Escape to New York, MTK debut in Hamptons

America, get ready for the boutique music festival.

Though the success of American mega-fests like Coachella and Bonnaroo show that massive European-styled concerts can work on this side of the Atlantic, the more-focused, more-curated versions of Euro festival life haven't quite made the transition.

However, two separate festivals set for the first two weekends in August in the Hamptons aim to change that -- as well as the way culture is perceived on Long Island's East End.

"I've seen a lot of things go from America to England, whether it's the film industry and entertainment," says Chris Jones, owner of the Solé East Hotel in Montauk, who was born in England, but has lived in America for the past 16 years and become an American citizen. "Occasionally, things come the other way."

Jones hopes the music festival life that takes over England and the rest of Europe each summer becomes one of those things. He and screenwriter Bill Collage have teamed up to organize the first Music to Know Festival, a two-day event at the East Hampton Airport Aug. 13 and 14 that will feature music from Bright Eyes and Vampire Weekend, as well as shopping that includes a fashion line launch from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and booths from other top designers like Tory Burch, Topshop and Madewell.

"The music festival in the U.K. is now regarded in the same sentence as Wimbledon, the Open in golf and Formula One," Jones says. "It's something that most people -- and by most people, I mean families, kids, everybody from teenagers to my parents -- want to do. It was really that realization, that this hasn't really been done in the United States, let alone Suffolk County, that started it. It was a desire to bring something neat and new to the community."

For Freddie Fellowes -- who is bringing the Escape to New York Festival, a three-day version of his British festival The Secret Garden Party, to the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton running Aug. 5-7 -- the most important part of a festival isn't the music. It's the experience.

"Our main focus is on the people coming to the event and their ownership of their time, rather than it being a spectator event where people are coming to view a band and sort of consume other revenue streams around that feature," Fellowes says. "The focus of the whole is not on the spectating but rather on the taking part."

It's not that Escape to New York doesn't have first-rate musical acts, including the legendary Patti Smith, up-and-comers Best Coast and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and the unpredictable Of Montreal. But the festival will also feature art installations, food curated by Silkstone, which runs The Fat Radish in Manhattan and Ruschmeyer's in Montauk, and scientific lectures by Guerilla Science, a hip group of Brits who make science fun. His festival will also attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records mark for the world's largest brunch at a live event.

"The music is a way of getting people interacting -- a point of interest that allows people to break down inhibitions and barriers," Fellowes says. "The booking was framed around the idea of what we would like to hear while having a good time with our mates rather than 'What band would I most like to see in the world?' "

Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of industry trade magazine Pollstar, doesn't expect Americans to be doing the festival circuit every weekend the way many Europeans do anytime soon. "In Europe, it's all about the festival because for years the only way to play to large crowds was to do it outdoors," he says. "In America, we have plenty of large amphitheaters and air-conditioned indoor arenas to handle those kind of crowds. . . . In America, festivals appeal to people living a certain lifestyle and have a willingness to camp out. Here, that's more a young person's game. In England, they're fine with rain, mud and humidity. Here, we're a bit spoiled."

That said, Bongiovanni says there is a growing market for American festivals, as sold-out runs for Coachella, Bonnaroo and the Ultra Music Festival in Miami this year have shown. Boutique festivals, like Escape to New York and Music to Know, also have a chance to succeed, he says. "There's a lot of different things you can do to attract people to a 10,000-capacity festival," he says. "The key to their success will be in how well they serve their audience."

Both Jones and Fellowes say that serving their audiences and their communities will be an important part of their events. "I think on a humanitarian level, if you're going to invite people to spend three days in a field, you should make sure they eat and drink well," Fellowes says with a laugh. "I think it's vaguely inhumane to only serve them hot dogs and flat Budweiser."

He adds that he will consider Escape to New York a success if "people go away having had fun" and plans to make it an annual event that grows organically the way his well-respected Secret Garden Party has in England.

The stakes are a bit higher for Jones and the Music to Know Festival, which drew some early opposition in Suffolk County over traffic and noise concerns. By working with officials from the Town of East Hampton, Music to Know was able to secure permits that other high-profile festivals in the past have been denied, which, in some ways, is already a victory.

"We really wanted to start out being sensible," Jones says, adding that the festival is seeing sales increase steadily as the event draws closer and one-day tickets for the first day have already sold out. "We wanted to keep it to what we thought we could realistically handle in the community."

As a sign of how much the community means to the festival, it has already donated $100,000 of its proceeds to East Hampton-area charities. As a sign of how much the fans mean to the festival, Jones says he has worked to book musical acts that should have broad appeal.

"I'm a big fan of both headliners , but I really think people who have never heard of them would really like and enjoy them," he says. "They really are Music to Know. Like Vampire Weekend has a lot of elements in their music that resonate with Paul Simon, who has a lot of great connections to people on the East End. It's my hope that we really do expose people to music that they've never heard of before, but will really like."

For Jones, success will be measured in "whether it was an enjoyable event and if everyone arrives and gets home safely." He says he is already thinking about next year's Music to Know and adds that he will judge the event not by how much money it made, but "how well we delivered what we promised to deliver."

