouraged opponents of the event, who said they would continue their fight.

"We believe the rationale of the promoters is sound and in the best interests of Vineland residents," Mayor Perry Barse said in a statement. "The Barse administration remains committed to the festival and looks forward to a successful 2009 event."

Pete Steenland, 63, a Vineland developer who unofficially heads Neighbors Against the Rock Concert Site, cautioned that the schedule change was "not a complete withdrawal. It's a deferral."

"You don't want to be complacent," Steenland warned. "We need to change the ordinance [allowing the festival] or change the administration so the new administration will change the ordinance."

Steenland said yesterday that the Cumberland County farmland near Sherman Avenue and Hance Bridge Road remained a poor location for a festival expected to attract between 30,000 and 50,000 music fans and campers a day.

"There would be too much traffic that would overwhelm the area," he said. "These are all country roads around here, with one lane going each way."

Steenland has vowed legal action unless the city addresses residents' concerns and has filed a state open-records law request for documents pertaining to the festival.

"I think this [postponement] gives time to find the right place for the event," said Adam Goldstein, 42, who said he has lived in Vineland all his life. "The location is the biggest problem with the whole thing - and the administration trying to jam it down people's throats."

Barse, who is seeking a third term in the city's May 13 municipal election, said he was concerned that the concert issue had become "a political football."

"I trust the additional time proposed will address legitimate concerns of our residents and will sift out the political rhetoric," he said.

While acknowledging opposition, Attal said it was "not why we pulled out."

C3, of Austin, Texas - which promotes Lollapalooza in Chicago and the Austin City Limits Festival - and its British promotion partner, Festival Republic, said too many other events were vying for bands and for fans' dollars.

The All Points West Music and Arts Festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City also is set for Aug. 8 to 10. And, though not officially announced, Attal said that the third annual Virgin Festival is scheduled that weekend at Baltimore's Pimlico Racetrack. Headliners at last year's massive two-day affair included the Police, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys and Amy Winehouse.

On top of that, Attal said, C3 recently learned that two major, as-yet-unannounced amphitheater shows in the Philadelphia area - presumably at the Tweeter Center in Camden - also are planned on those days.

The promoter said he was confident that the Vineland festival would go on next year, probably in June. "We're 100 percent dedicated to making it happen on that site next year," Attal said.

In his experience, Attal said, after opponents understand that the festivals aren't like the violence-marred 1999 Woodstock anniversary concert "or a bunch of kids running around starting trouble, they support it."