The first Peak Summit, held in 2002’s dead of winter, was conceived by session-saxophonist Myron Koch. As a session player, he was ingrained in the music scene, playing saxophone on recordings and in live performances with more than 50 groups in the region. His knowledge of the music scene’s landscape helped formulate the ‘multi-venue’ idea as a method of cross-pollinating band-and-venue marketing efforts…practically unheard of in Louisville in 2002, but so obviously effective that it’s commonplace now. $68 worth of flyers, lots of word-of-mouth, and 8 of Louisville’s hottest bands (with dj’s between sets) drew a crowd of 1500 to that first festival. Most of the PA equipment was borrowed, the bands expected little more than a good party, and the venues staffed lightly, since there was no proof that this scheme would draw an audience. Instead, all 4 venues were capacity-packed with screaming fans until 4am, yielding sales-record highs that *still* stand.
