06/16/2021
Don't support any upcoming FAKE festivals that might call themselves Apache Lake Music Festival or ALMF.
It could never be the same, and you will be disappointed.
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT from the producers of ALMF:
Unfortunately, Apache Lake Music Festival (ALMF) will NOT be happening in 2021.
THE HISTORY OF ALMF:
In late 2009, we approached our wonderful friends & owners of Apache Lake Marina & Resort, the Schuster family, about the idea of us organizing and hosting a music festival at their lake. They loved the idea and were able to get approval from the Forest Service to let us put on our first event in 2010. They also gave us permission to name our festival whatever we wanted since we would be organizing, promoting, and running the event. Knowing that a lot of people who lived in AZ were actually unaware of Apache Lake or where it was located, we decided to keep things simple and name it Apache Lake Music Festival (ALMF). This would serve to bring some additional exposure to the Lake and to keep it super obvious what this event was all about.
We created (and still own) the website, FB & Instagram accounts for Apache Lake Music Festival. We had an amazing 10 years producing ALMF and building a community of loyal bands and fans. We earned the respect & trust of the Forest Service for putting on a safe and fun event, which allowed us to continually receive their permission to do it yearly.
After our 10 year anniversary in 2019, there were a lot of challenges that happened (Fires and Covid 19), making it impossible to host ALMF 2020. We were also made aware that the Schuster family was actively trying to sell the property. At this point we really didn't know if there would ever be another ALMF, but we felt content and grateful for the time we had and the legacy we had built...even if it never happened again.
WORKING ON BRINGING ALMF BACK
During 2020 we kept in contact with the Schuster family on the status of them selling the property. We let them know that we would be more than happy to discuss the possibility of us bringing back the event and working with the new owners.
In early 2021, we received confirmation that the Schuster family had sold the Lake. The new owners of Apache Lake Marina & Resort reached out to us about bringing our event back to the Lake, and said that everyone keeps asking them about ALMF. We had a really good first meeting with them, in which we discussed our past events and how things were typically structured between the two parties. They seemed very agreeable to everything we discussed and we left that meeting thinking that ALMF would likely return in 2021!
A few weeks later in a follow up meeting to finalize details, they threw out some different ideas of how to structure our agreement. We were open to discussing those ideas, but ultimately we decided that it would be best for our first year of working together to stick with the formula and
agreement that worked the previous 10 years. We could all sit down and evaluate things after our first year. The meeting ended positively, with them saying they wanted to move forward with us and make it work, but they would need to discuss further amongst their ownership and get back to us soon on how they wanted to proceed next.
After several weeks of us reaching out and not hearing back, we finally received an email from them. The new owners stated that they couldn't agree to our terms, and now plan to move forward with their own version of Apache Lake Music Festival….without us.
WHERE THINGS STAND TODAY
ALMF is a very special event. Those who have played, produced, volunteered and attended ALMF can attest to that!
So, without getting into the specific legalities on this particular post about who has rights to use the name or not, we strongly dispute any claim that they have a right to use the name “Apache Lake Music Festival” and “ALMF”. As the owners of the Lake they obviously have the right to curate and put on their own events, but we cannot condone or accept them using the name of an event we founded, named, organized, promoted, and executed for 10 years.
Last week we spoke to the new owners in a final attempt to reason with them. We let them know we do not authorize or support them using the specific name “Apache Lake Music Festival” or “ALMF” in any manner, and we do intend to protect our rights regarding the use of the name. They made it clear in this conversation they do not care about our disapproval and they still plan on proceeding with using OUR name. Obviously, this is extremely disappointing news! We love Apache Lake and our memories there, but this likely means we will never put on another event at Apache Lake under its current ownership, and that Apache Lake Music Festival will no longer continue.
At this point in time, our focus shifts to protecting our rights & legacy by keeping our fans informed, to eliminate any confusion about who and what is being put on in the name of Apache Lake Music Festival or ALMF moving forward. We absolutely love & cherish our ALMF community and the memories that were built over 10 amazing years and can't thank you all enough for your support, then and now.
ALMF Team
