MOTM, UPDATE, Oct. 22 2024 to Oct. 27 2024, Gulf Shores AL

[Dr.Corona]

Just updated today:

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT MOTM 2024: Revised Dates
The Parrot Heads in Paradise Board has voted to change the dates of MOTM 24. The dates of MOTM24: “I Have Found Me a Home” are October 22-27. Here’s how it happened, and here’s why the change is being made.
The PHIP Board, in an effort to be responsive to membership, seized the opportunity to grab the traditional MOTM Week for 2024, when the Frank Brown Music Festival that has occupied that week for many years, moved the event back a week. After the announcement was made, we received a lot of thoughtful and useful feedback from members, leaders and musicians that caused us to reconsider this decision, with a unanimous vote, to keep the week we have in Gulf Shores. We realize this is a pain in the tail for those who’ve already made reservations, which we will address down below, but let us ‘splain the reasons for the decision.
1. Weather. While weather is always a crap shoot, the deeper we go into the autumn the more luck we would need in order to have a week like we just had in beautiful Gulf Shores. The weather this week includes some nights in the low 40s, for example. There’s no campfire big enough to heat the beach on a night like that.
2. Halloween. Y’all with kids and grandkids know what we are talking about. There’s a few days a year when some of us actually want to be around the little rug rats, and this is one of them.
3. Key West. Lots of Parrot Heads, thinking that good things don’t necessarily have to come to an end, bought time share weeks in Key West for the traditional MOTM week. Plus, those lucky enough to be retired and/or rich or happily irresponsible may wish to spend a week in Gulf Shores in late October and then head down to Key West for another week because one solid week of great music is not enough for them. We don’t want to get in their way! Which leads to perhaps the most important reason for the change:
4. Our Favorite Musicians. An ambitious and committed group of musicians and promoters and radio stations have sought to preserve MOTM Week in Key West as “Trop RockNDuval,” where several of the artists who played at MOTM are playing right now, followed by the group of dedicated fans referenced above. While some of these folks may regard their event as being competitive with MOTM, we have never seen it that way, and we realized that our change of the date to the traditional week would be competitive and have an adverse effect on them, and on MOTM. Most importantly, it would have an undesirable effect on our favorite artists. The last thing we want to ask of musicians is that they choose between a great gig in Gulf Shores and a great gig in Key West, especially if the organizers of the Key West event can nurture and grow it into greatness, and we hope they do, because…
A rising tide lifts all boats. We can see in the future a month between mid-October and mid-November, when musicians and fans flock to the Gulf Coast and the Keys for a Trop Rock and Parrot Head “High Season,” from Kemah to Key West.
Although survey respondents made it clear last year they wanted the same week, if we had crowd-sourced this decision sooner with musicians and club leaders, we would have learned that the vast majority of stakeholders in this now prefer that we leave MOTM where it is and when it is. As Pirates in Paradise PHC Club President Steve Jacobs observed: “Looks like a great time was had by all at MOTM this year. My only ask is that the dates not clash with the Trop Rock events in Key West in the future. We had two [from our club] at MOTM and will have six in Key West this week. I also see musicians and participants doing both this year. Keep Gulf Shores on their own week. Gulf Shores should have its own week different from the Key West events. Not trying to make waves but this is how I feel. [I’m] hoping to do both next year.”

Steve’s right. HIs comments were representative of many others. We are listening to you and the many others who expressed similar sentiment and although we regret that the change of date may appear a bit amateurish, well, we are, after all, unpaid volunteers. And we would not want to compound the mistake by not owning up to It and doing what is best for the event and the music.
Our Apology and Your Forgiveness. We regret the trouble that this will cause for those who have already made plans, and this is why we rushed this news to the press to mitigate this problem. Because there is no major event going on in Gulf Shores during the earlier week next year, there should be plenty of lodging available, and so hopefully, those who hurried to make reservations will not have trouble getting the same or similar accommodations for the earlier, warmer and more desirable week. For anyone who is going to incur a penalty or lose a deposit by making the change, please contact committee@motm.rocks to let us know. We have confirmed that any properties rented through Brett Robinson will be changed without charge or penalty. And we will leverage our influence with the powers that be to address any fees incurred by those who did not have event cancellation or other insurance and cannot be made whole.
We realize that any decision we make will be unpopular with some. On balance, we believe that this is the decision that is best for the organization, the event, the music and the musicians. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Bill Brehm, President
Suzanne Calhoun, MOTM24 Co-Chair
PHIP Board of Directors