Tacos and Tequila Festival returns to Franklin in June
The hip-hop music festival known as Tacos and Tequila returns this June. The event drew thousands to Franklin Field last year. It also drew complaints and criticism from attendees.Organizers told WISN 12 News they listened to those complaints and have plans to make this year’s festival better.”A festival called Tacos and Tequila literally ran out of tacos and tequila,” said Beth Collins, a festival goer in 2023.WISN 12 News heard the complaints from festival attendees last September. Long lines and massive crowds at Franklin Field. “It was an experience, not an experience I would ever want to do again,” Collins said.”Were you at all disappointed at how last year’s festival went?” WISN 12 News Diana Gutierrez asked the organizers.”We’re always disappointed when expectations in the consumer’s mind aren’t there,” said Mike Zimmerman, the CEO of ROC Ventures. “We learned a ton of what to do or what not to do.”Zimmerman and Nick Noland, the president of Social House Entertainment, say plans are in place to make sure last year’s music fest mayhem doesn’t happen again.”We have data now to make just better decisions and anticipate more, you know, the need for extra bars, extra food vendors, extra security, extra space, extra ingress, and egress,” Noland said.The organizers said they even hired an outside consultant to make improvements.”They’ve done a great job kind of rethinking the parking strategy,” Noland said. “We’ve kind of rethought the admission process out in the front, much bigger front gates, more scanners, more security.””We’ve got solutions for all, like I said, better parking, faster lines…the VIP experience,” Zimmerman said.”Inside of the venue, tweaking things, where we’re putting the restrooms, where we’re putting the bars,” Noland said.They also believe they’re better prepared to handle the massive crowds getting to test new strategies last Winter during Enchant Christmas, a big event at Franklin Field.”The opening night of Enchant was better,” Zimmerman said. “We had a 32-day run on that. So, we just kept tweaking, tweaking.”When it comes down to how many margaritas will be served, organizers say they’re better prepared for this year, keeping safety a priority. “There’s also a limit to how much you can serve as well. So going back to the safety component of it and having the right safety in place, police on board,” Noland said. “We never want to run out of margaritas. But at the same time, too, sometimes it’s okay to turn the spigot off and keep everybody safe.”As for concern about noise levels in the nearby neighborhood, Zimmerman says they’ve worked with the city to take necessary precautions.”We’re excited about implementing some of the things that we’ve already started to work on last year to make sure that there’s a better balance there for the people that are relatively close.”Organizers have a message for attendees of this year’s Tacos and Tequila Festival.”We hope people come back and give us a second chance to show them that we can deliver on that experience,” Noland said.The 2024 festival includes a bigger lineup. Ludacris, who just performed in the Super Bowl halftime show with Usher, is closing out the show. There will be performances by T.I., David Banner and others.Tacos and Tequila is June 22 at Franklin Field. Tickets are available here.This year there’s an added event this year. Phase Fest on the following Sunday caters to a different genre. Artists on that day include Story of The Year, 3OH!3, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and more. Tickets for that event are available here.
The hip-hop music festival known as Tacos and Tequila returns this June. The event drew thousands to Franklin Field last year. It also drew complaints and criticism from attendees.
Organizers told WISN 12 News they listened to those complaints and have plans to make this year’s festival better.
“A festival called Tacos and Tequila literally ran out of tacos and tequila,” said Beth Collins, a festival goer in 2023.
WISN 12 News heard the complaints from festival attendees last September. Long lines and massive crowds at Franklin Field.
“It was an experience, not an experience I would ever want to do again,” Collins said.
“Were you at all disappointed at how last year’s festival went?” WISN 12 News Diana Gutierrez asked the organizers.
“We’re always disappointed when expectations in the consumer’s mind aren’t there,” said Mike Zimmerman, the CEO of ROC Ventures. “We learned a ton of what to do or what not to do.”
Zimmerman and Nick Noland, the president of Social House Entertainment, say plans are in place to make sure last year’s music fest mayhem doesn’t happen again.
“We have data now to make just better decisions and anticipate more, you know, the need for extra bars, extra food vendors, extra security, extra space, extra ingress, and egress,” Noland said.
The organizers said they even hired an outside consultant to make improvements.
“They’ve done a great job kind of rethinking the parking strategy,” Noland said. “We’ve kind of rethought the admission process out in the front, much bigger front gates, more scanners, more security.”
“We’ve got solutions for all, like I said, better parking, faster lines…the VIP experience,” Zimmerman said.
“Inside of the venue, tweaking things, where we’re putting the restrooms, where we’re putting the bars,” Noland said.
They also believe they’re better prepared to handle the massive crowds getting to test new strategies last Winter during Enchant Christmas, a big event at Franklin Field.
“The opening night of Enchant was better,” Zimmerman said. “We had a 32-day run on that. So, we just kept tweaking, tweaking.”
When it comes down to how many margaritas will be served, organizers say they’re better prepared for this year, keeping safety a priority.
“There’s also a limit to how much you can serve as well. So going back to the safety component of it and having the right safety in place, police on board,” Noland said. “We never want to run out of margaritas. But at the same time, too, sometimes it’s okay to turn the spigot off and keep everybody safe.”
As for concern about noise levels in the nearby neighborhood, Zimmerman says they’ve worked with the city to take necessary precautions.
“We’re excited about implementing some of the things that we’ve already started to work on last year to make sure that there’s a better balance there for the people that are relatively close.”
Organizers have a message for attendees of this year’s Tacos and Tequila Festival.
“We hope people come back and give us a second chance to show them that we can deliver on that experience,” Noland said.
The 2024 festival includes a bigger lineup. Ludacris, who just performed in the Super Bowl halftime show with Usher, is closing out the show. There will be performances by T.I., David Banner and others.
Tacos and Tequila is June 22 at Franklin Field. Tickets are available here.
This year there’s an added event this year.
Phase Fest on the following Sunday caters to a different genre. Artists on that day include Story of The Year, 3OH!3, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and more.
Tickets for that event are available here.