In September 2022, the Deep Ellum Community Arts Festival’s founder and organizer, Stephen Millard, announced his retirement after managing the event for nearly 30 years. In just a few days after Millard’s retirement, the Deep Ellum Association met with community leaders to discuss the festival’s fate. Breonny Lee, an advocate for Deep Ellum cultural events and an attendee of that meeting, was quoted in the Dallas Observer saying:
“There was a public announcement in September that the festival was closing and chatter on all corners about it. It was a big deal."
Savvy venue owners sometimes assume a shared marketing approach and decide to enlist poster printing services to promote their events.
Deep Friday began in the 1990s as a monthly event that made it possible for music lovers to listen to a wide assortment of bands in a single evening for an incredibly low fee, which at the time was about the cost of a pricey beer. At this time, concertgoers were filling virtually every Deep Ellum music venue, with groups such as Flickerstick, Flyleaf and Blue Octobers performing in their pre-fame days.
However, Deep Friday at least is not dead, according to a recent announcement. The Deep Ellum music scene will see the event’s return on Friday, May 26 as part of the reinvented Deep Ellum Community Arts Fair that is to be held over Memorial Day weekend.