"We want to give people a festival experience that's intimate and well-curated, rather than just big," Jones says. "We want to show that it's not anything to be fearful of, and we hope that maybe some of the people who expressed concern early on will see that it was unfounded. We want to give people something special."

Escape to New York

The three-day festival of music, art, food and shopping runs Aug. 5-7 at the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton.

THE IDEA "We have, for thousands of years, gathered to celebrate our vitality, creativity and the very fact we are alive. These celebrations have endured through our history under many names: festivals, carnivals, fairs, fiestas and parties. They are the proof of our progress from the trees and the caves." -- Escape to New York founder Freddie Fellowes

THE LINEUP

Aug. 5 (11 a.m.-10 p.m.)

HEADLINER Patti Smith, the poet and rock priestess behind the classic "Horses" album and powerful anthems like "People Have the Power"

DON'T MISS Best Coast, the indie-pop band from Los Angeles that became critics' darlings with their debut "Crazy for You," filled with fuzzy guitars and sweet vocals from Bethany Cosentino

ALSO Chairlift, Lissy Trulie, The Ettes, The Postelles, The Static Jacks

Aug. 6 (11 a.m.-10 p.m.)

HEADLINER Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, the Los Angeles collective, led by Alex Ebert, that brings indie style to folk rock

DON'T MISS The Vaccines, the British sensations, whose debut, "What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?," mixes revved-up classic Jesus and Mary Chain with the more contemporary Glasvegas

ALSO The Psychedelic Furs, White Rabbits, Au Revoir Simone, The Submarines, Graffiti 6

Aug. 7 (11 a.m.-9 p.m.)

HEADLINER Of Montreal, the ever-changing Athens, Ga., collective led by Kevin Barnes, is hard to pin down, zooming from twee pop to Princely funk depending on their moods.

DON'T MISS Mates of State, the charming synth-pop duo, who are readying their new "Mountaintops" album for release in September

ALSO The Jolly Boys, Reptar, Hank & Cupcakes, Tiger Love, Savoir Adore

Other activities

Organizers plan to challenge the Guinness Book of World Records' mark for the World's Biggest Brunch at a live music event next Sunday at 11 a.m. The festival's food component will be curated by Silkstone, who run The Fat Radish in Manhattan and Ruschmeyer's in Montauk, and include such rare festival foods as lobster and Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches. There will also be art installations curated by Winkel & Baltick and hip scientific lectures from Guerilla Science, a group of Brits who make science fun.

WHAT The Escape to New York Festival

WHEN|WHERE Noon Aug. 5 through 9 p.m. Aug. 7, enter at Southampton Elks Lodge, 605 County Rd. 39, Southampton

INFO $100 daily; $275 for weekend; 877-435-9849; escape2ny.com

Music to Know

The two-day festival of music, food and fashion starts Aug. 13 at the East Hampton Airport.

THE IDEA " has historically been called 'The End' by folks. But anyone who knows the real Montauk will tell you that Montauk is The Beginning. And for a culture that's lately been so trapped in the past, 'The Beginning' started to feel really good to us." -- Music to Know's Runway 4 blog

THE LINEUP

Aug. 13 (10 a.m.-10 p.m.)

HEADLINER Vampire Weekend, the Ivy League indie rockers who landed their first No. 1 album with last year's "Contra," will return to performing after spending much of 2011 off the road.

DON'T MISS Tom Tom Club will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their legendary "Genius of Love" single, as well as their world-beat-influenced funk.

ALSO Matt & Kim, Ellie Goulding, Tame Impala, M. Ward, We Are Scientists, Francis and the Lights, Suddyn, Nicos Gun

Aug. 14 (10 a.m.-10 p.m.)

HEADLINER Bright Eyes, the indie rock outfit led by Conor Oberst, will focus on this year's impressive album, "The People's Key," which is built for big-crowd sing-alongs

DON'T MISS Fitz and the Tantrums, the L.A.-based old-school soul group that had a breakout year thanks to its funky single "Money Grabber"

ALSO Cold War Kids, Chromeo, Ra Ra Riot, Dawes, The Naked and Famous, The Limousines, Young Empires

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen will unveil their new StyleMint website and clothes from their Elizabeth & James line at the festival, leading a list of specialized retailers that include Tory Burch, Topshop, Madewell and DuMonde. The festival will also include gourmet food trucks, a kids area and space for charities, including The East End Hospice, the East Hampton Public Library and the Surfrider Foundation.

GETTING HOME

MTK organizers have teamed up with the Long Island Rail Road to offer "The Official Music to Know Festival Train," leaving the East Hampton train stop at 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, heading westbound on the Montauk Branch. The schedule gives fans a chance to catch the last band on both nights and still make the special train.

WHAT The Music to Know Festival

WHEN|WHERE 10 a.m. Aug. 13 through 10 p.m. Aug. 14, Runway 4, East Hampton Airport

INFO $110 daily; $195 for weekend; 888-512-7469; musictoknow.com