DUSK Music Festival expected to bring in $4 million dollars to Tucson

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The DUSK Music Festival has returned to the Old Pueblo for the seventh year in a row.

The EDM and alternative music festival started with 2,500 attendees in its first year but is expected to bring in 7,000 per night now.

The festival-could end up shaping the music and festival scene in the Old Pueblo for years to come.

“This festival just has such a unique Tucson flavor,” said festival founder Page Repp. “This festival, when you’re here, (has) an incredible sense of place,”

While headliners like Louis the Child and Seven Lion may draw people in, many attendees say it’s the atmosphere in Tucson that keeps them coming back.

“I love DUSK because it’s smaller. It’s not a huge festival. It’s very select artists [and] I just like the vibe in Tucson,” said attendee Summer Scapley.

For a decent portion of the attendees this year, it is their first DUSK experience.

“It’s so much fun to see everybody come together and they put on all of their outfits, you know, their best dress. That’s what drew me to it,” said Elizabeth Turay.

Part of what festival organizers say makes DUSK unique is the “sense of home” entrenched throughout the two-day event, specifically relating to the number of local businesses, vendors, and artists the festival benefits.

“The artists are Tucson-based. The food is Tucson-based. It is a real grassroots effort here and so I think that’s what keeps people coming back,” Repp said.

Just as the festival benefits Tucson, the city is starting to benefit from the festival as DUSK is projected to bring in nearly $4 million for the city and its businesses.

“What we always do is we walk around to the other vendors we say hi to everybody. [It’s an] awesome opportunity for networking [and an] awesome opportunity to meet people,” said Grant Soffer, the director of operations for Moon Landing.

The economic impact is especially beneficial for the vendors and local pop-up shops on the festival grounds. Many of the owners told 13 News the atmosphere is also beneficial to these companies.

“There’s a really cool culture among like the other vendors. So that’s really fun,” said Brian Rosbrough, owner of Sick Beats.

Repp still considers DUSK a boutique festival compared to some of the other major players in the industry. However, he said they aren’t stopping the vision of what DUSK could be in the future.

“I think we’ve always hoped we’d get to where we are and you know, there’s still a lot hill to climb,” he said.

The top of the hill: more major festivals and headliners coming to Tucson and growing festivals like DUSK overall.

“When you have events like this, it awakens you. You’re like, ‘Wow. There’s so much more to the city. There’s so much more to do.’ So, it makes me happy because we’re just growing and growing.”

The second day of the festival begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. You can get tickets HERE.

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