Arkansas Promoter Bill Neumeier Dead At 54

https://www.facebook.com/bill.neumeier – Bill Neumeier

William “Bill” Neumeier, who founded the Peacemaker Festival and the Riverfront Blues Festival in Fort Smith, Ark., died earlier this month. He was 54.

In addition to founding the two festivals in Fort Smith – which had a population of 86,209 in the 2010 census – Neumeier owned and operated two venues: Neumeier’s Rib Room and Papa’s Pub & Pizzaria.

Neumeier’s family sent the following statement to local news outlet 5News KFSM | KXNW Nov. 19 after his body was found from what local police determined to be an apparent suicide: “Bill Neumeier, 54, died Monday after a decades-long battle with depression.

“While he was widely recognized as a downtown fixture, Neumeier was a private person. He did many acts of kindness, often through some intermediary, but those who received them understood the deep concern he was wordlessly expressing. He will be remembered as a creative force for music, dining and culture, always supportive of progress that would make his hometown – and downtown – a special place.”

According to the Neumeier family’s statement the promoter started operating restaurants in Fort Smith in 1988 and by 1994 his Coney Island Beer Garden had become a hot local concert venue. In 1991 he organized the first Riverfront Blues Festival on a flat-bed trailer on the banks of Arkansas River.

In 2015 he created the Peacemaker Music & Arts Festival and remained a champion of Fort Smith’s music scene throughout his life.

Over the years Riverfront Blues Festival brought Joe Bonamassa, Sonny Landreth, John Lee Hooker Jr., Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mavis Staples, Jonny Lang, The Robert Cray Band, Grace Potter, and J.J. Grey & Mofro to Fort Smith. In its brief run Peacemaker festival featured Jason Isbell, Turnpike Troubadours, and Jamey Johnson.