BR Cohn Fest seeks move to Field of Dreams

Whoa oh oh – Sonoma may “listen to the music” next fall at the Field of Dreams – as Bruce Cohn, longtime Doobie Brothers manager and namesake of B.R. Cohn Winery, is petitioning the City Council for the rights to sublease the First Street West recreation area for his annual charity music festival .

Cohn, whose BR Cohn Charity Fall Music Festival celebrated its 28th year at the Glen Ellen winery last September, approached city officials in October as to the possibility of moving the two-day music festival to the city-owned field just north of the Plaza.

The annual music event, which is tentatively scheduled this year for Oct. 2 to 4, has over the years featured some of the biggest names on the festival circuit, including Willie Nelson, Gregg Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bonnie Raitt and the Doobie Brothers.

Last year’s event welcomed Melissa Etheridge, Peter Frampton, Huey Lewis & the News, the Wallflowers and Los Lonely Boys.

The festival has already received approval from field leasee, the Sonoma Valley Field of Dreams board, but per the lease agreement, the city is required to give final approval to any ?sublease.

Additionally, the city must approve a waiver for certain provisions in the special-events permit that would have to be issued – specifically to the limits of the city’s “noise ordinance,” since the event entails amplified music as late as 10:30 p.m. for both nights.

In a Dec. 16 letter to Sonoma City Manager Carol Giovanatto, Sonoma Valley Field of Dreams board president Richard Goertzen expressed his support for the subleasing of the field to the festival for “several days prior and after the three day festival.”

“I am very excited about a music festival returning to Sonoma,” said Goertzen. The Field of Dreams had previously been used for a major music festival in the mid-2000s, when the Sonoma Jazz Plus festival was in its heyday.

In his petition to the city for use of the Field of Dreams, Cohn said holding the event at the winery has in recent years proven too expensive.

“Build-out costs at the winery coupled with ABC requiring the winery to close for the weekend have made it too costly,” wrote Cohn. “By relocating to the Field of Dreams I can save over $100,000 in production costs which will be able to go directly to the recipients above and beyond what we normally raise.” Cohn says that over the years, the festival has raised $6.5 million for local charities. If the council approves the sublease, Cohn says the next steps are to hold “open-house neighbor meetings” to discuss ways to deal with traffic, parking and promoting alternative transportation to the festival.

Cohn also says he’d like to rename the event the Sonoma Music Festival, while producing it under the nonprofit BR Cohn Charity Events.