I live a bit too far away to do Old Songs, but I am a craftsperson who makes his living selling pottery at festivals of one kind or another. The vast majority of festivals I do are civic-sponsored art festivals held in city parks and most of the crowd are locals so I don't see fuel cost being an issue there as far as attendance goes. If anything, it may increase attendance due to people staying closer to home. Where it might be an issue is in increased fuel cost cutting into people's discretionary spending budgets, but that's a concern for anyone who sells anything.

The only music festival I sell at is the Florida Folk Festival and though participants come from all over the state, most of the crowd probably doesn't drive more than 100 miles to get there. That's not far by southeastern US standards. For most audience members the difference in fuel cost for this year versus last year will only amount to around $10.00. Granted, that might be the $10.00 someone was planning on spending for a mug from me, but I don't think it'll be a big enough issue to keep the crowd away.

One side effect of rising fuel prices is that the distance from home at which it's cheaper to get a motel room than to drive home in the evening is a lot closer than it was just a year ago. If a show is 100 miles from home, it currently costs me $40.00 to drive home in the evening and back to the show the next morning. I can get a room for about the same amount and save four hours driving time.